The age-herald., 1902-01-18
Washington Day by Day

Washington January H.-(Special)- Singularly forceful corroborative evidence of the contention made in this place on Tuesday last. that the President is grown weary of the flood of charges against men in office, was offered in another place of the Age-Herald of that day through the medium of the Associated Press report of the confirmation by the Senate of Marshal Leander J. Bryan, Marshal D. N. Cooper, United States Dis trict Attorney William Vaughan, and United States District Attorney Warren s. Reese.
 It has developed that within six hours before Marshal Bryan was confirmed. voluminous sworn charges against him, alleging acts of gravest official miscon- duct, were placed in the hands of the President himself: one of the accusations having reference to certain acts of Bryan when he was sheriff of Lowndes County thirty years ago, and which he satisfac- torily explained to the Senate judiciary committee in 1897. It is clear that the President gave no heed to the charges, for the very reason that he is-in re- bellious mood against accusers who de- sire office for themselves or their friends The Attorney General had informed the President and the Senate that Bryan fully merited re-appointment and upon this information President and Senate acted.
 Against Mir. Vaughan there were made various charges which neither the At torney General. the President nor the Senate. in the order named would accept as facts, and Mir Vaughan's confirmation was voted as soon as his appointment could be reached.
 The main, possibly the only. charge against Marshal Cooper was excessive and unfair activity in the .Burnett-spears Congressional contest but that was merely politics of a practical character, 1t appears.
 Precisely what were the charges against MT. Reese can not be stated here. since those of us who have known him longest and best could not be easily influenced by any accusations.
 In the case of Internal Revenue Col lector Nunn of Nashville. who was asked to resign upon the technical charge of disregarding the civil service laws, his place was demanded by Congressman Browniow-son of the famous "Parson". Brownlow of "befo de wah"-the dis penser of Federal patronage in Tennes- see. who wished former Congressman Nc Call to enjoy that particular mess of po- litical pottage.
 "I hope you will be as good an officer as Mir. Mum was and a little more regardful of the civil service laws" the President is quoted as saying to the new appointee.
 An Alabama Republican, formerly in of flee and now a resident of Washington, estimates that 1t costs each of the prom inent officeholders in the South an aver age of one years salary to secure re- appointment, so great Is the opposition within their own party and so mountain ous have been the flood of charges against them. He was understood as having special reference to the Alabama officeholders.
 But as long as Mir. Roosevelt is Presi- dent the filing of gross or grave charges against officehoders and applicants alike is likely to fall into what one of MT. Roosevelt's illustrous predecessors in the White House termed innocuous desue- tude. o famous phrase of the famous, it has served to point many a moral, adorn many tale!
 Congressman Richardsons much-dis- cussed bill ITO donate certain lands in Alabama for educational purposes" for copies of which there is steady and increasing demand from Alabama, covers but five lines apart from the enacting clause, although it is of great importance to the Eighth district and adjoining coun- ties. The bill reads:
 That all the public lands in Colbert, Jackson, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Lime stone, Madison and Morgan Counties, in Alabama, are hereby donated for the pur- pose of improving the school system in said counties, under such regulations as the secretary of the interior may pre- scribe"
 ITO grant lands to the state of Ala bama for the use of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Alabama, for ne- groes, and the State Normal College, at Florence, Ala provides:
 "That the governor of the state of Ala
 . .