The herald., 1898-09-13
THE PRESIDENTS PRED1cAMENT

THE PRESIDENTS PHED1CAMEN1
The Republican party has worked It
self into a very embarrassing predica
ment. How to sustain the president
and at the same time scorch his wal
secretary Is a puzzle more perplexinl
than "pigs in clover" 1t must be ad-
mitted that the president has been de-
servedly popular in his party. Until thu
Algerine eruption there had been moth
ing Of consequence calculated to de-
tract from that popularity. Now. how
ever, the Republican party Is confronted
with the necessity of trying to demon
strate, by necessarily lame effort, thai
the president is all right. even though hi
retains an admittedly bad man In hi:
cabinet.
The Express is loyal supporter and
Jealous defender Of President Mckinley
1t grapples the difficulty pluckily, but
the result is not unlike that Of the
youngster who NEEDLES with black iror
that has lately dropped from a black.
smiths anvil. In a recent number thu
Express says:
Mr.. Mckinley possesses the quality
which is usually held in special honor
among men, of remembering his friends.
Mr.. Alger had been faithful to him and
to the party, and Mr.. Mckinley COM
mitted the error of allowing that consid-
Grafton to outweigh any doubts such as
must have existed In his mind as to
whether a man with such a past record
no SteI - nj a noat-
ton. His retention in office is largely
due to the same quality in Mr.. McKin-
ley.
The extract Is lucid enough, but We
will try the effect Of transposition
President Mckinley appointed to po-
sition in his cabinet man whom he
knew to have "such a past record" as
should utterly debar him from any po-
sition Of honor and trust. This appoint
ment was made solely and wholly be.
cause Secretary Alger had been faith
full to him and to the party"
Now, as all observant readers know
General Alger was conspicuous candi-
date for the Republican presidential
nomination a little more than two years
ago. Mr.. Mckinley secured the honor,
however, and, when he reached the
presidents chair one Of his first acts
was to call General Alger to the cabinet
What is the reasonable inference as to
such an appointment made In the face
Of the presidents knowledge that AL
gers "past record" was bad? Was the
appointment made as the contamination
of a bargain entered into prior to the
presidential nomination, and was 1t a
receipt in full for Alger's kind with
drawal as a competitor in the conven-
ton? Faithful, but baneful Alger!
But Alger had also been faithful "to
the party" Here Is a second and per-
haps stronger reason, as viewed by the
president, why he should take into his
cabinet a man with a smirched record
Alger was a politician Of high degree.
with large influence and vast wealth
with which to push the Republican ma
chine. This usefulness outweighed all
such minor considerations as whether
a man with such a past record could be
trusted"
Now. Is not President Mckinley
herein admittedly guilty of precisely
the same offense that has called down
the wrath of the nation upon the head
Of his secretary? Alger is charged
with having appointed unfit and in
competent men to responsible positions.
men whose only claim to preferment
was their weight in the political scale.
That is the head and front of Alger'.
offending. President Mckinley, as the
Express frankly admits. for the self
same reason, appointed Alger. If there
is any break in the parallel of the two
naked eye.