INITIATIVE, REFERENDUM
AND RECALL NO FIELD
IN NATIONAL POLITICS
I: '
REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT, AS CON
CEIVED BY FRAMERS OF CONSTITUTION,
ONLY SAFE BULWARK OF CIVIL LIBERTY
Danger of Departing from Path Established
by the Fathers
SPEECH DELIVERED BY MR. UNDERWOOD BEFORE CATHOLIC
CLUB OF NEW YORK CITY DECEMBER 19, 1911.
The main purpose of government is the protection of life, liberty and prop
erty. The safe-guarding of property rights is essential to the advancement of
our civilization.
Men do not always awake to the realization that the just enforcement of
the law is more essential to good government than the enactment of new
statutes.
Less than a century and a half ago the Federal Constitution was written;
it become the pattern in its fundamental features for our State Constitutions.
The world had experimented with almost every conceivable method of govern
ment for thousands of years before the birth of our republic. The statesmen
who created the form of the new government were essentially students of the
theories of government and lovers of the liberties of the people. Most of
them had offered their lives and their fortunes in the struggle for their country's
independence. No man can justly charge them with either lack of informa
tion regarding the essential principles of government, or want of, honesty
of purpose to create a government that would secure to themselves and their
children "a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility,
provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the
Blessings of Liberty to themselves and their Posterity."
, World's First Written Constitution.
They proclaimed to the world its first written Constitution, created a gov
ernment of law in absolute contradistinction to a government of men. The
framers of the Federal Constitution were familiar with the repeated fail
ures of governments based on the principle of a direct democracy, where the
people were the direct law-making power and in some instances tl.e ultimate
judicial power of the country.
TIME TO ABANDON
UNWORTHY SECTIONAL
ABASEMENT
The most humiliating paradox in
American politics to-day is the shrink
ing attitude of some of our own people
toward the presidential possibilities of
Southern men.
The civil war, the memories of which
furnished the nursery for this indefensi
ble sectional abasement, is 50 years at
our back. Ninety per cent of the Amer
ican voters who elect a president re
member this war and its dividing rancor
only as history. With outstretched
hands, having given every proof of view
ing Mason and Dixon's line as no more
a political barrier than the Mississippi
or the Rockies, the dominant generation
at the North invites the South, its pub
lic men, by right of citizenship and by
right of demonstrated ability, into full
fellowship in the nation's counsels.
South Wantiog in Boldness
What has been the answer of the
South at least, the answer that may be
interpreted by the silence or the diffi
dence of hundreds of thousands of rep
resentative Southerners?
Obsessed by the ghosts of half a cen
tury ago, guilty of an embarrassment
and a self-consciousness that is nothing
short of arrant sectional cowardice.
there is a feeling among many South
erners that the wraiths of the sixties
still stand between the South and the
White House the South and that par
ticipation in the nation's voice, the na
tion's destinv, to .'which the nation is
eager to admit us.
The consequences of this abnegation of
common manhood could not be more
forcefully portrayed than in the words , country.
it the Constitution s Washington corre
spondent, in a dispatch discussing the
presidential status resulting from the
Harvey-Wilson-Watterson episode. "If
he," writes our correspondent, canvass
ing the possibilities of Oscar Under
wood, the brilliant Alabamian, along
with other Southerners, "pays the penal
ty of being a Southern man, it will be
the South and not the North to ex
act it." .
South's Political Stage Fright
That is also an accurate delineation
of the manner in which the North views
the situation. We use Underwood only
as an illustration, (hough his magnuicent
record as House leader during the spe
cial session would, as our correspondent
declares, have assured his nomination
"with a sweep" had he lived at the
North I To the North, it makes no dif
ference where Underwood, or any other
one of the galaxy being discussed, was
born. The representative Northerner
does not bridle at mention of. Bull Run
or Gettysburg. It remains for the South
to develop political stage fr'ght over
these diminishing chapters in our his
tory. The last smouldering embers of
sectional acrimony were stamped out by
the Spanish-American war. The last
barriers between North and Sputh were
crumbled before the achievements of
Joe Wheeler, of Fitzhugh Lee, and of
many of the younger generation on both
sides.
The most convincing evidence of this
fact is the manner in which the nation
received the announcement of the broad
and patriotic action of President Taft
in elevating Justice White, a Confed
erate veteran, to the Chief Justiceship of
the United States Supreme Court. A
protesting snarl rose here and there
from the irreconcilables. And the voices
most bitter in denunciation of that
jaundice came from the Northern
press! It is only essential for the occa
sional freak firebrand to rise and at
tempt to wave the "bloody shirt." to be
1 uried with ridicule, not. only, by his
confreres, but as well by the news
papers of all sections of our common
Not a Question of Expediency or
Discretion
In the face of those cumulative facts,
there are some in the South wTTo still
question if, "on account of past of
fenses," it is "discreet" or "expedient"
for a Southern man to offer himself for
presidential honors 1 We insult our
selves, we debase our manhood, we sur
render the rights the North is so willing
to concede us, when we permit our
course, as a people, to be so interpreted.
It is not in human nature to accord
respect, where self-respect is absent.
How, then, can we expect the remainder
of the nation to continue to respect us,
when we grovel in the dust of a by
gone era, and let go by default the
rights inherent in American manhood?
For virtually half a century the South
has furnished the hewers of wood and
drawers of water for the Democratic
party. It has, faithfully with each re
current four years, furnished the Democ
racy's army and its line officers cheer
fully yielding command to other sections.
With a smile, it has steadily forsworn
the political loaves and fishes, content,
for the sake of the party, that they go
to doubtful States time and again to
States most of us. knew at the time were
steel-riveted Republican.
Let Us Claim Our Birthright
For SO years we have eaten in the
political kitchen. Consistently, we have
waxed cheerful when denied even the
dubious privilege of the second table.
And to-day, when the clock of destiny
strikes, when the door of opportunity is
wide ajar, when the North actually lives
up to that prophetic utterance in the
Senate of Ben H ill, "We are back in the
house of our fathers, and we are here to
stay, thank God!" a few of us are still
blushing and stammering, still wearing
political sackcloth and ashes, still up to
tne old easy mark game of doing all
the drudgery, with none of the cakes
and ale! Let's end this disgraceful
farce ! We furnish, have long furnished.
tne electoral votes, the powder and shot,
the munitions, of the Democratic party.
Let's assert those equal rights and privi
leges as American citizens, as the re
mainder of the nation fraternally bids
us to do. Let's cease the stultification
of informing the nation, by our actions,
that we cannot bring forth a man capa
ble for the presidency. For the sec
tional cfcvardice, here and there mani
fested, is equivalent to that shameful
and ungrounded admission. The Con
stitution, Atlanta, Ga., January 21, 1912.
FREE LIST BILL VETOED
BY PRESIDENT TAFT
DRAWN BY CHAIRMAN UNDERWOOD OF THE
WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE
A Bill of Direct Benefit to the Farmer, Whose
Hopes Were Dissipated by a Repub
lican President
Dangers of a Direct Democracy.
They knew from the history of the past that those governments had failed
in their purpose; that the liberties of the people had been destroyed by the
extremes and excesses which marked the administration of a government where
the laws were made in the forum by the assembled multitude, and were not the
mature product of selected men especially trained for the work in hand.
They knew that the failure of every direct Democracy was due not to
the lack of honesty or purpose on the part of the aggregate citizenship as
sembled in the forum, but to the fact that they were often swayed by their
desires, passions, and prejudices, and lacked intimate knowledge of the re
sultant effect of their actions.
No honest man in his individual entity will controvert the Golden Rule
that all men should do unto others as they would be done by, but it is rarely
the case that the assembled populace can divorce itself from its selfish desires
and deal out abstract justice to those who may be temporarily in the minority.
Realizing the danger and excesses of a direct Democracy, the framers of
our Constitution endeavored to establish a government that would protect the
rights and liberties of the individual and at the same time retlect ultimately
the will of the majority in the enactment of the law of the land.
Ours a Representative Form of Government.
To accomplish this end, they established a representative form of govern
ment designed to create a law-making power responsive to the will of the
people, and at the same time they wrote in the Constitution certain checks and
balances intended to prevent the more brutal force of a majority from de
stroying the liberty and property rights of the individual.
It must always be borne in mind that the framers of our Constitution were
not attempting to establish freedom of Government, for they created a Gov
ernment with only certain delegated powers expressly given to the Nation by
the States, reserving to the States the right to make most of the laws that
affected the liberties of the citizen. The underlying principle of the Consti
tution was to guarantee the liberty of the citizen and the protection of his
property rights against the power of the Government itself.
Independent Judiciary Established.
To guard and protect these rights, an independent judiciary was established
to see that neither the Executive nor the Legislative branches of the Govern
ment encroached upon the guaranteed rights of the individual.
It is evident that the framers of the Constitution were unwilling to trust
a selected legislative body, held in check by the veto power of the Executive ;
fearing even then an unbridled abuse of the' power, they established Constitu
tional guarantees of liberty that a majority of the people could not. trample
upon or the Government itself destroy.
Some may say that a majority of the people will not endanger the liberties
and rights of the individual. I wish that this were true, but the history of
every government has shown that at times the people, when unchecked by
constitutional guarantees, have destroyed individual rights and individual
liberty.
Unwise Changes Now Proposed.
It is now proposed by some that we shall in part abandon the representative
government enacted by our Revolutionary fathers, and adopt a system that in
the end would establish a direct democracy when the ultimate power to make
laws would be placed directly in the hands of all the people, and the independent
judiciary intended to protect the Constitutional guarantees of individual liberty
would become subservient to the will of the majority through political com
pulsion. .
We may forget that Madison and Hamilton, soldiers in the war for Ameri
can Independence, brought their great minds and mature judgments to the
framing of the Constitution of the United States, but there is one whose sincere
judgment will not be doubted as to the value of a representative government
as compared with a direct one, even by those who doubt the sincerity of pur
pose and the honesty of opinion of other men.
Jefferson's Wise Views.
In speaking of "the equal rights of man," Thomas Jefferson declared:
"Modern times have the signal advantage, too, of having discovered
the only device by which these rights can be secured, to wit : Govern
ment by the people, acting not in person, but by representatives chosen
by themselves."
M. .. f 1 r . 1 . : t Tr1Anirrlani tnflUfltlflf ttl3t all OnDlll
I he auuior OI me feciarauuu ui iiiutfuiuu., - :--- -
government before his time, resting on the direct decisions of the people, had
failed and ultimately had reverted into uncontrolled despotism, rejoiced that
the hour had come when a representative government could express the will
of a tree people, it is now prupuseu iu r.--r
of government established by our fathers and revert to the direct action of
.. ,l. t an Athrman Hemorraev adaoted to modem
tne people, to me iiun.ic u
conditions.
Representative Government Only Check on Excesses and Passion.
Our representative government s published to "1
cesses wmcn naa Drougni me ancicm uuc-i B. ....... -
and because our government does not at all times immediately respond to public
sentimen, mere are some wno .n - - -
fault and must be cnangea. iney no not t
. . . t. ;m tho instrument of the govern
lUnge real puuuc sciuiiucni, uiai Hi uuivi ..... r . - . .
merit (me representative whom the people can change at recurring periods)
IS at lauit ana not me Dasic prmtipic w n-c - . .
My experience as a legislator leads me to believe that the Congress of the
. ' - ... . " j Um 1frl,nrt and matured
United States will always ummaieiy rapuuu w ,w..b'"-"
eWiSi the changing tides of public sentiment, we have repeatedly experienced
changes in the exercise of the taxing powers. .. i
W have seen the legislative branch of the government in direct response
to ptMe sentiment in recent yean enact railroad rate legislation, pure food
laws, provide for the publicity of campaign funds, national quarantine, irrigate
the arid West and build the Isthmian Canal. Can it be truthfully said that
the Congress has failed ultimately to place on the statute books the laws that
a majority of the American people were in favor of as a result of their perma
nent and deliberate judgment? .'., '
(Continued on Next Column.)
A New ksader
From the South
"The President's veto, of course, de
stroyed the Free List Bill, as well as
all the other features of the Democratic
platform. The special session, "however,
was not without far-reaching results.
Its chief accomplishments were a reor
ganized Congress and a resurrected
Democratic majority under a new lead
ership. It also emphasized the new
part which the Southern States are now
playing in national affairs. With a
Southerner as Chief Justice, a Southerner
as majority leader in Longress, and
Southerners as prominent candidates for
the Democratic presidential nomination
Clark, Underwood and Wilson the
nation is certainly more united than at
any time since the Civil'War. No.man
rejoices more" over this changed situa
tion than Underwood. He is even more
interested in the solidarity of the forty
eight States than in the union of the
Democratic partv. Burton T. Hen-
drick in McClure's Magazine, Februa,
Alabama's
Candidate
Mr. Underwood's service to the coun
try during nine terms in the National
House of Representatives has been most
distinguished, and has niadejiis name a
household word in the homes of the
people. For more than 20 years he has
been in the very front of his party's
battle line, a leader from his youth, and
ever faithful to his party's principles
and candidates. No Democrat can find
a flaw in his political record; no charge
of desertion in any campaign ; no accu
sation of serving special interests can
le against him.
His congressional colleagues respect
him or his sincerity, his high sense of
honor, his sagacity and his acknowl
edged ability, and this in itself is an
infallible proof of his merit, for none
know so well the capabilities of a
statesman as those who have served
many years with him and noted his
conduct in days of peace and those of
political storm. Cincinnati Enquirer,
October ZA, 1911. ,
Underwood
for President
The argument that he lives too far
South to be available is without weight.
The country has reached that state of
union has been so closely drawn to
gether by railroad and telegraph that
Alabama is brought to the door of New
York. Massachusetts and Texas are near
neighbors and even the two Portlands,
of Maine and Oregon, stand within easy
hailing distance of each other. So far
as any feeling of sectionalism is con
cerned, or any prejudice against the se
lection of a Southern man for the presi
dency. Underwood is, like Lincoln, a
native of Kentucky, and therefore as
much Northern as Southern, was born
during the Civil War, and grew to man
hood after the old bitterness between
North and South had died out. He is
a big, brainy, courageous man. Balti
more Sun, July 26, 1911.
Underwood Presi
dential Timber
Mr. Underwood would make an ideal
President. He is a broad-gauged, level- j
headed citizen; he doesn't slip his cere
bral cogs and go off at a tangent as a
rabid exponent of revolutionary dogmas
in an effort to popularize himself; he is
uniformly courteous to all men; he be
lieves in reducing the high cost of liv
ing in this country, not talking about it ;
he does not believe in destroying the
industries of the United States while at
the same time he is a thorough believer
in the principles of tariff for revenue
only.
There is no flub-dub about Mr. Un
derwood. He doesn't believe in shams.
He is a big, brawny, brainy statesman,
without his lightning rod out to attract
the Democratic nomination for the pres
idency, and largely on that very account
he is liable to be the very man that will
get in the way of the belt that may
elevate him to the White I louse. J. W.
Flenner, in the Times-Democrat, Mus-
kegee, Okla., October 28, 1911.
Southern
Lee
iders
"Naturally the men who have led the
Democrats in the House of Representa
tives so successfully under trying con
ditions are freely mentioned at the pres
ent time as possible candidates for the
presidential nomination by the Demo
cratic Convention. These leaders are
Champ Clark, Speaker of the House,
and Oscar W. Underwood, a new and
coming man.
: "Both are Southerners, by the way, but
in my mind there is no reason in these
days of broadening views and lessening
prejudices why a Southerner should not
be nominated and elected to the presi
dential chair of the United States. In
fact, there are many reasons why it
should be so." London cable of William
Randolph Hearst in the New York
American, Monday, September 25, 1911.
Takes Up
Underwood
The years since the Civil War have
rolled too fast and far to permit it to
be conceivable any longer that the cir
cumstances of Southern birth should
constitute in Northern judgment a dis
qualification in any degree whatever.
Both as to nomination and as to elec
tion the Southerner will be rated in 1912
on his individual merits. As far as this
particular Southerner, Mr. Oscar W.
I nderwood, is concerned, it is agreeable
to note the absence of geography in
the regard in which he is held in all
parts of the Union.-New York Sun,
1911.
MR. UNDERWOOD THE FRIEND OP ALL CLASSES
MR. UNDERWOOD, FROM THE COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND
MEANS, SUBMITTED THE FOLLOWING REPORT (EXTRACTS).
To accompany II. R. 4413.
. TJle Committe on Ways and Means, to whom was referred the bill (H. R
4413) to place on the free list agricultural implements, cotton bagging, cotton
ties, leather, boots and shoes, saddlery and harness, fence wire, meats, cereals
flour, bread, timber, lumber, sewing machines, salt, and other articles having
had same under consideration report it back to the House' without amend
ment and recommend that the bill do pass.
It was expressly stated in the Democratic platform of 1908 that the belated
promises of tariff reform made at that time by the Republican Party were a
tardy recognition of the righteousness of the Democratic position on this ques
tion, but that the people could not safely intrust the execution of this im
portant work to a party which is so deeply obligated to the highly protected
interests as is the Republican Party '.'.
. . . ' ,
Agricultural Implements.
By this measure agricultural tools and implements of every kind are placed
on the free list, in order to remove or to" prevent any possible discrimination
against our farmers in the prices of these necessary articles, and to place them
on an equal footing with their competitors elsewhere in the world. Our do
mestic manufacturers of agricultural tools, implements, vehicles, and machin
ery have grown to great proportions and are largely organized into great trusts
and combinations. These organizations are selling their products all over the
world, meeting and overcoming all competition. They need no protection
and, as a rule, ask for none. For a number of years they sold many of
heir products m foreign countries at lower prices than at home, and
so recently as 1907 agricultural associations in public resolutions protested
against this practice. The imports of these agricultural implements are in
f 'iw w th5..value of alUuch imports, free and dutiable, in 1910, amounted
to $122,302. The exports of these implements have become a matter of more
importance than the domestic trade, the figures indicating an increasA (,m
WM" 1890 to, $28,124,033 in 1910. Tins foreign busLL wn" be
aided by the removal of duties from lumber, as provided for in this bill.
Bagging and Baling Materials.
It is of the greatest importance to our nrndnnr! nf mtmn a u. :
cultural commodities that the materials necessary for bagging, sackine balinir"
w. ..... r"-"" & "'i wuiiiiuuiucs. uc indue iree irom duty, so that they
may be available to the producers at the most favnrahl,. nrir nnce;i.i. ...:.u
out shelter for the exaction of unreasonable prices by trusts and combinations
of manufacturing interests. The bill, therefore, places all such materials and
articles on the free list, including cotton bagging and cotton ties, jute and jute
butts, hemp, flax, seg, tow, burlaps, and other materials or libers suitable for
coverings, and bags or sacks made therefrom, together with all hoop or band
iron or hoop or band steel for baling any commodity and wire for baling
agricultural products. AH these coverings and materials for making coverings
are essentials in the transportation of agricultural products to their markets
The products can not receive the benefit of any protection in these markets
and for this and other reasons it is unfair and unjust to continue duties on
coverings for agricultural produce. These duties have annoyed and burdened
farmers and have served principally to increase the profits of exacting trusts
and combinations.
. (Continued from First Column.)
The response may not be as rapid, but it is probably more permanent and
there is certainly, not as much danger of enacting hasty, ill-considered or bad
legislation.
Cannot a committee of the Congress, composed of representative men.
initiate legislation, within the limitations ot the Constitution, guard against ex
cesses and abuses, protect the rights of the minority, voice the wishes of the
majority, as well or better than the partisan friends of a measure who, in order
that they may accomplish one result, are tempted to reach so far that they
leave a wake of destruction as to collateral matters the measure touches?
Untrustworthiness of Petitions.
It is true that under the system proposed, a petition by a percentage of
voters would first have to be obtained. But let everv man ask himself how
often he has signed petitions to please or get rid of the person who presented
the paper, to determine what thought and deliberation will be exercised by
the average man who signs a petition.
People Suffer More From Failure of Law Enforcement Than From
Lack of Proper Legislation.
Should I stop to criticise our government, I would say that the people suffer
far more from the failure to enforce the laws on the statute books than they
do from the lack of proper legislation, How many remedial laws are to be
found on the statute books, that if fairly enforced would remedy the evils
we complain against; but it is so much easier to cry ouf for new legislation
than to insist that our neighbor shall go to jail for violating the law we al
ready have.
If there are evils in our government as it exists today, it is not in its
organic form. It is due to the failure of those in office to honestly, fairly
and justly perform the duties imposed upon them. The remedy is plain
and the way is clear. The people should drive from the places of power and
responsibility the unfaithful servant and elect those who will be faithful and
true to the trust imposed upon them.
The People and the Representatives.
You tell me the people cannot elect honest and faithfuj servants. I tell you
that the masses of the people are far better judges of men than they are of
measures, and are far more likely to select an honest man than an honest
measure.
When vou sav that the voter cannot select a public official who will reflect
the will of the people in his office, and be faithful to the Constitution of his
country, I say you reflect on 'the very first principle of free government and
misjudge the honesty and the intelligence of the American people.
Our Constitution was born in the hour when the love of liberty and freedom
was ripe in the hearts of men. For a century it has withstood the storms of
war, greed,, and intolerance; through the tempests of discontent, danger and
ri;9etr. it fcaa nrntected the lives, liberty and nrooertv of our neoole.
Let us elect honest men to public office, men who have the courage to atand
for the true interest of the Constitution they represent regardlesi of what
effect it may have on their personal fortunes. There then will be no demand
for a change of the fundamental principles of our government
A FALSE POSITION
Rumors generally believed to have
emanated from the camps of men who
either are or have been considered as
Democratic presidential possibilities, that
Mr. Underwood, of Alabama, could not
command the support of the North be
cause of the fact that he is a South
erner, are not only poppycock, pure and
simple, but they place the men of the
North in a false position in the eves
of the people of the South and tend to
revive sectional feeling which has been
buried for many years. The effects of
such rumors are nil in the North be
cause the people of the North know they
have not one iota of truth, but people
in the South are apt to take them more
seriously, and there is where they may
prove harmful, not only because of their
tendency t6 cause dissatisfaction on the
part of Soutliern Democrats, but be
cause of the effect they may have in
giving rise to sectional prejudice through
false representations of conditions which
do not exist No Northerner would
hesitate to support Mr. Underwood be
cause he comes from the South. TA
Argus, Albany, New York, November
a, 1911
62d Congress, 1st Session. II. R. 4413. An Act to place on the free list
agricultural implements, cotton bagging, cotton ties, leather, boots and shoes,
fence wire, meats, cereals, flour, bread, timber, lumber, sewing machines salt'
and other articles. ' '
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress asserpbled. That on and after the day following
the passage of this Act the following articles shall be exempt from duty when
imported into the United States:
Plows, tooth and disk harrows, headers, harvesters, reapers, agricultural drills
and planters, mowers, horserakes, cultivators, threshing machines and cotton
gins, farm wagons and farm carts and all other agricultural implements of any
kind and description, whether specifically mentioned herein or not, whether
in whole or in oarts. including renair narls.
Bagging for cotton, gunny cloth, ano all similar fabrics, materials, or cover
ings, suitable for covering and baling cotton, composed in whole or in part of
jute, jute butts, hemp, flax, seg, Russian seg, New Z'ealand tow, Norwegian
tow, aloe, mill waste, cotton tares, or any other materials or fibers suitable for
covering cotton; and burlaps and bags or sacks composed wholly or in part of
jute or burlaps or other material suitable for bagging or sacking agricultural
products.
Hoop or band iron, or hoop or band steel, cut to lengths, punched or not
punched, or wholly or partly manufactured into hoops or tics, coated or not
coated with paint or any other preparation, with or without buckles or fasten
ings, tor baling cotton or any other commodity; and wire for baling hay,
straw, and other agricultural products.
Grain, buff, split, rough and sole leather, band, bend, or belting leather, boots
and shoes made wholly or in chief value of leather made from cattle hides
and cattle skins of whatever weight, of cattle of the bovine species, including
calfskins; and harness, saddles, and saddlery, in sets or in parts, finished or
unfinished, composed wholly or in chief value of leather; and leather cut into
shoe uppers or vamps or other forms suitable for conversion into manufac
tured articles.
Barbed fence wire, wire rods, wide strands or wire rope, wire woven or
manufactured for wire fencing, and other kinds of wire suitable for fencing.
including wire staples.
Beef, veal, mutton, lamb, pork, and meats of all kinds, fresh, salted, pickled,
dried, smoked, dressed or undressed, prepared or preserved in any manner;
bacon, hams, shoulders, lard, lard compounds and lard substitutes; and
sausage and sausage meats.
Buckwheat flour, corn meal, wheat flour and semolina, rye flour, bran,
middlings, and other offals of grain, oatmeal and rolled oats, and all prepared
cereal foods; and biscuits, bread, wafers, and similar articles not sweetened.
Timber, hewn, sided, or squared, round timber used for spars or in build
ing wharves, shingles, laths, fencing posts, sawed boards, planks, deals, and
other lumber, rough or dressed, except boards, planks, deals, and other lum
ber, of lignum-vitae, lancewood, ebony, box, granadilla, mahogany, rosewood.
satinwood, and all other cabinet woods.
Sewing machines, and all parts thereof.
Salt, whether in bulk or in bags, sacks, barrels, or other packages.
Passed the House of Representatives May 6 1911.
Attest: South Trimble,
' . Clerk.
UNDERWOOD THE flAN
We have been humbugged and scared
off long enough by the bogy of North
ern prejudice against a Southern candi
date. Underwood stands for just those
things which recent Northern majori
ties have declared they want a revi
sion of the tariff downward and the
destruction of special privilege. His
qualities of leadership have been tested
and approved. In his personality he
is solid, clean and sane, with the .cour
age of a fighter and the clairvoyance of
a true reformer, and if the South pre
sents him as her candidate and the party
ratines her choice this tine, strong char
acter of a new day in our annals will
catch both the sentiment and the sober
judgment of the North, sweep awav the
last remaining debris of the dead old
war and its dead issues and carry
enough States in that section to give us
the Presidency. Live Oak, Fla Demo
crat, reprinted in the Montgomery Ad
vertiser, January 1, 151
UNDERWOOD A UNIFYING
FORCE
The Republicans cannot agree with
his tariff views; the country, we are
sure, will never put him into the presi
dency, but assuredly he must be con
ceded to be the ablest, the strongest, the
most influential Democrat in Congress
to-day, and he has shown a marvelous
capacity for leadership. His party asso
ciates stand solidly behind him, and that
could not have been-said of any other
man in recent years who led the Demo
crats in the House of Representatives.
.
The shrewd Republican politicians
who predicted that the Democrats in
the House would be split into a dozen
bitterly fighting factions in less than a
month, are now amazed at Underwoods
success as a harmonizer and a uni
fying force. He has succeeded where
everybody else failed; it seems likely
that with the prestige of success he will
crow larger and more oowtrful as time
passes. We detest his political princi
ples, but it would be folly to deny his
strength and capacity The Pott E-
frits, Rochester, N. y; June Zl.mi.
FO RAKER ON UNDERWOOD
Mr. John Temple Graves will be in
town soon to make us a speech. He
was in Birmingham the other night and
The Age-Herald printed an interview
with the former Georgian, in which that
gentleman discussed, Mr. Underwood as
a presidential candidate. Mr. Graves
said: Mr. Foraker use,d to be very bit
terly opposed to the South, but softened
a greai dea' artcr bis elevation to the
Senate. I asked Mr. Foraker if in case
Mr. Underwood is nominated for Pres
ident, will it make any difference to you
that he is a Southern man ?" -
"'Absolutely none,' said Mr. Foraker
'Of course, I cannot vote for him, as I
am a Republican, but if any Republican
should get up and denounce him because
he is from the South, I would take the
stump in Underwood's defense."' v
That reads well, coming as it dies
from a man whose antagonistic attitude
towards the South in other days gave
him the appellation of "Fire Alarm"
Foraker. Montgomery (Alabama) Ad
vertiser, reprinted in, the Birmingham,
Ala, Agt-Herald, January, 1912. .