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Show KITCHIN'S FOLLY. Claude Kitchin, chairman of the house ways and means committee until the 4th of next March, has balked tho plan of tho administration to make provision for loans to our allies after the return of peace. Whether the action of Kitchin was of purely malicious origin or the outcropping of pro-Germanism or the result of a restricted outlook, it is not . worth while to inquire. It is enough to know that the chairman of the most powerful and influential house committee is no more of a patript now than ho was when war was declared by congress. We should all bo thankful that there is a change coming in the course of a few weeks in the chairmanship chairman-ship he now holds. Kitchin has been a stumbling block in the pathway of the administration at the most critical period in the history of the republic, and no excuses can be made for his unpatriotic un-patriotic course. His elevation to tho chairmanship of tlie ways and means committee came about by reason of the seniority rule, which so frequently results re-sults iu tho placing of power in Hie hands of men of small mental capacity, and, in many cases, poli ticians who would never become statesmen if they , lived long enough to break Methuselah's record for longevity. Kitchin is one of tho little fellows who have floated to the surface, and the people of the count ry eagerly await the hou r when cun'ress is to be skimmed. - It is of the utmost importance t h at the L' u ifod St a t f.s continue to ma lie !n;.n in the U i " 1 countri- i-fter-the ;n':ii-r proc la ni:i t in ll is i'-ued. There '. a 1 a-t amount of reconstruction work 'o tie pit-formed, and the nations wticrc :he bulk of the work is needed will he ;i;nblo to pay cash for the material to be ,cd. Tt is the genera! e:xc''aun that A m eric a will enjoy the bulk of such after-tiie-war trade. Chairman Kitchin, however, is attempting to prevent pre-vent tho manufacturers of tho United States from securing the business by using tho ways and means committee and his power as Democratic leader. Jutt at this ti me whn the munitions and other war industries plants are being be-ing transformed iu order that products needed in time of peace may be manufactured manu-factured and labor kept well employed, it would be treasonable to interfere. Soldiers by hundreds of thousands are being discharged and employment must be found for these men. If we are unable un-able to sell structural material to tho war-torn countries of Europe, many of our largest plants must eventually close down or "skimp along as best they may. The only way to secure the trade is to make further loans to the allies. This fact is apparent to even the most casual observer of current event?, and we are unable to find the least objection to the plan of former Secretary McAdoo. Not only would the manufacturers of the United States sell vast quantities of material at good prices, but intorest upon hundreds of millions of dollars would be paid in this country annually, which would be used to pay the interest on tho Liberty bonds held by the American Ameri-can people. Tho government would bo simply loaning its credit to the European Euro-pean nations in their hour of extreme need, and we should bo willing to do j that much at a time when we arc try- j ling to bring peace and prosperity to the i world for all time to come. If there is ! a man in tho country who wishes to ; squeeze tbo last penny out of the bleed- ; ing countries of" Europe and take j chances on the extension of our foreign 1 trade, such an individual is not only ; mean-spirited but short-sighted as well. |