The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-10-20
Hanna on Forsetfulnexs.

Hanna ON ForRetfulness.
While stumping through South Dakota.
en- Wednesday last, Marcus A. Hanna re-
lieved himself of the following bit OF
shrewd political wisdom in several
speeches distributed along the line to
modest gatherings at the various railway
stations passed by his palatial special
train:
Forget that I am United States Senator
Forget that ! am Chairman Of the Republican
National Compittee. and consider that 1 am one
Of your kind & feilows!'
Forget that am United States Sena-
tori" All, Hanna, 1t would be well II the
people could forget that, and how you
came to become one! The man who. more
than any living politician in this country.
has striven to make political jobbery and
what most people call political rascality
respectable in America has good reason
to ask the forgetfulness Of voters. The
trouble is that they cannot forget. The
scandals of the Senatorial election at
Columbus which placed Hanna in the Sen
ate are too fresh in memory. The report
Of the Ohio Senate committee on the al
legged bribery of State Senators to vote for
Hanna is still remembered. No; the Amer
lean people cannot forget that the chief
political agent Of the criminal trusts and
nonopolies is United States Senator,
more pity to that once respectable body
OF statesmen.
Being unable to dissociate Hanna from
his questionably acquired connection with
the Senate, voters are really invited, by
his plea for forgetfulness, to recollect his
services to the country while occupying
that exalted position. First and foremost
among hts Senatorial achievements stands
out his triumph over "our plain duty to
Porto Rico" as enunciated by Mr.. McKin-
ley, and his ability to force that nominal
Chief Of State into. departure from 1t,
and into tolerance Of an open and impu-
dent violation OF the Constitution, that
an American territory should be tyran-
nized for the benefit OF trusts and Ad-
ministration hooters. Next We have the
record Of Senator Hanna's efforts to Sc
cure ratification OF the Hay-Pauncefote
Treaty, an expression Of that secret Ad-
ministration league with Great Britain
which. were its purposes carried out, would
wipe out the Monroe Doctrine, forever pre-
vent the construction Of an exclusively
American interoceanic canal across Gen.
trail America, and result In the cession of
Pyramid Harbor and a rich slice OF gold
territory in Alaska to John Bull, to be
exploited by Joint syndicates composed of
London capitalists and Washington poll
tieians.
AS the principal representative of the
trusts and monopolies in Congress, Hanna
has been painstaking and efficient in the
performance Of his duty to them. No one
in his position could have served plutoc-
racy better, or the Republic worse We
are reminded, in this connection, of his
efforts to jam through the Ship Subsidy
bill. which. If passed. would take ninety
million dollars from the pockets of Amer
lean taxpayers and donate that sum to a
bakers dozen of transportation trust
magnates, of which Hanna is one. So it
is quite out of the question to forget that
this typical exponent of vicious political
methods. of the spells system and of vul-
gar 1obbery. is a United States Senator
Forget that am Chairman of the Re-
publican National Committee" says he.
How happy he would be just now il that
could be done. Then the veil of silence
might be drawn over his milking of the
trusts to the tune of twenty-five or thirty
million dollars for the purpose Of Gin
fuencing" the reelection of William Nc
kinley and the election of trust Con-
gress, that. for four more years, the
trusts may enjoy immunity from their
offences against the law; that the Treas
ury may be at the disposal OF the Stand
ard Oil bank without payment for the rse
OF Government funds; that the Hanna
Panama syndicate may accomplish it's
work in pouring hundred ard fifty mil
lion dollars into the De Lcsseps ditch;
and that the reign of unconstitutional
carpetbaggism in our new possessions
may be made fixed and permanent. No;
We cannot forget that Hanna is Chairman
OF the Republican National Committed.
Consider that 1 am one of your kind
Of fellows exclaimed the sill d and
gangrencus man in the dollar-marked
clothing! The honest farmers Of South
Dakota could not have had hard r
proposition presented to them. Their
kind Of fellows" do not have such RIA
tions with Rathbone that il is nec, ssary
to keep him under military arrest IN Ha-
yana. lest he should return to the United
States, tell what he knows concerning
Senatorial elections. and thus pull wn
the pillars OF the temple" They do not
have the faculty Of inducing employers
Of labor to cocrce their workingmen by
threats of discharge to vote for Trust
Mckinley They are largely innocent
Of designs upon doubtful States which
might be highly dangerous to their au-
thor II unsuccessful. They are ignorant
Of good politics" and Of sound business
methods" as preached and practieed by
Hanna. They could not by any stretch CT
imagination consider him as their
kind of fellow" and even dare to stare
at a looking glass again.
Hanna's plea is typical Of the Ad RIMS
tration position before the country. Its
keynote and slogan is forget, Always
forget. Forget Hanna. Alger, Easan, Alb
ner, beef. transports. fever camps Whit
wash, Sampson, Gage, and the Standard
Oil bank Griggs and the trusts he would
never offend. the Hay Pauncef-te TT atty,
plain duty" and the violated Constitu-
ton, the infamous surrender Of American
territory in Alaska to England. and the
whole record OF an nn-American, corrupt |
footing ard thieving regime Ct four ysars. .