Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1899-04-06
CHAMP GiDE'S
The Recent Confab at
Jekyl Island.
MR.. REED AND LARK HANNA
No Love Lost Between the
Speaker and the Boss.
BASIS oP ENDURING PROSPERITY

Economy In Public Expenditures the
Underlying Principle - Republican
Rule Always Extrnvagant - The
People Have the Remedy In Their
Hands--A Valuable Public Servant.
Especial Washington Letterl
The historic confab at Jekyl island
is over, and the world knows Just as
much as it did before that great event
merely that and nothing more-but,
if Hon. Thomas B, Reed shook the fat
and greasy paw of Marcus A. Hanna,
imagine that during the performance
there was running through his capa-
cious dome of thought the famous coup
let from Tennyson:
Break. break, break, on thy cold gray stones,
o seal
would that my tongue could utter the
thoughts that arise in me.
And if by any chance that sharpest Of
tongues should ever utter Mr.. Reed 8
thoughts of Hanna and Hannaism it
would make the richest reading that
human eye ever perused. If the speaker
shook hands with the boss cannot be-
lieve it was in friendship, for it is an
impossibility in nature that any genuine
| friendship should exist between the IL
lustrious man from Maine and any of
the Hanna gang, for Mr.. Reed knows
none better-that it was Hanna who
prevented him from receiving the presi-
Dental nomination in 1895; not only
prevented il, thing which might be
| forgiven, but prevented it by the foul
est means, the most unlimited use of
doodle known to the history Of Ameri-
can politics, performance which will
never be either forgotten or forgiven by
the speaker or any other honest man.
That summer | heaTd a story TO the
effect that the bosses considered Mr..
Reed case and decided that they were
afraid to nominate him because they
could not control him after he was elect
ed. If that be true they paid him the
highest tribute in their power the ras-
calls fear Of an honest man What a
| splendid epitaph it would be, .Here
| lies Thomas Brackett Reed, who was
| defeated for the presidential nomination
| by jobbers, bosses and boodlers because
they knew they could not control himl''
There are worse things than defeat.
Such tribute as that is a greater honor
than the presidency itself
Reed and the wee Presidency.
So far as Mr. Reeds agreeing to run
for the vice presidency is concerned. / do
not believe one word of it. With him
beyond what he has had it is aut Cesar
aut nuIIus Nothing except death or his
own positive declinati0n can prevent
his again being speaker. the position
second in power only to the presidency
itself--a position which is peculiarly
suited to his genius Surely be would
not swap off that shining and exalted
station for the drowsy and impotent
position of vice president!
That he is ambitious to be president
goes without saying. for that ambition
is cherished by every man within can
non shot of it. 1t is laudable ambi
tion in any man. especially in man
with such noble endowments of mind
as Mr. Reed possesses.
/ The only thing that would induce a
man of great ambition and great capac-
ity to accept the vice presidency is the
small chance of succeeding to the presi-
dency by death of the incumbent If
Mckinley lives ont his present term.
the republic will have endured through
90 presidential terms Only four vice
presidents have risen to the highest
office by the death of their chiefs that
is, one out of seven--and on the doc
trine Of chances it is safe to assume
! that that will be about the proportion
in the future 1t is ineoneeivable to
those who know and admire Mr.. Reed
and many admire his shining talents
who politically differ with him toto
cnlo- that he would be willing to sink
his marked individuality in the vice
presidency for that small chance of be-
coming president. | doubt very much
if he would greatly value the presidency
if it came TO him in that way. That he
would highly prize it, coming as the
free win and unbought gift of his conn
trymen, is beyond all cavil, but that
his stalwart nature would enjoy being
/
gether incredible.
Material For n Great Book.
Should he. however, for any reason
accept vice presidential nomination
and should he be elected there is one
way in which he could make fortune
/ in money and at the same time build
himself monument more lasting than
bronze and loftier than the Egyptian
pyramids. and that would be by utiliz-
/ ing the four years leisure afforded by
the vice presidency to write book en-
| titled "Hannaism. Such book would
contain more wit than Sidney Smith
ever dreamed Of, more sarcasm than
Dean Swift was author Of. more hnmor
/ than Mark Twain ever evolved from his
| inner consciousness, together with much
learning and much wisdom.
When the publishers of Thomas Hart
Benton Thirty Years View asked
him how many copies they should print,
the great Missourian proudly replied.
1.-The last census will show you the
number of people in the republic. 1t
is safe to say that every American citi-
zen possessed Of money enough to pay
for it would subscribe for such book
by Mr.. Reed. Even Mark Hanna him
| self would be ON tentsrhooks until be
| secured a copy. He wonld perhaps pc
ruse it surreptitiously. but bay it he
would and read it, too-read it like old
man Harper of Kentucky used to run
| his horses, from eend TO eend Cu-
riosity would compel Mark to this
course curiosity to find out how COM
| pletely aud artistically the brilliant au-
thor had done the job Of skinning and
to discover If even his keen vision had
overlooked any sin in the vast catalogue
/ Of Hannaism. The reading Of that book
would possess such an Irresistible fas-
| cination for the universaI and con-
scienceless boodler that he would nei-
ther eat nor sleep non buy another pur-
/ chasable sconndrel until he had perused
it from alpha to omega.
! A Man Of Perfect Tntcgrity.
| Mr.. Reed enjoys the respect and per-
sonal friendship 81 many men who are
his political opponents. No man with
two ideas above Hottentot ever doubt
ed the great capacity The leonine cour-
age, the perfect integrity, the absolute