Weekly graphic. [volume] (Kirksville, Adair Co., Missouri) 1880-1949, 1895-10-11
POLITICAL POINTERS.

When the manager OF a big buSl
ness establishment neglect his du
ties the bad example is quickl.
followed by those of his subor'
dinates who have an oppo rtunity
to do so. This government is the
biggest business establishment on
tlis continent, and the President is
its general manager miSmanager he
has bee nsince March 5, '93. AS one
gentleman put it iu a conversation
today, "this administration ought
to be known in history as one OF
vacation and incapacity." No
reasonable person objects to the
Pre- ;ident and members of the
cabinet taking vacation, just as
most other men do occasionally,
but when there is more time de-
voted to vacations than to work it
would seem to be time for Con-
gress to act, and to prescribe pre-
cisely the tine the President and
members of his cabinet may take
off and continue to draw their
pay. Take this year, for instance.
Mr.. Cleveland has been absent
from Washington more than half
the time, and about the only mem
ber of the cabinet who has not ta-
ken almost as much time away
from his duties is Secretary Nor
ton, and he has probably re-
manned in Washington more be-
cause he could better follow his
greatest pleasure keeping him
self before the public through
newspaper interviews upon finance
and almost every other conceiva-
BILE subject-here than when jun
keting around in some obscure
part of the country. The only
reason that so little has been said
about this continuous absenteeism
is that most people have arrived
at the conclusion that the less
time the President and members of
his cabinet putin at their desks the
less harm will be done to the
eountry's interest. While that is
largely true, they should not be
allowed to draw salaries for doing
nothing.
One of the odd phases of the
Maryland campaign is that while
the German democrats continue
to assert that Mr.. Cleveland wants
the German ticket to be elected,
Mr.. Cleveland and all the mem
bers of his cabinet maintain a
dead silence on the subject, and
the most prominent official that
all of the coaxing and begging of
Senator German and his friends
has been able to get upon the
stump in Maryland was Dominic
Murphy, a subordinate of the
Commissioner of Pensions. Your
correspondent makes no pretense
of being in the confidence of Mr..
Cleveland, or of any member of
his cabinet, but he knows that in
the past neither Mr.. Cleveland |
nor the members of his cabinet |
have hesitated to speak out in
favor of the democratic ticket in
any state where it was thought |
such speech would aid in bringing
out the party vote. If they really
wish German to win, why do they
not speak out for his ticket! Why
lidn't the members of the cabinet
who refused to make speeches for
'orman's ticket temper that re-
usal with a few words in favor of
he election of the ticket! The
Inswer to tlese questions may not
Ne that Mr.. Cleveland wishes the
iormanltes to be defeated, but it
ertainly looks that way at this
Secretary Hoke Smith has gone {
Georgia again. 1t is said the {
.x-Speaker Crisp's announcement, {
hen he was in Washington the :
ther day, of his intention to make l
'me free silver speeches in Geor-
ia had something to do with the
present trip. q
1t is evident that the admins +,