The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1901-12-27

OUR WASHINGTON LETTER.
WASHINGTON, D. c., December 23rd.


MR. Notwithstanding Gage is, at
last, to leave the Presidents Cabinet and
a new Secretary of the Treasury is to be
selected 1t is evident to everyone in
touch with the White House that this
change has been desired by the P.eident
for some time but, having included the
Secretary of the Treasury in the general
invitation to the members of the Cabinet
to remain, Mr.. Roosevelt postponed his
action in hope that Mr.. Cages resignation
would be voluntarily offered 1t is believ
ed that the Wakeman affair in New York
and the objections to Assistant Secretaries
Spaulding. and Allies have preciptated
Mr. Cages resignation.
The removal of Mr. Wakeman and the
probable appointment of Mr.. George W.
Whitehead to succeed him were announc-
ed in these letters some time ago Mr..
Wakeman, however, refused to surrender
his position as appraiser of the port of
Now York and lodged complaints against
the Secretary of the Treasury and some
of his subordinates. The President has
disapproved of the language in which Mr..
Wakeman couchcd his complaint and has
summarily removed him, ordering Mr..
Alfred w. Brown, appraiser at Boston,
to take his place until Mr.. Whitehead,
whose name will be sent to the Senate as
soon as Congress convenes, can be con-
.firmed. The charges of Mr.. Wakeman
include, among other things, the statement
that. after he had upearthed extensive
frauds in the valuation of mportations of
japanese silks, he was refused permission
to come to Washin gton to confer with the
Secretary and the legal advisors of the
Department and was subsequently in
structed to pursue his investigations no
further. He also states that, after he had
recommended the dismissal of Assistant
Appraiser Warner Sherwood and his re-
commentator had been arprovedby the
Whitehead Commission, after Investigate
ing the facts, Mr.. Gage assured him that
MIR. Gherwood would, be dismissed and
later wrote personal letter to friend
authorizing the friend to show the letter
to Mr.. Waterman. This letter Stated that
Mr. Gage had RECONSTRUCTED the dismissal
of Mr. Sherwood because of the personal
opposition of Assistant Secretary Spauld-
ing. Mr.. Gage. says that the relations
between himself and the President are
cordial but others say that Mr. Wake
mans revelations revealed to the Presi-
dent condition of affairs he could no
lon ger tolerate.
The President las not yet selected Mr.
Cages successor and the latter will retain
his portfolio until the new appointee is
ready to qualify. The names of Colonel
Myron T. Herrick, President of the Amer
lean Bankers Association and Mr.. T. JEFF
ferson Coolidge, of Boston, eX-Minister
to France, are both believed to be under
consideration.
Mr.. Roosevelt has not remained con-
tent with merely recommending reciprocl-
ty with Cuba in his message but. has taken
steps to ascertain the facts in relation to
the objections of the beet sugar men who
called OF him and presented their views
| some time ago. He gave them no en-
| enlargement and met their objections
with some very pointed questions and en-
phatic statements His friends outside
the White House. have been spurred on to
renewed efforts and, when the question
comes up in the Senate, Senator Lodge
will have by him IN amount of ammunition
with which to put the opposition to hasty
flight Whether the Presidents friends
are warranted in their belief is question
able but they believe that they have all
the logic of the situation on their side and
that will carry the day.
| The most powerful implement of war
fare at Mr. Lodges command will be a
letter written by Henry T. Oxnard, presi-
| dent of the American Beet Sugar Com
pany and countersighed by w. Bayard
| Cutting, a director of the same company.
The letter was issued in 1899 and definite
ly stated that There is, however, no fear
that Cuban production, even under an
annexation to the United States, can, in
our day, expand to the point where the
| United Safes would become exporters of
sugar instead of importers and hence
the protection would no longer protect"
| The letter goes on to say that as sugar can
be produced more cheaply than in Europe
| that even with the free trade provided by
the Mckinley tariff bill the price of sugar
| never fell below $1,000 per ton which
| might be assumed as the lowest price to
| which sugar would go under free trade,
| that the beets necessary to produce ton
| of sugar cost $500 and the cost of man
ufacture was $500, therefore there would
! be a profit Gin competition with the
| world" of SO 90 per ton, profit of As per
cent
Mr. Roosevelt continues to demonstrate
| that he is master hand at the game of
politics although his methods are particu-
| larly clean. disappointment of Mr.. Henry
C.Payne to succeed Mr.. Charles Emory
| Smith. as Postmaster General is consider
| ed master. stroke. Mr.. Payne is vice
chairman of the re. ublican national COM
| mittee and Will bring to the Presidents
! council table a long and successful expert
ence. 1t has been rumored that Mr. Payne
wou' d succeed Mr. Hanna as chairman of
| the national committee but that report is
| discredited and it is believed that Senator
Hanna is two good a philosopher to make
| such step necessary.
In the contentious of the various fac
. tions which have, from time to time, be-
i sieged the White House Mr.. Roosevelt
| has always managed to come out ahead,
| even where he was obliged to refuse APP
pointment to all the candidates urged
| and select dark horse Whenever he
has been obliged to do this he has
| managed to select a man so well flied for
the office that he was sure to gain the APP
proval and the support Of the citizens of
the district in which the appointment was
made and he has almost convinced con-
| fl; citing political factions that their Ouly