Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1900-06-19
THE POLITICAL POT.
AOWITS BuB6LiNGS ARE VIEWED
FROM WASHINGTON.
1t Is Said that Postal Director Rath-
bone Is to Make "Roar" that Will
Result in a Stampede of Admins
tration Pets.

trafion Pets.
Washington correspondence:
Postal Director Rathbone has issued
his ultimatum from Cuba to the admin
istration. 1t came in the form of a pri-
yate letter to First Assistant Postmas-
him his job. In it Rathbone declared
that he did not propose to be made a
scapegoat, and that if he were attacked
by order of the administration some
body would suffer. Who that some
body" is will not be hard to discover.
Hanna is the man.
Rathbone first came into political no
toriety in Indiana as one of the princi-
pal blocks Of five" manipulators. Since
that malodorous campaign he attracted
little attention until he came to the
front to manipulate the Ohio LegisIa-
ture and secure Hanna's election TO the
Senate. That notorious event still
reeks in the nostrils of decent people.
OF course Rathbone had to be given a
job. Strange to say, the shrewd Col
Rathbone in the responsible position Of
Postal Director of Cuba. Dick argued
that knew too much of the inside his
tory of Republican management, and
thus armed could not be brought to ac-
count for any maladministration of
Office. But First Assistant Postmaster
General Heath wanted just those pc
culiar qualities which Rathbone pos
sesSed and insisted on the appoint
ment. He carried his point and jubil-
ated much at his seeming victory over
Dick. But now the victory rests with
Dick, who is thus made the principal
man, next to Hanna, in the coming
campaign, while Heath is to be shelved
at the first opportunity.
1t is well understood that Hanna is
to be held somewhat In the background
of the Republican campaign. His I'M
pleasant personality is too much an
offense to his own party to make It adj
visable to expose him to view. Besides,
his methods SAVIOR too much of brute
force, and some other quality will be
necessary to bring Mckinley any
where near an election. 1t is probable
that Col. Dick will be the brains of the
Republican campaign. There will be
plenty of money but as prominent
Republican leader remarked, 1T all de-
ponds on the drift. If the drift is
against us no amount of money can
win" The drift is against the Republi-
cans, and that means Republican de-
feat.
The wisdom of the late date set for
the Democratic convention now becomes
apparent The Republicans have to de-
clare themselves first and have piteous-
ly tioundered around in the last days of
Congress with schemes to head off and
steal the Democratic thunder With
proposed antitrust amendments to the
Constitution, which will never become
a part of that insGument, and anti
trust bills which will never become
laws, they intend to go before the
country as the peoples champions
against the trusts. The trust magnates
laugh cheerily and think it a great
joke. One of their leaders who came to
Washington to see the circus at the
Capitol said he could take all of the
proposed Republican legislation down
into Wall street and secure for it the
cordial Endorsement and signature of
every trust within twenty-four hours
What the trusts think about it can be
read in the fact that every one of them
will contribute to the Republican cam
paign fund. What the country wants to
see is some legislation which the trusts
don't want, but it will not see it until
Bryan is in the White House, with a
Congress Democratic in both branches
to support his administration.
Now cones the open assertion that
Ferdinand w. Peck and his subordin-
ates have succeeded in disbursing some
thing like $4,000 at the Paris Expo
sitlon, with nothing to show for it but
au expensive salary list and a ram
shackle and unsightly building. Amer
lean exhibitors are complaining that
they are being practically blackmailed
anywhere from $500 to $1,000 apiece
for the privilege of exhibiting, notwith-
standing that it was the purpose of the
Congressional appropriation to prevent
any such extortion.