Life — October 18, 1917 — page 18: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

— OCTOBER 18, 1917 VOL. 70 “*Whils there 1s Life there's Hope"* No. 1825 Published by LIFE PUBLISHING COMPANY JL A. Mirensit, Pres‘t. A. Miner, Secty and Treas. 17 West Thirty-first Street, New York English Offices, Rolls House, Bre: ONGR adjourning on October 6th, = received the BS) Presidential benediction, Mr, Wilson said it deserved our grati- tude and appreciation for its faithful execution of our will. He thought, too, that it had been as expeditious about it as could have been expected. This is the Sixty-fifth Congress, that began last qth of March and in ordi- nary times would not have assembled until next December, It was sum- moned on April 2nd, to get us into the war. It got us in, and provided more money to keep us in and to keep the war a-going until we could catch up with it than any legislature ever be- fore provided in the same space of time. Speaker Clark said in his good- bye: “Every dollar that the depart- ments or the President made it appear they needed they have gotten. I doubt that any Congress from now till the day of judgment will vote as much money in one session as we have voted.” Let us hope not. None the less let us all return thanks to the Congress- men for their timely prodigality. A good many of them voted our money with reluctance. A good many do not like our participation in the war, and some would rather have us on the other side. Nevertheless Congress as a whole has done its duty, and when the President says it has done it well he speaks as an expert whose opinion should be respected. This Congress will last until the 4th of March, 1919, so we shall have ns Bldgs., London, E, C. at least two more sessions in which to perfect our acquaintatice with it. It includes some members to whom the people of the country are under great obligations. Very few of us could say who those members are. The members who opposed the wishes of the coun- try have been much more thoroughly advertised than those who have spent their strength to do the people’s will. We know better who have been against us than for us. Only political or journalistic experts know much about Congress nowadays. Its proceedings are too long to read n if the papers printed them, which they don’t except in very abbreviated form, And just as in their daily record of current life, the newspapers put the biggest headlines over crime and give it ten lines of space to one to virtue, so in their attention to Con- gress the malefactors get most of the notice, the faithful workers plod more or less obscure and the carcless public get a worse impression of the Iegisla- tive branch of our government than is warranted by the facts, In the special session just ended a certain proportion of the members, not large but diligent, worked for delay and obstruction, and finally to put the burden of taxation where it would least affect their own constituents and their own section of the country. Their labors were not without effect. In con- sequence of them it took more time to get the necessary measures through, and they were able to fasten some in- equities of taxation onto the tax bill. To the leaders who fought these slack- ers and obstructionists we should all be grateful. In the main they have won their fight. in some details they were beaten, but not beyond hope of correction when this same Congress reassembles in December, cone. THE war news that we get is cheer- ing. The British successes in Bel- gium scem substantial, and show a degree of power that makes for the right kind of peace. Nothing that we know of that is going on at present is adapted to make a renewal of cam- paigning next spring, or even the usual proceedings in winter, look good to the Germans, And over here matters are driving along with a great deal of energy and cheerfulness, Everyone who visits one of the big camps comes back confirmed in the impression that we are in the war and going strong. This feeling is stimulated from time to time by dis- closures from Washington about the forwardness of our airplane and de- stroyer programmes. It really seems if our mechanisms were all begin- ning to chug-chug to some purpose, and that our enormous money-shed would presently show military results. ca——w!] HE frost is now on the pumpkin and this is the nutting season. Folks are out with bags in earnest quests and seem especially cr to bag the political and philosophical nuts. The disposition seems to be to gather the whole crop of them, and the Sceret Service of the United States is not too proud to help about it. It is a pretty big crop. The leading nut of all is Robert La Follette. A great many people want him gathered, and use the mails to urge the Senate to do it. If the Senate would only expel him, people think they could count him as in the bag. But probably it won’t expel, though it may censure, him, A committee has his case comicbooks!