Behind the Mirrors: The Psychology of Disintegration at WashingtonGilbert, Clinton W. (Clinton Wallace)
History
Behind the Mirrors: The Psychology of Disintegration at Washington
Gilbert, Clinton W. (Clinton Wallace)
Harding, Warren G. (Warren Gamaliel), 1865-1923; United States -- Politics and government -- 1921-1923
One can not present a complete gallery of the Senate in the space of a
single chapter. I have chosen a few characteristic figures, the leaders
past, present, and to come, the small business man who seeks social
preferment or the destruction of a title in Washington, such as Calder
and Frelinghuysen, the politician who likes to play the game better in
the Capitol than at home, like New, the aristocrat who escapes from the
boredom of doing nothing into the boredom of a democratic chamber, the
gradgrind legislator of whom there are few like Smoot, the half party
man, half bloc man like Capper.
[Illustration: SENATOR WILLIAM M. CALDER OF NEW YORK]
All of these men belong to a party and are limited by that party's
weakness, its lack of principles, the caution which it has to use in
avoiding the alienation of its loosely held supporters. The party
program is something on which all kinds of people can stand. Necessarily
the party men in the Senate are tied down to a cause that is largely
negative. They can not be other than feeble and ineffective figures.
The weakness of parties has led to the emergence of a few outstanding
individual Senators who must be examined to see whether around them the
new Senate which will come with the shift of power and responsibility to
the legislative branch can be built. The most brilliant and interesting
of them is Senator Borah, but it is significant that the farm bloc
looking for a leader did not turn to him, but chose rather much less
significant and effective men.
Yet the Idaho Senator seems the natural rallying point for any movement
which will give new life and force to the Senate. He is established. He
is the most potent single individual in the upper house. So far as there
is any opposition to President Harding and his friends, Mr. Borah is
that opposition. His is the intelligence which inspires the Democratic
party when it consents to be inspired by intelligence. He believes that
the revolution has come, not one of street fighting and bomb throwing
but a peaceful change which has made the old parties meaningless,
destroyed the old authorities and set men free for the new grouping that
is to take place. Others in the Senate see this and are frightened.
Borah sees it and is glad. His bonds are loosed and he is a vastly
braver, sincerer and more effective Senator than ever before.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account