Middletown transcript., 1903-10-03
DELAWARE, SATURDAY MORNING, OCTOBER 8, 1903.
WASHINGTON LETTER

WASHINGTON, September 2Sth, 1908.
An EXTREMITY difficult problem confronts
= the President, who returned to the
White House to-day, and who will i'm
mediately take up the case of William
Miller and the whole question of reforms
in the Government Printing Office. No
official statement has been made thus far,
but the situation may be summarized as
follows, with reasonable accuracy. The
discharge Of Miller, followed by his re-
instatement by the President, has already
been told in these letters Out of that
| incident grew the investigation recently
completed. Miller sent long letter to
the President in which he made various
charges as to the domination of the
Printing Office by the unions, the extrav-
agant methods employed, etc. The So
charges caused the President to ask Sec
retary Cortelyou to investigate the ell
tire Printing Office and Mr.. Cortelyou as
signed the task to Commissioner Gen.
eral of immigration Sargent, and chief
of Corporations Garfield. Their report,
which is now in the hands of the Presi-
dent, substantiates many OF Miler's
charges and points the way to reforms
which promise to save the government
thousands of dollars year. Meanwhile,
the Bookbinders' Union has secured the
past record of Miller and has filed many
charges against his private life. Sargent
and Garfield also found that Miller was
of quarrelsome disposition, pictorial
and arbitrary, and a man who, in the
position of foreman, caused friction and
dissatisfaction. In a word, he is a man
ill-ftted to manage men, quite irrespec-
tive of the union factor in the situation.
There is little doubt that, under ordinary
circumstances, Miller would be promptly
discharged. On the other hand, there
are likely to ensue extensive and radical
reforms as a result of Miller's having
brought the matter to the attention OF
the President, and his interest in his
work and in economical administration
will secure for him more than ordinary
consideration by the President. Again,
the charges preferred by the union are SO
serious that it will be almost impossible
for the President to ignore them. In
fact it is generally believed thS, they
will compel the President to discharge
Miller for the good Of the public service,
but from whatever standpoint he looks
at it Mr.. Roosevelt is bound to find the
situation perplexing.
~
Although the date on which Congress
will convene in extraordinary session is
still more than month away, November
9th, there are already many indications
Of approaching political activity. At the
capitol all is activity preparing the cham
bers and committee rooms for the advent
Of Senate and House. Furniture is being
repolished, carpets laid, walls repaired
decorations touched up while great guam
titles of coal are being stored in the cav
ernous basement. Representative Can
non, the Speaker to be, has been in
Washington and engaged house, and
numerous other members of Congress
where looking after their winter quarters.
Members Of the cabinet are returning to
the city, the White House is radiant with |
new paint gildings and the fall flowers in
the White House gardens are showing a |
wealth of bloom, especially the great beds |
OF cosmos at the rear of the House.
~
Notwithstanding the fact that Colum-
bia permitted the time stipulated for the
ratification of the Panama canal to ex-
pire, without making any progress to-
wards ratification or even asking an ex-
tention of time, there seems to be gen.
eral confidence that the United States will
eventually build the canal and build it
by the Panama route. The explanation
that local political conditions in Colum-
bia prevented the ratification of the
treaty is generally accepted, together with
the assertion that Columbia will, after
the presidential election to occur there in
December, be ready to negotiate new
treaty on an entirely reasonable basis,
the objection to the present treaty hav-
ing been that it was feared by each Of
several presidential candidates that it
would mean that one OF their competitors
would see the supervision of the $40, ,000,-
900 purchase price.
~
Senator Foraker and Representative
Dick of Ohio have been in Washington
during a part OF the past week and
brought news of the Ohio campaign.
They say that Senator Hanna, notwith-
standing his indisposition, will speak in
fourteen towns during the last ten days
of the campaign, which, it must be ad-
mitted, is pretty strenuous undertaking.
There is not the slightest doubt in the
mind OF either Senator Foraker or Rep
preventative Dick as to the final outcome
OF the campaign. In fact, they place the
majority for Hanna IN the next legisla-
ture at from 80 to 40 votes on joint. As
to the challenge Of John Fl. Clarke, issued
to Senator Hanna to meet him in joint
debate. Representative Dick said that
he had not received the challenge before
leaving Ohio and that he could not dis
cuss it until he had done SO, then Sena-
tor Foraker said frankly that were he