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| THE , 
National Capital 
Events of Interest from the Seat of 
Government 
By J. E. Jones 
The Breeze Bureau 
Washington, March 24, 1914 
A Jos For STATESMEN. 
There has been but one law on 
the statute books in recent years 
that could be successfully utilized 
in fighting the trusts—that being 
the so-called ‘‘Sherman law.’’ In 
endeavoring to improve it, the Dem- 
ocrats of Congress have exercised 
all their wits; and their numerous 
bills after being analyzed by the, 
President and his experts, have 
been shuffled into the discard. 
There are jobs that are ‘‘man's 
size’ but the formation of the new 
anti-trust laws is ‘‘statesman’s 
size,’’ und it is questionable wheth- 
er the men on the House Judiciary 
Committee are equal to the task. 
In order to aid them the President 
has called the members into a num- 
ber of White House conferences. 
INTERSTATE TRADE COMMISSION. 
Plans have been perfected for the 
interstate trade commerce bill, and 
the measure has been agreed to by 
Democrats and Republicans of the 
House, and it will become a law. 
It creates a commission of three 
members to aid in the legal regula- 
tion and operation of big and small 
business. Regular and special reports 
from corporations will be required 
and investigations may be ordered at 
any tine. Its powers will be broader 
than those of ‘the present bureau of 
corporations, and it is understood 
that Mr. Davies, the present com- 
missioner of corporations, will be 
the chairman of the new interstate 
trade commission. With the en- 
larged powers that will come to the 
commission it is calculated that 
many investigations on a_ broader 
scope than was possible under the 
old law, will be taken up. Among 
these’ questions will be the right of 
manufacturers to establish resale 
prices by jobbers and retail dealers. 
CLARK CONTEMPLATES CHANGE. 
Speaker Clark contemplates the 
preparation of a joint resolution 
amending the constitution by 
changing the date of national elee- 
tions from November to August 
and the Inaugural date from March 
4th to the first of October following 
the election. The effect of this 
amendment would be to do away 
NORTH SHORE BREEZE 
with the short session of Congress 
which follows each national elec- 
tion and place the victorious party 
immediately in possession of the 
machinery of the government. Now, 
unless an extra session is called, the 
new Congress does not get down to 
work until thirteen months after its 
election. As an alternative to his 
proposal the Speaker would have 
both election and inauguration late 
in the spring to avoid bad weather. 
“ERLOQUENT IN MiRE APPEARANCE.” 
Washington appears disposed to 
overlook the small ‘‘break’’ of Am- 
bassador Page, who told the enthu- 
siastic Britishers how great a bene- 
fit to them would be the Panama 
Canal. The result of the Page inci- 
dent is that a suggestion has come 
. to the effect that our Ambassadors 
should be taught ‘‘to be eloquent in 
mere appearance,’’ and to let their 
oratory stop at that. 
LETTER May ACCOMPANY PACKAGE. 
Just why somebody did not have 
sense enough to think of it before 
is the impression that follows the 
reading of one of the latest orders 
of the Postmaster General. He de- 
erees that when the sender of a par- 
cel post package on which postage 
at the fourth class or parcel post 
rate is fully prepaid, desires that it 
may be accompanied with a com- 
munication which is not a permis- 
sible enclosure with matter mailed at 
that rate, the communication may 
he placed in an envelope fully pre- 
paid at the first class or letter rate 
of postage, and be attached to the 
parcel. In other words packages 
and letters can be sent fogether, 
thus insuring that the two will ar- 
rive at their destination at one and 
the same time. 
ADVERTISING His SPEECH For SALE. 
Again we must chronicle the ex- 
traordinary happenings of the ex- 
traordinary Kindell, who has fur- 
nished to this correspondence more 
copy than any other new member. 
It was Kindell who recently assured 
the public that “She would rather 
be a dead Senator than a live fool 
Representative,’’ giving this as a 
‘ reason for announcing himself as a 
candidate for Senator from Colo- 
rado. Representative Kindell re- 
cently made a speech, which he 
thought was good, and he stamped 
a pricelist for it in quantities and 
sent it broadeast. Along about the 
same time he threatened to institute 
impeachment proceedings against 
the Postmaster General. The Cabi- 
net official retorted by asking. Kin- 
dell to pay letter postage upon all 
speeches that he had sent out that 
were not entitled to the franking 
privilege. This amounted to about 
$8,000 and Kindell said he was just 
out of change. Since there is no 
penalty attached to the violation of 
this law, nothing but the noise and 
smoke is likely to come from it. 
Too Bap Pratt DIED. 
The United States Express Com- 
pany, child of former Senator Platt, 
and his legacy to his family, has 
announced that the shutters will be 
pulled down upon the buisness, and 
that it. will close up shop. The 
president of the United States Ex- 
press says that ‘‘the company is 
confronted by no theory, but a real 
condition.’’ He ascribes the 
troubles of his concern to the parcel 
post, an institution which was effec- 
tively prevented from being born 
when the ‘‘silent boss’’ was on the 
mortal side of the shadows. 
THE Homes OF JEFFERSON. 
Mrs. Martin W. Littleton, a dash- 
ing society lady of New York who 
proved to be a stronger politician 
than her husband, when the latter 
was in the last Congress; has re- 
turned to Washington and to her 
assault upon the private ownership 
of Monticello, Jefferson’s old home. 
Mrs. Littleton has enrolled many - 
Senators and Representatives to the 
support of the project for the goy- 
ernment to acquire the Jefferson 
estate. It is claimed that the Presi- 
dent has been loath to enter into 
the controversy, and Mrs. Littleton 
is reported to have said. that, she 
had tried for three weeks to secure 
an audience with the President, and 
had been unsuccessful. Her ex- 
perience illustrates the charge that 
the “‘open door’’ of the White 
House is kept pretty closely shut. 
Micut ANNIHILATE METROPOLITAN 
PRESS. 
If‘a bill before Congress with a 
Florida ‘‘statesman’’ as its author 
is passed, then those newspapers 
which are owned directly or in 
directly by any public service cor- 
poration will be excluded from the 
privileges of second class mail. It 
is not calculated that the ‘‘country 
press’’ will be materially affected, 
but if the Florida man’s bill should 
ever become a law, the problem 
would speedily present itself as to 
how the inhabitants of the large 
cities would get newspapers to read. 
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