The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-06-19
The Presidents Gun.

All reports from Washington should
be discredited which represent President
ROOSEVELT as tmid in the presence OF the
possibility that the Post Office investiga-
ton may go far and perchance result in
consequences politically inconvenient to
himself as a candidate,
All reports should be rejected which
represent him as suddenly anxious to
haul off, to smother inquiry, or at least
to divert the same as far as practicable
into the comparatively less inconvenent
channel OF historical research.
An unwarranted impression may be
derived from some phrases OF the state
ment made public yesterday by the Post
master General The Tulloch charges
remarked Mr.. PAYNE, and the discoveries
already made that wholly or partly sus-
tain them, are essentially" against Presi-
dent MCKINLEY and Postmaster General
SMITH Mr.. MCKINLEY, continued Mr..
PAYNE, is no longer living" Mr.. SMITH,
who carried out President MCkINLEY's
policy, has answered for himself" With
out the context this has the appearance
OF an attempt to shift responsibility upon
former Administration. But then Mr..
RoOsEvELT's Cabinet officer goes on at
once to declare that the scandals alleged
by Mr.. TULLoCH and described by Mr..
PAYNE as hot air " at the time when
Mr. ROOSEVELT was yet in the Far West,
form in reality only one branch of the
investigation. With regard to the
present management OF the Washington
Post Office" he says and the conduct
of any and all men charged with wrong
doing who have been in the postal SER
vice under the present Administration, a
thorough and searching investigation is
now being made, and when 1t is ended all
the facts in the case will be made public,
as also, whatever action may be taken
in view of such facts"
This is distinct promise and pledge,
and it is an insult to President ROOSEVELT
to suppose for moment that his inten-
tions are less fearless and his programme
less thorough than the PostmasterGen-
erals announcement indicates.
What is it we are asked to believe
i
corning the administration of the De-
partment by the dead MCKINLEY and the
retired SMITH are to be uncovered with
out fear or favor, while contemporaneous
scandals, il any such exist, are to be
avoided, steered around minimized,
smoothed over, whitewashed, because
they affect present interests or belong to
the period Tor which Nj. ROOSEVELT
and the Master Of the Arts of practical
politics whom h, put into his Cabinet in
December, 1901, are chronologically
responsible.
That is not ROOSEVELT, the strong,
the fearless, the impartial hater and pur-
suer Of fraud. Whether the specific facts
showing an unlawful system of political
favoritism and personal graft in the Post
Office dwindle or grow as the inquiry
proceeds, whether they are limited to
MCKINLEY and SMITH or are brought
down to the days of ROOSEVELT and
PAYNE, we may be sure that the Pres-
dent will complete what he has under
taken, without regard to personal con-
sequences. He timid or inclined to put
away his gun!
Don't let us assume any position,
he was saying only three days ago at the
University of Virginia, unless we are
prepared to keep it,"
Don't draw" he repeated at Char
lottesville, unless you mean to shoot"
That is, indeed, middling good
proverb.