Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1903-11-06
WASHINGTON LETTER
tFrom our Regular Correspondent,


WASHINGTON LETTER
(From our Regular correspondent
Washington, d. c., Nov. 2.-Presi-
dent Roosevelt has had the report OF
Mr.. Bristow on the postal frauds for
nearly a week yet shows no inclination
to give it to the public after the cleo
ton. However he can't postpone it's
publication until after the elections
next fall and at that time the voters
will have excellent opportunity Of
showing their disapproval of an ad-
minisuration under which such frauds
are possible. The Bristow report is a
very long document, making 1000
printed pages Of an ordinary govern
ment report, and the President will
add to it's length by supplementing it
with comments of his own. The most
important part of the document is said
to be the accusations made against
former First Assistant Postmaster
General Perry s. Heath, who is at
present secretary of the republican ma
tional campaign committee, of which
Senator Hanna is the chairman. The
Tulloch charges made serious accuse
lions against Heath, but they were
not thought sufficient to procure an
Indictment against him. The Bristow
| report is said to charge him with Of
fetal corruption such that his only
protection against criminal prosecu-
ton will be the statute of limitations,
| ;oh oaxyo6 nhljRQn Con
gresham Littauer from being called
to account for his glove contract with
the government. Heath has now is
sued statement through one OF bis
friends, that he will not be candidate
| for reelection to the secretaryshlp OF
the republican committee lowing to
business interests. On account OF the
abuses discovered in the New York
| Postoffice the President has ordered
Mr.. Bristow's inspectors to proceed to
that city to subject the Office to a close
investigation The head of the Office
is Postmaster Van Colt, who is a pow
er among New York republicans and
personal friend of Senator Flatt, who
has always defended him and will
doubtless oppose any effort to have
him removed. No direct charges have
been made as yet against Van Colt, but
his removal is being discussed to such
an extent as to alarm his political
friends. 1t will take about month TO
complete the investigation of the New
York Office.
Representative Littauer has had sew
eral recent conferences with the Presi-
dent in reference to the manner in
which Acknowledgement Knox has dis
posed of the glove contract case. AT
| the last conference Mr.. Littauer was
accompanied by his attorney, and the
Attorney-G eneral was also at the White
House 10 case his services we're needed
to elucidate the legal phase of the case
The Congressman in using his inf1u-
ence with President Roosevelt to bring
about decision by the government
which will exonorate him from the
charge of illegal connection with con-
tract, or will at least give him an Op-
portun1ty to give his side of the case.
His friends say that be is only tech
nicaIly" guilty. Yet the Attorney
General did not care to look at it that
way, and be extrlcated himself from an
EN- barrassing situation by declaring
owing to the statute of limitations mo
useful purpose" would be served by
further consideration of the case. This
is very doubtful vlndication and ma
turally Llttauer is not satisfied. His
visits to the White House no doubt
embarrass President Roosevelt, who
knows that the public will look with
disfavor upon any attempt to shield
''his close friend and political adviser.
Samuel Gompers, President of the
American Federation of Labor has ex-
pressiou his views on the ''open shop"
policy of the government. Owing to
the coming convention of the Fedora.
tiOn in Boston, where the question will
be discussed by labor delegates from all
over the country it is significant that
the leader of them all characteIizes the
open shop as "brazen hyprocracy.
He says, 1--WE are inclined to think that
all this crusade by the Perry-led
manufacturers and their mouth pieces
of the press in favor of the open shop,
or the refusal to recognize or deal with
unions as business bodies having labor
and services to sell. is the product of
conscious hyp0cracy, but it is NOT i'm
possible that some of those who have
joined in it are really stupid enough
not to see the absurdity, the self stuIti-
fcation, the brazen dishonesty of the
proposition" He does not attack the
President, however, for he continues:
THE public knows something of the
attempt of plutocracy to misrepresent
President Roosevelt's attitude toward
unionism. He says that the order in
the Miller case did not apply to private
enterprise. However. Mr.. Gompers
represents the most conservative ele-
ment in the Federation and his rad ical
opponents, mostly socialists, are in
creasing in numbers at every conven-
tiOn. SO that at the last, they composed
about forty per cent. Of the delegates.
This element is sure to make an attack
on the open shop policy of the admins
tratiOn, and many politicians believe
that they will carry the convention,
on November 9, in resolution direct
ly condemning the Presidents action
in the Miller case.
The Cosmopolitan for Novemb Der has
been received from it's publishers. 1t
is an interesting number throughout.
Among its contents is an article on
Jerusalem as 1t is Today" The De-
cember number will contain another
article on the holy city which will EN-
brace pictures of the former Jewish |
Gol \