The Savannah morning news., 1904-10-25
FLIES IN THE OINTMENT.

Since Ambassador Choate proclaim
ed Whatever mistakes, if any, Mr..
Roosevelt has made, he has at least
been honest and above the dictates of
mere politics." Republican spellbinders
have made almost unlimited use of
the catch-words, Honesty distin-
guishes him." They have pointed
with seeming pride to the record of
the past four years and have sought
to apply it as a healing ointment to
all the political wounds of dissatisfied
| voters. Centuries ago the wise Solo
mon observed that Flies cause the
ointment of the apothecary to give
forth a sinking SAVIOUR" and an ex-
animation of the record of the party
in power seems to show that several
flies have worked their way into this
political ointment.
With a grand flourish the President
cast the weight of his influence into
the labor question in Pennsylvania
during the last great coal strike. BY
this action he apparently sought to
place himself on record as favoring
the interests of labor as against
those of capital and the trusts. In
| the Colorado muddle however, which
was much more serious in it's results
than the Pennsylvania contest, the
| President kept hands off, seemingly
fearing to antagonize the power of
capital Again in one lonely prose-
cution against the Northern Securities
Company, which was pushed to
successful conclusion, he seemed to
stand against the increasing power of
corporations, but the announcement
Immediately followed, carrying reas-
surance to ALL that the government
did not intend to run amuck." The
first fly seems to have wriggled into
the ointment in the treatment of the
trust question.
Then again the President inaugu-
rated a policy of negro appointments
to office throughout the South. In one
case at least, that of Crum, he per-
sisted despite the fact that his own
Senate refused to ratify the appoint
ment He justified his action on the
ground that he was honestly of the
opinion that negroes should hold Of
flee when they were qualified to do so.
Yet in the North the negro clamors
in vain for an office that is really lu-
crative and carries local distinction
with it. And surely the North has
relatively as many intelligent negroes
as the South. Slowly it seems that
another fly has slipped into the
apothecary's ointment.
Then, to say nothing of the flies
that ex-President Cleveland and Sen
ator Culberson have dropped into the
spellbinders healing salve, suddenly
militaristic, strenuous, President dons
the Quaker garb, deprecates war, and
ends by announcing that he will call
for a second peace conference of the
world powers. A comparison of this
announcement with his books and his
actions during the time that he serv-
ed as assistant secretary of the navy
lets yet another fly into the ointment.
With the flies of the trust, labor,
prosperity, Panama, negro, and mill
taristic questions sinking into it, it
does not seem to be improbable that
the voters of the country will catch
the unsavory odors of the honesty
ointment and reject, it as a balm for
all political wounds. And with the re-
lection of the ointment naturally
comes the rejection of the apotheca-
ry and the party that seek to apply it.
-S-@-s--
Republican newspapers are crying
that Mr.. Cleveland said absolutely
nothing in his speech that was worth
answering, that there was nothing
new in 1t, and that it has added Moth
ing to the campaign. Then they go
to work and devote a column to an
swering or better, to attempting to
answer his arguments. They call at
tention to the fact that it was the
most enthusiastic gathering of the
campaign. And then they speculate
on its probable effect on the chances
of Roosevelt. We submit that it
seems like poor policy to waste so
much space on a speech that con-
tanned nothing worth answering, that
had nothing new in it. and that has
added nothing to a campaign. Con
sistency, thou art a jewell"
Love has been compelled to bear
the burdens of many sins and to the
same source is laid many of the bless
ings that fall in a kindly shower over
humanity. But now the little blind
god has gone his former performances
one better. A young lady who has
been bed-ridden for fifteen years was
so overjoyed at receiving a proposal
that she arose and walked. If bigamy
were not contrary to law struggling