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Show EECESS WELCOMED. Congress is to havo tho usual Christmas Christ-mas vacation; Prosident Wilson is going go-ing to some point on tho Gulf of Mexico Mex-ico to recuperate, and Secretary Bryan is duo to mako two or three speeches in the west early in the coming month. There is much reason to hopo that for the next two or three weeks at least a majority of the news items coming over the wires will not carry tho Washington Wash-ington dato line. The people of tho country have had a surfeit of -debates in congress and then some. We have had three extra sessions in rapid succession and endured so much oratory and argument on the tariff, the currency, reciprocity, trust-busting trust-busting and othor subjects which agitate agi-tate the minds of the politicians if not the voters, that it has seemed at times as if perpetual motion had been discovered dis-covered by chance at the national capital. Debates in tho senato and house rarely, if over, have any effect upon the votes cast for or against any particular par-ticular measure. Some speeches are made for home consumption and in such cases the local papers are furnished fur-nished with advance coplos to be dovetailed dove-tailed in when tho Associated Press carries a line announcing that Representative Repre-sentative So-and-So also spoko. Tom Reed once Baid of a long-winded Democratic member of tho houso that ho could not open his mouth without with-out subtracting something from tho sum total of human knowledge. There be many budding statesmen like unto tho base against whom the brilliant speaker launched his shaft of sarcasm. At least there aro many who, if they do not subtract anything from human knowledge, certainly do not add anything any-thing to it. Debates in congress are nearly always al-ways partisan. It is only nocessary for ono party to introduce a bill to arouse tho opposition, and it doesn't mako any difference if the proposed legislation is good, bad or indifferent, it will be assailed with as much energy and logic as tho opposition can command, com-mand, usually much more of the former than tho latter. The effect is wearing wear-ing upon the nerves and temper, not alono of those who perforce are compelled com-pelled to listen, but upon those who look to their party leaders for inspiration inspira-tion as weiL Many a senator or representative rep-resentative makes a pitiful failure when he rises in his place to oppose a bill simply because the other side introduced intro-duced it. In his essay on Samuel Johnson, Lord Macaulay wondered "how it chanced that a man who reasoned on his promises prom-ises so ably, Bhould assumo his premises prem-ises so foolishly" and then after calling call-ing attention to tho same inconsistency in other writers ho has this to say regarding re-garding tho legislative efforts of some lawyers who became mombers of parliament: par-liament: It Is tho samo with some eminent lawyers. Their higal arguments are Intellectual prodigies, abounding with the happiest analogies and the most refined distinctions. Tha principles of their arbitrary scienca being once admitted, their statute book and" tho reports being onco assumed as the foundations of reasoning, these men must be allowed to be perfect masters mas-ters of logic. But if a question arises aa to the postulates upon which their Whole system rests, if they are called upon to vindicate tho fundamental . maxims of that system which they havo passed their lives In studying, theso very men orten talk the language lan-guage of savages and children. Thosa who have listened to a man of thlq class In hla own court, and who havo witnessed the skill with which he analyzes and digests a vast mas8 of evidence, ar reconciles a crowd of precedents which a. first sight ceom contradictory, ecarcely know him again when, a few hours later, tjiey hear him speaking on tho other aide of Westminster hall in his capacity of legislator, Thoy can scarcely bo-lieve bo-lieve that the paltry quirks which are faintly heard through a storm of coughing, and which do not Impose on the plainest country gentleman, can proceed from the same sharp and vigorous intellect which had excited their admiration under the same roof, and cn tho same day. The samo criticism may bo pertly made of eminent lawyers in congress. They ofttimcs chow wonderful legal acumen while arguing cases in tho su-promo su-promo court in tho capitol and lamentably fail to impress thoir hearers hear-ers with their arguments in senate or houso, only a few steps distant. Debates De-bates dragged out to interminable lengths do not add to tho general store of knowledge. Neither do thoy Impress Im-press tho pooplo of tho country with tho wisdom of tho debaters on. either sido of any given question. In view of tho almost continuous performance per-formance of congress for tho last four or fivo years, tho country will not bo-grudgo bo-grudgo the legislators a rest- Indeed, thero bo those who would oxclaim tho longer tho bottor, but oven tho most uncharitable critics will wolcomo tho short interval of throo weeks. |
