_ val holiday.” 
ee 
| National Capital 
Events of Interest from the Seat of 
Government 
By J. E. Jones 
The Breeze Bureau 
Washington, Dec. 9, 1913- 
PEACE AND War TaLk 
On the first real working day in 
the House of Representatives since 
before the rising ot the harvest moon, 
and before the president of the Uni- 
_ ted States had hardly returned to the 
White House, the question of the 
world’s peace was taken up and ably 
defended. The Members of the 
House expressed unmistakable sym- 
pathy with the suggestion for a ‘‘na- 
The white emblematic 
dove had almost concluded to make 
' its roost in the Congressional nest, 
when Lieutenant Hobson arose to 
warn the country to “watch out for 
Germany.” Apparently Mr, Hobson 
little suspected that at that very mo- 
ment a measure had started on its 
way through the House providing 
for two hundred and forty-two thous- 
and volunteers, to be utilized in addi- 
tion to the regulars and militia in the 
event of hostilities. This measure 
was scheduled to pass the House 
within three days, and Republican 
leader Mann pointed out that it was 
identical with the action by Congress 
at the beginning of the Spanish 
American war, and he construed it 
as the signal for trouble with Mexico. 
_ Representative Moore of the Key- 
stone state, threw on the calcium light 
and pointed out that while it was all 
' very nice to talk about a “naval holi- 
day,” it would not be advantageous 
for Congress to commit itself in any 
way that would prevent it from build- 
ing two new battleships. 
Tue CurRENCY “LEGISLATION 
There seems to be a difference in 
- opinion as to the method in which the 
currency bill has been treated in the 
Senate. Senator O'Gorman of New 
York, declares that the criticism of 
the delay in the Senate is absolutely 
unwarranted, and he backs up his ar- 
gument by saying that of the two 
measures now before the Senate, rep- 
resenting the views of majority and 
minority members of the committee, 
that only a little over forty per cent. 
of the House measure is found in 
either report submitted. He there- 
fore concludes that the country owes 
much to the committee which insisted 
upon “intelligent deliberation.” Sena- 
NORTH SHORE BREEZE 
tor Goff of West Virginia protests 
against the charge that the Kepubii- 
can party has im any way been respon- 
sibie lor the delay in course OF legis- 
lation, and he denounces the acon 
ot the Democrats in iorcing iuatters 
with their own members when the 
country expected a non-partisan 
measure. 
KENTUCKY MEMBER Say: “INVESTI- 
GATE” 
Just because a District of Colum- 
bia footbail team met that of Virginia 
in the National Capital recently, some 
ot the members ot Congress, among 
whom is Representative ben Johnson 
oi Kentucky, have become excited 
over the hghly uproarious events ot 
the “evening tollowing the game.” 
Strange as rt may seem, the F. F. of 
V.’s showed quite as much human 
enthusiasm over their encounter with 
the Georgetown team as might have 
taken place down in the biue grass 
region or on broad western prairies. 
Since Congress is investigating every- 
thing nowadays, there is litttie occas- 
ion tor the members to get excited 
over little things like football. 
For AMERICAN SHIPS : 
American ships—what tew there 
are, have a friend in Senator Weeks 
of Massachusetts, who has introduced 
a_resolution giving vessels of the 
United States the monopoly in car- 
rying government supplies to the Pa- 
nama Canal Zone. One going from 
Boston to Panama would perhaps not 
see any American vessels except 
those engaged in this very business of 
carrying government supplies, or 
dead-heading Congressmen and other 
government officials between New 
York and the Canal. 
PERSONALITY IN Pusiic LIFE 
lf Rip Van Winkle should come 
to Washington and acquaint himself 
with political conditions of the pres- 
ent day he would doubtless be struck 
by the absence of personal feeling 
between political combatants as com- 
pared with other days. When Sena- 
tor La Follette came to Washington 
with his Wisconsin ideas, he was 
treated as an outcast by the members 
of the great body to which he had 
been elected. In the House of Rep- 
resentatives, Representative Norris 
of Nebraska and other “insurgents” 
were getting the same kind of a dose. 
How different it is today, when men 
like Senator Hitchcock, who is en- 
tirely at outs with his party on the 
currency question, is treated “just as 
though nothing had happened” by his 
fellow Democrats, whereas less than 
3 
ten years ago all fingers would have 
pointed him out as a traitor. The 
sane was true in regard to the Louis- 
lana members who took up the op- 
position againts the Democratic party 
in making the tariff bill. Only a few 
old-fashioned politicians characteriz- 
ed the action of these men as ‘‘trea- 
son,” and in the few weeks since the 
close of the tariff affair the matter 
has been forgotten so far as the men 
themselves are concerned. In the 
Senate Mr. Poindexter of Washing- 
ton is the lone avowed Progressive. 
While Senators Clapp, Bristow, and 
a few others are known to sympathize 
with the Progressive movement, yet 
Mr, Poindexter alone confesses that 
he is a “Bull Moose.” He is treated 
with as much consideration and 
courtesy by his fellows as if he were 
a majority leader in this fine body of 
men. Over on the House side, Pep- 
resentative Mann, the Republican 
leader, was about the only one to 
sneer at Victor Murdock when he 
came into the sixty-third Congress, as 
the leader of the Progressives, Now 
Murdock, Hinebaugh of Illinois, 
Bryan and Faulkner of Washington, 
Bell of California, and all the rest, 
are not discriminated against as in- 
dividuals though their numbers are 
small as compared with those of the 
other parties. The lesson is that it is 
no longer unpopular to express one’s 
views according to the manner of 
honest thought, since nowadays re- 
spectful consideration is accorded the 
views of statesmen, even though dif- 
ferent from the stereotyped doctrines 
of political parties. 
THE AMBITIONS OF GUAM 
The decrease in the beef supply and 
consequent high prices is causing 4 
great deal of agitation, both in the 
papers and in the minds of the peo- 
ple at large, who feel as though it 
were almost an impossibility to do 
without their “morning chop.” The 
farmers and cattle raisers through- 
out the country have found that with 
the high price of land and feed, it is 
much more profitable to sell their 
crops outright than in the more direct 
method of putting it on the market 
as meat. This conclusion can he 
plainly seen in these startling figures: 
In 1910 there were in the range states 
of the west, 30,000,000 cattle, while 
in 1913 there were but 23,000,000, a 
decrease of 7,000,000 in three years. 
To meet the constantly growing de- 
mands, Argentine beef has been ship- 
ped into this country, but it is found 
to be of inferior quality. With a 
view to benefit by this condition, the 
island of Guam is importing and 
