THE 
National Capital 
Events of Interest from the Seat of 
Government 
By J. E. Jones 
The Breeze Bureau 
Washington, Mar. 5, 1914 
Social Affairs Overdone. 
That the giddy social whirl 
threatens to undermine the govern- 
ment is evidenced by the remarks 
of Mrs. La Follette at the Congres- 
sional club, where she made a plea 
to the women to spend their time in 
pursuits more useful than ‘‘peddl- 
ing pasteboard eards.’’ Senator 
Kenyon voiced the same complaint 
in his Philadelphia speech. ‘‘If 
you hire a lawyer you do not want 
one who spends every evening in 
the week at a banquet or dinner, or 
out somewhere else,’’ he said. 
“That is what is the matter with 
Congress.’’ Washington is as much 
of a ‘‘social center’’ as it is politi- 
eal headquarters. The society 
stunts are undoubtedly overdone, 
and common-sense people lke Mrs. 
La Follette and Senator Kenyon 
find that all of these functions do 
not leave proper time for the real 
work that is before the people who 
are sent to Washington charged 
with the performance of great du- 
ties. 
———— 
Nick and Alice. 
Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas Longworth 
of Cincinnati, Ohio, have been 
among the distinguished visitors to 
Washington during the past week. 
This in itself might might make a 
eood ‘‘personal’’ for the local news- 
papers. When young Longworth 
first came to Congress he was a 
quiet fellow, all on his own account. 
Never again can he be anything 
more than a son-in-law. ‘‘Princess 
Alice’’ always succeeded in keeping 
Washington interested, and there 
has perhaps been no more beloved 
member of society in recent years 
in the National Capital. Mrs. Long- 
worth wore mourning because of 
the death of her aunt. Since the 
gown was new and original, many 
imitators have already copied it. 
When her illustrious father was 
president, ‘‘ Alice blue’’ was featur- 
ed by all the modistes and milliners 
of the country. Now let’s see what 
they can do with ‘‘ Alice in mourn- 
ing,’’ 
Wherein the South Has Lead. 
There is a growing evidence of 
sectonal feeling that amounts al- 
NORTH SHORE BREEZE 
most to jealousy in the handling of 
the nation’s business in Congress. 
This has been emphasized in the 
consideration of the measures for 
agricultural extension work, where- 
in the south has been accused of 
getting more than its share of ben- 
efits. The Lever bill looks to co- 
operation between states and na- 
tion, in the great work to carry bet- 
ter farm methods directly to the 
farmer. That there may not be un- 
just imposition on the federal gov- 
ernment it provides that every dol- 
lar of federal money provided for 
this purpose may be matched by an- 
other appropriation by the state. 
Moreover, the money thus provided 
has to be handled in each state 
through agricultural colleges. No 
state will be able to draw its allot- 
ment of the national money until 
it shall have made provision for its 
own share. This plan seems to be 
fair enough, but yet it is declared 
that ‘‘the south will get the best 
of it.”” And why? Simply because 
the south has already made greater 
success in following the leadership 
of the Department of Agriculture’s 
program for improvement of the 
farm than any other section of the 
country. We are accustomed to ac- 
cuse the south ‘‘with being slow,’’ 
but an analysis of this great move- 
ment toward the betterment of ag- 
riculture tends to confirm the be- 
lief that the west has prospered to 
such an extent that it is rather lofty 
in its attitude toward ‘‘book farm- 
ing.’’ On the other hand, the south 
has frankly admitted that it has 
been groping in the dark—and_ it 
wants to learn. This is one thing 
in which the south might well be 
imitated by the rest of the country, 
and this is especially true of the re- 
gion east of the Alleghanies and 
north of the Potomac, where, not- 
withstanding the fact that for more 
than a century there has existed 
the best markets’ and surest de- 
mand for agricultural groducts, that 
there has been a steady falling off 
of the right kind of methods for 
carrying on farming work. 
The Case of Colombia. 
Because the United States annex- 
ed a piece of Colombia and built a 
$375,000,000 canal across it, the 
Colombians are still demanding any- 
where from $20,000,000 to $40,000... 
000 from the American govern- 
ment. Those who are ‘‘spilling 
their sympathy on these people 
ought to consider that every 
‘‘mother’s son’’ in Colombia has a 
scheme of getting rich as soon as 
the Panama Canal opens—and ag a 
matter of fact the country never 
has been as prosperous since Bal- 
boa traded wampum for cocoanuts 
with the Central American Indian. 
In Washington there is a sentiment 
in no less than Administration Cir- 
cles, to reimburse Colombia. The 
opposition to this program declares 
that the attitude of Colombia is not 
tenable—that what wrongs it may 
have suffered were due to the fact 
that the country stood in the path- 
way of progress; and by a ‘‘dog in 
the manger’’ policy attempted not 
only to drive a sharp bargain with 
the United tSates, but to definitely 
delay the building of the Canal. 
The North American Indians have 
been repeatedly chased from their 
own fields, their forests and 
streams, back onto reservations; 
likely the present agitation will de- 
termine whether the Colombians 
are open to opportunity, in which 
event they will not shy from the ~ 
pathway of progress, but may even 
outdistance the people of the Unit- 
ed States in reaping the harvest of 
the achievemnt of Panama. 
Colonel Goethals and the Presidency. 
With Colonel Goethals in Wash- 
ington ‘‘talking it over’’ with Con- 
gress, there has been a discussion 
in the Capital of the possibilities of 
his being put forward for the pres- 
idency. Goethals is a Republican, 
and it is generally supposed that 
party needs new leaders. It is said 
of the canal builder that he is none 
of your imaginary heroes; and that 
his popularity is not of the mush- 
room sort. All this is indisputable, 
yet Goethals begs to be permitted to 
‘keep out of polities.”” He prom- 
ises to have the Panama Canal un- 
der full headway by July, and says 
that at the present time the great 
work is fully protected—and that 
no foreign enemy could pass the 
fortifications at either end of the big 
ditch. 
As Illustrated by Kindell. 
Representative Kindell of Colo- 
rado has announced his candidacy 
for the United States Senate, de- 
claring that ‘‘I have made up my 
mind that I would rather be a dead 
Senator than a live fool Represen- 
tative.’’ Kindell recognizes the 
fact that there is a difference in 
being a mere member of the lower 
House and a real statesman. As he 
aspires to statesmanship he is not 
content, as are other members, to 
sit quietly on a back seat, trying to 
conceal the fact that he is an in- 
consequential unit. 
