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Show Republican Constructive Construc-tive Legislative Postal Post-al Savings Bank Washington, Juno 23. Tho frequency fre-quency with which tho Post Office Department De-partment makes elaborate announte-ment announte-ment of tho success of tho Postal Savings Dank, and Its effusiveness In laudation of that branch of tho service, ser-vice, might lead somo people to be-Hovo be-Hovo that tho Demcoratlo party was the or.'glnator of that governmental aid to small savings. It will bo surprising, sur-prising, therefore, to those who aro not familiar with tho facts, when the record Is brought forward to show that tho Postal Savings Dank' law was enacted with almost unanimous opposition on the part of Democratic Senators and Representatives. Examination of tho record In this regard Is particularly opportuno In view of tho recent declaration of President Wilson that the Republican can party has not had a now Idea for thirty years. Tho Postal Savings Dank law, In tho form In which it was cnaitcd, must cortalnly havo been a Republican Idea as dtstingu'sh ed from a Democratic Idea, for It was passed by Republicans over tho protest pro-test of Domocrats, This measure was enacted In 1910 and signed by President Taft on Juno 25 of that year. It was introduced In tho Senato by tho Into Senator Carter Car-ter of Montana. It was reported to tho Senato by a Republican committee, commit-tee, and passed by that body by a voto of fifty to twenty-two, evory affirmative af-firmative voto oxcopt ono being by a Republican, and every adverse voto being cast by a Democrat. Of courso senators who wore paired, every Democrat was paired against, and evory Republican paired In favor of tho bill. A similar situation confronted tho mcasuro on Its arrival In tho House It passed that body after tonsldcra-bio tonsldcra-bio debato by a voto of 193 to 102, party lines being vory strictly observed. ob-served. Among thoso distinguished gentlemen gentle-men who voted against tho bill woro A. S. Durleson, tho present Postmaster Post-master Gonoral; Champ Clark of Missouri, tho then minority leader and present Spealsor of tho House; Congroscman Moon of Tonncssof ' then ranking member of tho I .a Post Offlco Commtltco and now chairman chair-man of the Commltteo Representative Fitzgerald of New York, tho present I leaders of tho Democratic sldo of tho House; and Mr. Oscar W. Underwood, Under-wood, tho nowly elected Senator from Alabama. Few measures In that Congress were fought more bitterly by tho Democrats Dem-ocrats than was tho Postal Savings Dank bill. All sorta of evil In env-eminent env-eminent and flnauco wcro predicted as a result of tho enactment of such a policy Into law. Tho principal arguments made against tho bill woro that Jt would lead to tho establishment of a central bank, that money would bo drawn from private banks to bo deposited In tho Postal Savings Dank and that money would be drawn from tho outlying out-lying communities to the commonlal centers. Dut tlmo and experience have demonstrated tho wisdom of thoso Republican leaders who framed the legislation, pushed It to onact-ment, onact-ment, and put It Into operation. No small measure of their reward Is In witnessing the long delayed acknowledgement acknowl-edgement on tho part pf thn Democrats Demo-crats that this leg'slation was wlso and beneficial. As a pleco of permanent constructive construc-tive legislation, It will stand as a testimony to tho efficiency of a Republican Re-publican Congress and a Republican President. Although tho original act has been amended in some minor parts it still stands on tho atatuto books in Its original form and any proposed ihangea aro n matter of detail de-tail and not of fundamental Importance. |