The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-09-19

T HAS been truthfully said that the in
 vestigation of postofice scandals has 3 been so prolonged and indictments have become so frequent that the general pub lie is heartily tired of the whole subject. It is safe to say that no dryer reading now fills the columns of our daily papers. In addition to the postofflce scandals we have those recently unearthed in the ter- ritories where the corruption has been on an extensive scale. People have become apathetic They do not seem to care whether the eoffers of Uncle Sam arc rifed by interruptions politicians or not. This air of indifference offers encour- agement to other grafters but in justice to the American people it must be said that their indifference is due entirely to fami- liarity. When the first scandals came to light every one held his breath at their enormity. It was hard to realize that such corruption could exist among men high in public office. Now the inves- tigation has become so trite that no one takes further interest. Tn spite of this fact the inspectors are zealously prose- cutting their work and the offenders are slowly but surely being brought to jus tice. As a last word It may be said that reforms could perhaps be brought about without so much official correspondence to cram the columns of the papers and cause the telegraph editors to tear their hair with vexation.
 Now that President Roosevelt has been indicted by the public press for carrying concealed weapons the would-be assassin may pause to consider. When MT. Roose- welt made a leap for the wharf at Ellis island Wednesday afternoon the wind whirled the tail of his Prince Albert around and there protruding from his hip pocket was disclosed the ominous butt of big six shooter. A secret service man hastened to hide the weapon by restor- ing the festive coat tail to it's normal position, but not before the reporters had gathered material for first class story" When the known ability of the President as hunter, fighter and all around sports man is taken Into consideration, it may be that a pistol could be of substantial ser vice. It is characteristic of the man to do
 
 deny that he is justified in having a means of defense However, it does seem slightly melo-dramatic for the nations chief executive to carry around d huge slx-shooter in his pocket while taking part in public ceremonies If he were out on the plains 1t would be different In general melee a pistol would be very serviceable for a man in MT Roosevelt's position but 1t would afford scant pro- lection against the stealthy and sudden attacks of the assassin. An amusing feat ure of the incident at Ellis island was the surprise which the secret service off, cers experienced when they learned that the man they were hired to defend was not depending entirely on their efforts.
 The remarkable facility with which public men in this country, and especial ly in the south assume military titles. is amusingly illustrated in the case of the next governor of the Philippines. The question being debated, his friends as- sert that Gen. Luke Wright has as much reason to style himself general as a great many of our southern "colonels" Adlai Stevenson was at one time aften referred to as general by virtue of the fact that he held the office of postmaster general Governor Wright was called an attorney general down in Tennessee, and hence his military title. It may be ex- plained, however, that he was not really an attorney general. but county prose- cutting attorney. It is the custom in the state to call lawyers who hold this office by the title of attorney general. And such is greatness.
 South Carolina man announces that