Newspapers / The Commonwealth (Scotland Neck, … / March 21, 1912, edition 1 / Page 7
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RAL APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF OUR PUBLIC ROADS hnd Duty of Congress Unquestioned from the Founda- Ition of the Government .. ,im snrrrh of Oscar W. UnderwnoH in Vi TT c tr ' , Itraas ' - . 11 bos iluuse ot Kep- f House being in Committee of the Whole House on the state of the ,,J having under consideration the bill (H. R. 19158) makincr Liation tor the Department ot Agriculture for the fiscal year ending r). I- , -. Underwood said. Objection is made to this appropriation looking to the im- UNDERWOOD HOUSE LEADER CLEAN COURAGE, HIGH HONESTY FAITHFUL IN HIS FRIENDSHIPS ,:ies iu --- or ninarance on t of the I ederal Uoyernment l db not oeiieve the Central Government enter into w: mat uciong soieiy to the States, but I it the reuerai vjuvcrmiiciu, wunin its well-defined powers has its rform under the powers given it by the Constitution; that 'it should -a fffprt tn the errants of . nnwer W vr " ..." , i ' " J e states, ana one rants oi iwp i" "-y, - ""sk-sc oi tne constitution, is "to estah- nnst-roads. can be no question whatever that the Constitution carries the power U post-roads m u.c ucu oiaies. io establish post-offices means to r iml tn establish nost-rnarlc moon? K..:u j inst-ouii-c. . ; - - "nous iu uuuu posi-roaas. ijen- rnav scon at me t"TH,un ami s,iy mat tne lathers did not contern ' ,...nt development and modern methnHc ..: t ."template" tuiJiuu'K j v-wy uic man uirougn the wrtderness and dream ot a umc unug wi.cn uit man couia be delivered at every doer, t'ttt i I" fay, iir. nairman, that the need for post-roads United State was. no greater in tne days ot the fathers than today. Douclas. nere aoes tne gentleman hnd anything in the Constitution the Federal Government to build post-roads? 'Vnderv, -cod. v ny, it is very ciear. ltie Constitution gives the power i." ii-ral Liovci iuin.ui iu cjiauiisii pusL-uiiices anu post-roaas I iUl . . i r iU. , Douf'as- Jre ld"su,1c U1 UiC -onsuiuiion is to establish post-roads, L 'v,a5 been held to be a very different thing from building them. Wi" in'?. J iuLL uiovucu iii me i niru oneress ana was favtr ci uie tiMisnutuun oi tne cumDeriana road by some of the i" ,1-rnrc the Constitution. I . '"t wrote the Constitution. I jern-ood. The contention that is made today by the leaders of the Lf party that the Government of the United States has no constitu- k ' - iluvo 1'UJ HU V.J113tLU- ;wff to aid the Mates in building good roads was certainly not main- v.. w eafliiifi: men ui mc uauun uuring tne nrsi nan centurv ot our L js a Government. L March H. l?l! the House of Representatives passed the following res- j.'-vj That Congress has power under the Constitution to ap- ltw . . . . e . . t .... . riate money tor tne construction oi post-roaas, military and otner ; and of canals, and for the improvement of waterways." - feiltrson said, in a letter to Mr. Lieper, in 1S08: Give it; peace till our revenues are liberated from debt, and then, if Sf rece.arv. it can De carried on witnout a new tax or loan, and re neace we may checker our whole country with canals, roads, ";.: : object to wnicn au our enaeavors snouia dc airectea. ecretary c-f War in 1S19 Mr. Calhoun made a report to the House i r' c: of tVc kind is more important and there is none to which ate cr 'individual capacity is more inadequate. It must be perfected the General Ooverr.ment or not perlccted at ail. Jd;-ir. to this. Congress has a stronger and more specific warrant for " tH? apTOiriation, Hinder the authority conferred by the Constitution 'e "'.'" , i . 1 if . 1 . i 11 . . .I;;-, prst-onices ana post-roaas. cooiey, in nis dook on uonstuu- Lav.-, say; : "Everv t ai within a State, including railroads, canals, turnpikes, ltd naviyaV.e streams, existing or created within a State, becomes a fcst-roai v.her.i-ver. by the action of the Post-Office Department, pro- sL-n i izzile for the transportation of the mails upon or over it. iouthern Presi- The Conserva- ential Possibility fee mention of Oscar W. Under- of Alabama, for the Democratic :r.:ia! nomination resides a good ore than a suggestion that we :-i too far away from the Civil a to regard a statesman as nec- rtavailable" because he comes commonwealth that was a mem- the Southern Confederacy. the men row before the country sijie or probable Democratic es tor the Presidency, Lnder- certair.iy one of the stroneest. had a t'.ne training in Congress, ' himself a man of natural force :e capacity lor work and work- 'v.iat we want in executive oosi- He has been a member of the of Representatives for some fif- ars, and has risen bv force of r.d nothing but merit, to a posi- ;cn made it inevitable that he be Chairman of the Committee h and Means when the Demo te into control of the oooular of the Government. He has the ne environment, the enthusiasm, rage, the political sagacity, and emanly qualities fully to justify ration m connection with the mai nomination. r.',erv'.od is a conservative man, capasla of rntprtsinincr nro- - o x e iQea.s and at the same time of wl.y the dutv and the ne- 'Or conserving substantial inter- e cemmunitv. The Democratic :lr-t go farther and do vastly rn if it should nominate him lard-bearer of 1912. Mun- lir.r.e, January, 1912. pWOOD IN THE WEST ?'J-Sed to see this State mov- 'nderful growth of Birming strve that The Age-Herald "as led in the work. .?rr'Wir.tr strpntrfti of Dcrar TTn- the minds of the people ' !ie United States has given ?- -ind nf nnhlirit-v that the j , . f j ; a o. tain in no other way, , tne great question or f come out of Alabama with ' ir-terests who would be a 'le,y the trusts. Oscar Un- terrarded by many men as ''nir;' d, cleanest, fairest man tinned for the presidency. If "d'C.a, ne will undoubtedly y rorig sentiment of the ''' his election he will be Jnt in Colorado, with its 'it ye',. r n :. . ',sllul i rum an parts iTc"i -'tates, he is the first man rn': 't f.f thrm Tho nrnm- and the tns candidacy by the public press has ,s,rf",S tid. to rise which I 'r!ievc vviil carry him to the . I TOOK mnrh T1aciir 'J r'rgar,izinr the Underwood frmoct: , , " ,s "ing gooa rcu t ,c r'irr"'ngnam, Ala., U 'J. January R. 1Q1t? tive South Not manj days ago, it was suggested in an editorial in this paper that the peo ple of that section of the Union that tried a half a century ago to break up the Union of the States, might possibly turn out to be the home of a conser vatism that would stand as a barrier against a change in our scheme of gov ernment that would destroy the fabric of the Constitution adopted by our wise forefathers, and ratified by the States that had fought for and achieved inde pendence and freedom. As evidence that such a thing may be among the possibilities a paragraph is here quoted from a speech made by Hon. Oscar V. Underwood, of Ala bama, to the Young Men's Democratic League of St. Louis: "Some Democrats want to- put the initiative and referendum plank into the national platform of the Democratic party. I " think that would be unwise. The initiative and referendum as a local issue is sometimes successful. But when you at tempt to apply it to the United States you destroy the entire fabric of the Constitution. We are not a true democracy. This is a representative Govern ment." As the reader knows, Mr. Underwood is the Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee of the House of Representa tives at Washington. But for the fact that he is a native and a life-long resi dent of the South he would stand a iine chance to be made the Democratic can didate for President next year. Candor compels the statement that he is as well qualified for the performance of the du ties of the great office as any one in his party who has been mentioned in that connection, and it is not doubted that if elected he would make a safa President. Knoxville Journal and Trib une, October 24, 1911. DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP The most salient fact connected with the story of the bill in the present Con gress is the remarkable strength of the Democratic tactics, and the high qual ity shown by Mr. Underwood, the leader of the party on the floor. The "farmer's free list" bill was a master stroke, and Mr. Underwood utilized it in the debate with an effectiveness that left nothing to be desired. What gives real strength to the Democratic position is that the party is grappling with a big and difficult question in a spirit that is at once courageous and practical. If there is to be an era of such leadership as that rep resented by Mr. Underwood, the term "practical politics" may be rescued from the ignominy into which it has fallen and recover the meaning to which it is legitimately entitled. Nnv York Eve ning Post, reproduced in The El Dorado Sun (Weekly), El Dorado Springs, Mo. His name is Oscar W. Underwood; his years are on the sunshine side of fifty. As chief of the Ways and Means, and chairman of the Committee on Com mittees, he is Speaker Clark's right arm in the House. Mr. Underwood's cry is "Tariff for revenue only !" When Mr. Bryan, eaten of a rule-or-ruin spirit, came to Wash ington at the beginning of the special session to trouble the waters of party hope with an attack upon the wool bill as proposed by the Democrats, Mr. Un derwood, in going after Mr. Bryan, stated his own tariff position. Said he: "The Democratic party stands for a tariff for revenue. ' The Democratic party does not stand for free trade, and I do not believe the people will be misled by the statement of Mr. Bryan." That Mr. Underwood is against pro tection, and fights it, evinces his cour age. He comes from the Birmingham district in Alabama a breeding-ground of protection. In Mr. Underwood's dis trict there are nine railroads, one hun dred and fortv-eigrht miles of street-car tracks, $150,000,000 of invested indus tries, an annual pig-iron output of 2,000,000 tons, and a production of 15,000,000 tons of coal. The city of JBirminerham has an annuaPpay-roll of $50,000,000. The Tennessee Coal & Iron Company, which is a part of the Steel Trust, controls one-third of all the prod ucts of the district. One-third of all the iron-ore holdings of the Steel Trust are in and around Birmingham. Surely, at first glance, a bad outlook for a tariff reformer! And yet Mr. Underwood succeeds and re-succeeds himself, with ever climbing majorities. It is the Underwood honesty that does it that, and his clean courage. The dominant quality in Mr. Underwood is honesty, and folk have found it out Honesty is among the scarcest of earth ly commodities, and when a community has discovered it in the possession of an individual; it guards it and works it like a gold-mine for every final ounce. Mr. Underwood is honest: His elec tion was not the work of money. He was not chosen as either the pet of the railroads or the first-born of the trusts. His seat was given him by the people, and because they believed he would fill it to the best of public advantage. This emanation of the popular gives Mr. Underwood the House high ground, and he is so far military in his genius that he knows how to. fortify and hold it. From his place as a people's repre sentative, he can overstare and keep in check the Paynes and the Dalzells and the Crumpackers, who are present mere ly by the grace of pirate money, and dwell, therefore, on House levels much lower than his own. Alfred Henry Lewis in the Cosmopolitan, New York, January, 1912. As the head of the Ways and Means Committee, Mr. Underwood has shown himself to be the right man in the right place. What advances are made by the party in 1912 will be due largely to him. He knows tariff in all its schedule windings, as a man knows the hallways of his own house. He has wisdom. He has temper and spirit, but is neither unreasonable nor vindictive. I have faith in the tariff thoroughness of Mr. Underwood. If I owned the revenues of the Government, I shouldn't hesitate to employ him as night-watchman. Alfred Henry Lewis, in the Cosmopol itan, January, 1912. Mr. Underwood is faithful in his friendships. To those whom he casually meets, he is affable, albeit non-committal, keeping his own counsel. He is never rude nor hard; never violent, even with blood foes. For the stranger within his gates his air is gentle and frank. He is easy to see, and, speaking generally, has been ever careful to keep himself within the reach of all. News paper folk, sent to Mr. Underwood by some stress of duty, never fail to like him. He has his dignity, but there is no reserve. He maintains no distances between himself and them. He answers a question with a round readiness, or says plainly that he can't answer it and tells why. He expedites the business in hand, and will even anticipate the pur pose of one's coming, and put questions to himself. Alfred Henry Lewis, in the Cosmopolitan, New York, January, 1912. UNDERWOOD'S INTEGRITY, PURITY CIVIC COURAGE AND ABILITY In this morning's magazine section of The Times our readers will find the very interesting report of an inquiry by a staff correspondent into the record and repute, in his own home, of the Hon. Oscar V. Underwood of Ala bama, who has recently been discussed as a possible Democratic candidate for the presidency. It is needless to say that The Times is not concerned to ad vance the interests of any gentleman in this direction in preference to any other: It is concerned only in laying before its readers such information, carefully gathered and impartially pre sented, as will aid in the formation of sound public opinion and a choice that will be to the greatest advantage of the Nation. We think our readers will agree that any party may be congratulated among whose prominent men, to whom the eyes of the party are directed on the eve of a presidential campaign, there is one with such standing among those who know him best as Mr. Underwood has. Plainly he is a man to be trusted, because he is trusted, for his integrity, puritv, civic courage, and ability, by his own 'people. Whether, when the time comes for a choice, he will be consid ered the best man is a question which it is now too early to decide. But there is one element that will enter into the problem which may well receive atten tion even thus early. It is the fact that Mr. Underwood is a man of South ern birth, a Representative from a South ern State. There is a feeling, rather than a definite opinion, which finds ex pression more often in his own section than in the North, and perhaps more often in his own party than in the op posite party, that this fact would be a source of weakness if Mr. Underwood were named by the Democracy. Of course, this is a matter not easily to be decided with confidence in ad vance. There has been no occasion for a distinct expression of public sentiment regarding it. It is a half century since a Southern candidate for the presidency came before the Nation, and a good deal longer than that since one was elected. Great events have intervened and left their impress on the minds and hearts of men, the depth and di rection of which no one can surely es timate. Our own judgment is that a candidate from the South other things being equal would not be weaker and might even be the stronger for that fact. In a broad way, it may safely be said that there is in our people now a sense of tried and proved and established nationality which might, and probably would, welcome an opportunity for manifesting itself. This sense of na tionality has grown progressively ever since the close of the war for the Union. It has been steadily strength ened by the conditions of our National life and especially by the intimate, ex tensive, and increasing intercommuni cation within our borders. Our people have for forty years literally lived to gether, and always more and more closely. They have gradually ceased to think in terms of sections, and the South is to-day no more distinct and apart from the East or the Middle West or the West in the minds of those who dwell elsewhere. In the next place, no one under sixty has any personal experience of the civil conflict, and that means not mere ly that the majority but that the great body of voters are without this ex perience. It is more than a quarter of a century since the "Southern Ques tion" entered even nominally into a National contest. If it were raised now by any party, and those who would be influenced by it had to stand up and be counted, we believe they would be ludicrously few. On the other hand, we are confident that, were the issue made, a great many voters chiefly among those who were most earnest in their loyalty in the civil war would by a common impulse of generosity and of self-respect incline toward the Southern candidate. If forced really to think of the matter, and to act on their conclu sions, it would seem too absurd to act in the present on the issues long since settled, settled in their favor, and set tled forever. The New York Times, November 26, 1911. A Voice FVom Virginia "All of the avowed aspirants are men of distinction and merit, but my individual opinion is that the party has an opportunity to make a magnificent selection by choosing for its standard bearer in 1912 the wise, well-balanced and thoroughly equipped Alabamian, Hon. Oscar Underwood. "Mr. Underwood's record in states manship is a good enough guarantee of his fitness for the White House. He measures up to all the requirements of the exalted position. He is fearless and broad-minded, and there is nothing of the demagogue in his composition. Some will cavil at his Southern origin and raise the oft-repeated cry that no Southerner can be elected to the presi dency. This bugaboo is raised in spite of the fact that all the leading papers of the North and South and all writers of any note have declared time and again that sectional feeling and preju dice, based on the war of '61-65, have died out completely. "If that be true is there any longer any valid reason against going to the South for a candidate? If Mr. Under wood's personality and public service render him peculiarly available should the matter of location bar him from the nomination? The idea is absurd." Hon. A. C. Broxton, of Richmond, Va., in The Baltimore Sun, January, 1912. UNDERWOOD LOOMS UP Whether the disclaimer of Represen tative Oscar W. Underwood of candi dacy for the Democratic nomination for president is to stand or not, there is no question that he is looming large and seriouslv, no less at the North than at the South, as a possibility, if not this time, then in the near future. Mr. Underwood is making a widespread and distinctive impression, net only as the honest, bold, sagacious leader of the House majority, and not only as a mas terful Southern Democrat, but as an American publicist and statesman a man of affairs and broad concept of his responsibility to the whole people. Richmond, Va., Times-Dispatch, re printed in the Birmingham, Ala., Age Herald, January 22, 1912. HEARS MUCH POLITICAL TALK "In traveling through the country I hear no end of political talk," said James A. Braun, sales manager of the Wyeth Chemical Company of New 1 "Durin the past five or six weeks I have heard Underwood very much dis cussed as a presidential proposition I found in the Carolinas a great deal of Underwood sentiment. I have been keeping up with Underw o ods record in Congress, and I behave that his commanding position in the Democratic party will be appreciated by the rank and file of the Democracy. -Age-Herald, Birmingham, Ala., Jan. 7, iyi. Jackscrew or Axe That with the Democratic party al ready in power in the House, and hav ing a visible chance of coming into com plete power in the National Govern ment, it is of interest to learn from what viewpoint the actual pilot-in-charge of the Democracy's legislative ship looks at his task and by what stars he shapes his course. Am thpv fivpH and stradfast- licrlitc ctf the political firmament or are they mere ly those will-o'-the wisps that flame up as "paramount issues" for this year, only to be forgotten next year? We get a comforting light on this question from another remark by Mr. Under wood: "I think the big question is the tariff. It is the question of the development of the industries and commerce of the nation." From a Democrat that is a remark well-nigh startling. It exhibits such an unusual viewpoint. It . is almost like hearing Andrew Carnegie confess that there might be such a thing as a right eous war. Heretofore, our Democratic statesmen have so uniformly declared that there was nothing to the tariff question but stopping "robbers" from robbing. They never seemed to think of a tariff 9 Viavlncr anvthinp- to do with the de velopment of industries and commerce. Mr. Underwood does. He says we should reduce our tariff because with the settlement of the West we have left behind the days when our home market absorbed the products of our factories and left us no surplus for which we needed to look for a market abroad. He holds that our industrial develop ment has outstripped the increase in domestic demand, and that we are pro ducing, or at least have the existing ca pacity to produce, a great surplus of manufactures for which we must find markets in other countries. Therefore, and since "we cannot trade with other people unless we permit them to trade with us," reduce the tariff to a competi tive basis to the "lowest rates that will raise the revenues that the exigencies of the Government require." One may agree or disagree with that theory of tariff -making. One may disbe lieve that its effects will be "develop ment of the industries and commerce of the nation." But at least it is a theory consistent with itself and professing constructive aims and not merely clam oring for destruction. . . And its proponent is no doctrinaire fresh from academic halls with his nod dle crammed with "solutions" of every thing. Neither is he the freak product of passing popular delight with the latest novelty among politcal entertainers. Chicago Inter-Ocean, September 26, 1911. . ESTIMATE OF OPPONENTS Men like Payne and Mann declare him to be the most resourceful an tagonist they have found on the Demo cratic side. A skillful parliamentarian, a good speaker, holding himself always in perfect control, he is a model leader, and his following is daily increasing. Washington Correspondence m The Evening Bulletin, Philadelphia, Pa., June, 1911. A Voice From Florida "Oscar Underwood, however, has more friends than any man mentioned for the Democratic presidential nomi nation. He is more popular throughout the country with all the Democrats than the others. He is almost the unanimous second choice. If you ask the Harmon men who they would be for in case Harmon could not be nominated they will say Underwood; when you ask the Wilson men the same question as to Wilson, they reply that if Wilson can not be the nominee, Underwood is their choice; and the same thing is true of the Champ Clark men." T. A. Jennings, National Committeeman from Florida, in the Pensacola Evening News, Friday evening, January 12, 1912. INITIATIVE, REFERENDUM AND RECALL DOCTRINES CONTRARY TO THE FUNDA MENTAL PRINCIPLES OF OUR GOVERNMENT (In address before Young Men's Democratic League of St Louis, Oct 16, 191 L) "Some Democrats want to put the initiative and referendum plank into the National platform of the Democratic party. I think 'that would be unwise.' The initiative and referendum as a local issue is sometimes successful But when you attempt to apply it to the United States you destroy the entire fabric of the Constitution. We are not a true democracy. This is a representative government." From Knoxville Journal and Tribune, Oct. 24, 1911. MR. UNDERWOOD Meanwhile Mr. Underwood has a work to do in Washington for which he has revealed a remarkable aptitude. It is not too much to say that the existing harmony among the Democratic mem bers of the House, and the ability they showed at the last session to work to gether, are largely due to his skillful leadership. He proposes to resume the task of tariff revision at the point where it was interrupted by the President's vetoes. The Providence (R. I.) Jour nal, December 2, 1911. UNDERWOOD AND THE PAPERS The careful reader of the newspapers is surprised at one notable feature of the papers from practically every sec tion of the country. This feature is the general notice and attention paid to Con gressman Oscar Underwood as a candi date for the Democratic presidential nomination, and the uniform praise which invariably accompanies the men tion of him and his candidacy. This is all the more surprising because Mr. Un derwood maintains no press bureau. On the other hand, prominent candidates for the Democratic nomination like Gov ernor Harmon of Ohio, Governor Wil son of New Jersey and Speaker Clark of Missouri, maintain large and active bureaus, which are continually sending out campaign literature to the papers of the country. Notwithstanding this, at the present time Mr. Underwood is receiving more attention than any other, we might say any other two, presidential candidates combined. The attitude of the voters towards Mr. Underwood may be doubted until that attitude is made clear in an election, but it cannot be doubted that his record and his strong personality are admired by the newspapers of the country. For now he is receiving more free and favorable advertising than any other public man of the country. Montgomery (Alabama) Advertiser, January 5, 1912. A FIGURE OP NATIONAL SIZE The emphasis here is placed upon Mr. Underwood's wisdom, but along with this is mentioned his honesty. These two qualities greatly impress every one who comes into association with Mr. Underwood, or who closely follows his course in Congress and in public life. He is wise: he does not disturb himself about little things; his own personality is not obtruded ; his political ambitions play no part in gov erning his words and actions. He has an eye single to the performance of duty and believes that duty well per formed is the most urgent considera tion. If doing his duty should mar his fortunes as he certainly believed it would when he voted against the pen sion bill he will take what comes with out complaining. Not every man can be president, he thinks, but every man can try to do the best that is in him for his country and for the times he lives in. And this is honesty. He plays no politics; he stands out against raiding the treasury no matter what be the ex cuse offered and he opposes his own friends and associates quite as firmly as he opposes his opponents when, in his judgment, the thing proposed to be done is not for the common good. In a politician this would be accounted recklessness, because party and spoilt are translated in many minds to mean the same thing; but it is the highest wis dom in a statesman. Even should it have but partial success in controlling a party following, it must be productive of immense good in showing that the South has in Mr. Underwood a man who can be trusted by the Nation a man whose patriotism is not limited by small things, nor suffering from the burden of any prejudice. For our part, -we believe that such wisdom is of more practical value than would be the keenest political schem ing; and that this very absence of self seeking, this contempt for the arts of the politician, is working for him, while he himself has his mind centered upon things he regards as of more moment. The country could do no better than to put its entire trust in such a man; and there is good reason to think that it will do so. As Mr. Lewis says, it should not "hesitate to employ him as night watchman." This coming, not from the South, but from a writer whose attitude is critical and whose atmosphere is of the North, is certainly a tribute not to be despised; its significance is very great. The Mobile (Alabama) Register, January 21, 1912. Southern Leaders and th riff No sensible man, certainly no one friendly to the South, wishes to see the tariff made a sectional question. The course of Mr. Clark and Mr. Under wood tends to prevent this. They stand not only with their own party through out the country, but with the strong public sentiment in support of tariff re duction that has divided the Republican party, and thrown the House into the hands of the Democrats. When we say that in this they are serving their own section, we have in mind the important fact that they are bringing to bear on national affairs the intelligence and strength of their section, and giving it the opportunity to take a leading part iii the affairs of the Nation. They are undermining the unfortunate section alism that has, perhaps unavoidably, pervaded Southern politics for a long time. Ihey are ranging the bouth on the side of progress and in the line of the most significant movement of national opinion that has manifested it self in years. Nothing is more certain than that our vast and intricate and oppressive tariff system is to be reformed, and its reform is bound to be the one task of statesmanship in the next few years. It can be determined, and under certain conditions it can be led by the men of the South. New York Times, January 31,, 1911. Underwood Among 1912 Posslbiliti The threatened breakdown of Ma jority Leader Underwood, as a result of long hours of hard work on the tariff in the Ways and Means Committee, put many a Democrat in a nervous state of mind. There developed suddenly a full appreciation of the worth of the Ala bama Congressman as a leader. For Mr. Underwood to become disabled or to be removed from the scene of his usefulness at this critical time would be like pulling a corner post out from under a platform on which was heaped most of the political treasures of the party, Democrats quite generally are willing to admit. Credit for the achievements of the Democratic House bearing the stamp of constructive statesmanship is given readily to the majority leader. Due to his success as a legislative manager his ability in most tests to keep the House Democracy united and the fact that Civil War wounds have been allowed to heal because of the scarcity of public men of the type of Senator Heyburn, of Idaho, a Southerner is being se riously considered North and South as presidential material. The Underwood-for-Presidenfc movement has been at tracting volunteer workers steadily since last spring, when the newly-installed Democratic House assumed its responsibilities. An Underwood boom for the Democratic nomination for President put on long trousers at the beginning of this, the national campaign year. Austin Cunningham, in the San Antonio Express, January S, 1912. Underwood a Real IVI an The Democrats of the House have reason to be proud of their floor lead er, Chairman Underwood, of the Ways and Means Committee. Mr. Underwood has given ample evidence of the pos session of the qualities of mind essen tial to the position. He has also dem onstrated most conclusively that he is a man who cannot be cajoled or bul lied from the course he considers right In the debate over the Canadian rec iprocity bill former Speaker Cannon made the bluff that the steel trust fa vors the enactment of the measure. Mr. Underwood called the bluff very effectively by producing a telegram from his home district saying that the United States Steel Corporation has stopped work on important mills there, giving as their reason that Underwood stood in Congress advocating the tariff reductions on steel included jn this bill. Mr. Underwood added that two years ago the steel trust opposed his election because of the tariff views and threat ened to turn him out of Congress if he voted for reductions on steel duties. "I voted for them just the same," he stated, "arid they failed in their efforts to turn me out of Congress." Underwood is every inch a man, and the people have more respect for one such as he than for a whole battalion of corporation-controlled standpatters. The Ocala Daily Banner, Florida. April 29, 1911. . A PRACTICAL DEMOCRAT St. Louis honors Oscar W. Under wood for his character, for his achieve ments and for his Democracy. The Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee is a practical Democrat. His leadership in the House of Representa tives shows that. He possesses the ability to enlist men of varying ideas, plans and moods in support of desirable and feasible objects. Men who agree on basic principles may be involved in bitter hostility by antagonisms which in their essence amount to little. Mr. Underwood's example as a leader of Democrats in Congress is worthy of emulation elsewhere. . It makes for tol erance. Tolerance makes for unity. Unity makes for progress. There is no other way to render Democracy ef fective. The young Democrats of St. Louis who persuaded Mr. Underwood to be come their guest will find in his policy as well as his principles the best hope of party achievement and party life. The St. Louis Republic, October 17, 191L This New Leader From Alabama But this new leader from Alabama, with nothing meteoric or iridescent about him ; who has forged steadily ahead during sixteen years of congres sional service, and who has proved him self equal to every emergency in the acid test of debate on the floor of the House; cool, imperturbable, resourceful, sure of himself at all times; profoundly learned on the great tariff issue he stands for; whose impressive personality is reveal ing itself in stronger lines every day as the searchlight of the press plays upon it he is the Man of Destiny for the Democratic party in this year 1912. And as the campaign for the nomination progresses, Mr. Underwood's superior availability will come out with increas ing clearness, and the Democratic masses of the South will catch the inspiration of the great fact that a Southern man from the heart of Dixie is at last ia line for the presidency after all these weary years of waiting. When that psycho logical moment arrives in the national convention or before it a very nearly solid South, fused to white heat under the enthusiasm of a genuine Southern presidential candidary, will take Oscar Underwood on its shoulders, sweep away all the well laid plans of machine politics and rush him right to the goal, a winner by sheer force of an overwhelming sense of simple justice to the South. At least, that's the way we want it Th Suwanee (Fla.) Democrat, December, 1911. CHAIRMAN UNDERWOOD Chairman Underwood has once given proof of that lcvelness of and clearness of purpose which have characterized his leadership from the beginning. He has flatly refused to countenance any coquetting with the La Follette idea on the wool bill. Whether viewed as a mere announcement of program or as a bill that it is desired and expected actually to get enacted into law, the La Follette proposition does not meet the needs of the situation The New York Post, August 2, 1911. THE MANNER OF MAN HE IS After the Southern manner, Mr. Un derwood is unaffectedly democratic He meets men as one who, respecting him self, also respects them. He does not wear the manner of one who expects to find his inferior. Still less would be remind you of one who fears he may meet his superior. Never does he pose, nor seek to transact his dignity at the humbline expense of another. Alfred I Henry Lewis, in the Cosmopolitan, New xorK, January, iwis. 1
The Commonwealth (Scotland Neck, N.C.)
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March 21, 1912, edition 1
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