Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1900-05-29
CUBAN POSTAL FRAUD
ADMINISTRATION PET CHARGED
WITH ENLIGHTENMENT.
Protege of the Mark Hanna Regime
Said to Have Stolen Thousands
Even Providence Will Not Now Save

declared that Providence threw the
Philippines and Porto Rico into his
lap. Bryan has aptly remarked that
he gravely doubted if Providence would
select Mark Hanna either as its mouth
piece or instrument So. too, there
| may be a grave question as to whether
Providence, had anything to do with
the selection of various Republicans for
official position who are said to have
robbed the Cuban revenues of sew
eral hundred thousand dollars. Per
haps Providence did have a hand in
| their selection, but if so it was for the
purpose of giving the people of this
country an object lession in imperial
ism, and not to save Mckinley from
| the wrath to come.
An Indiana Republican newspaper
| politician named Nicely, a particular
| friend of First Assistant Postmaster
| General Heath, was made financial
| agent of the postal system in Cuba. He
| selected him and at Hanna's instiga
ton selected another man named
| Rathbone for the head of that postal
| system. Rathbone had been formerly
| chief Of the postoffice inspectors, and
| later Fourth Assistant Postmaster Gen
eral. He had full knowledge of all the
tricks and turns and devices of postal
| thieves and rascals in and out of the
| service
| Yet right under Mr.. Rathbone's nose
| Nicely, it is alleged, takes some $4,000
worth of stamps which should have
| been destroyed, sells them to the Gu
| ban postmasters and, it is claimed,
turns the proceeds to the benefitof HIM
self and fellows. Nicely has been ar
| rested but on the face of things the
| whole postal system in Cuba Is honey
| combed with rascality to an extent
which must make the Spaniards en-
| vious of the superiority of American
methods of stealing. This is one of the
earliest fruits OF imperialism. Fortu-
nately it is near enough to home to
| attract attention.
In the Philippines frauds of the gross
est character are rumored The Gus
tom houses are hot beds OF corruption
and scandal the civil features of the
| military control contain dozen chan
] nels of corruption. But it is all so far
| away and SO carefully concealed by
| censorship and the collision of inter-
ested parties that the country hears
but little about it, Millions on mil
| lions of dollars will be discovered to
have paid tribute to the opportunities
| of stealing which exist on every hand
The people of the United States are
paying dearly enough for their object
lessons in Imperialism.
| But the lessons will be cheaply
bought if the people can be brought to
see that the looting which is going on
| in the new possessions is but a small
fraction of the looting which is being
put through under the guise of law at
| home.
Mark Hanna stands for the Ship Sub
sidy bill, which proposes to take $10,-
100000 annually from the treasury and
| bestow it on some half-dozen million
| aire ship-owning lines, of which the
| Standard Oil Company will be the
principal beneficiary. Every shipyard
/ in the country is to-day crowded with
| all the work it can handle. and yet
these selfish interests have the audac-
| ity to come before Congress and ask
for aid in building ships. The Stand
ard Oil Company, which declares $75,-
| 100000 of dividends this year on a
/ capital of S100,000,000, dares to come
L
| who pays 10 cents pound duty on tea
| shall contribute with every other man.
woman and child in the United States
who drinks tea to increase those div
| idends. And yet the Standard Oil Com
pany is not illogical. 1t is permitted
to increase the price of kerosene oil
3 cents a gallon to every one in the
| United States who uses oil, by being
/ permitted TO continue its Illegal exac-
tons as n trust What then is there
unreasonable in the idea that Congress
should pass a law giving it several
million dollars to build ships?
Imperialism at Home.
Sympathetic people may feel some
distress of mind because our soldiers
| in the Philippines are every week
shooting down some hundreds of Eli
ipinos But it is quite as important
| that the public should be aware that in
Shoshone County, Idaho, United States
troops have been used to overawe a
whole county, TO aid in capturing and
| combining hundreds of men who have
| committed no offense whatever against
| the law and have been guilty of no
crime save membership in a miners
| union. Yet such is the case, and. even
| worse, men have not been permitted to
| seek work in that county unless they
| would first sign an application for a
| permit to seek work in which they
| would declare that they were not mem
bers of this miners union and believed
il to be criminal organization. That
is what is happening today in . SOW
ereign State in this free and glorious
| republic. Imperialism in the Philip
| pines distresses great many people:
but how about Imperialism in the
| United Statesg
Mckinley clings to his idols. After
the Hay -Pauncefote treaty. giving in
fact greater power TO Great Britain
over the Nicaragua canal than would
be possessed by the United States.
which Is TO build ii. was side-traeked in
the Senate by an amendment material
| ly changing the treaty. it was thought
| that the almost unanimous public senti-
| ment In this country against Mcklnr
'ey's marked subservience TO Great
Britain would lead TO withdrawal of
the treaty. But Mr.. Mckinley has just
approved OF an extension OF the time
In which the treaty can be approved
until April. 1901. Mckinley viii either
again be President or private citizen
By that tim,s If he is President the
treaty viii undoubtedly be approved.
Ii Bryan is President the treaty will
be dead letter.
A Japanese Mckinley.
There are many points OF reSem-
4 ~ IL