The Minneapolis journal., 1904-06-25
CORTELYOU EVER
A REPUBLICAN,
Denial Made of Statement That
National Chairman Was a
Democrat.
From The Journal Bureau, Colorado Building

From The Journal Bureau, Colorado Building,
Washington.
Washington, June 25.--One of the
charges made against Mr.. Cortelyou,
and urged as reason why he should
not be made chairman of the repub-
lican national committee, was that ne
was for years democrat, and did not
come into sympathy with republican
principles until the trying days of the
first Bryan campaign. 1t was pointed
out with. much attention to detail,
that he was part of the White House
staff during the second Cleveland ad-
Tministration, and occupied a very
Iconfidential relationship to the presi-
dent. How could this be possible. 1t
was asked, by those who opposed his
appointment to the place which he
now holds, unless he was in close po-
litical accord with that president?
Robert L. O'Brien, for number OF
years the Washington correspondent
of the Boston Transcript, and one or
the most talented members OF the
Washington newspaper corps, has
thought it worth his while to write a
circumstantial denial of this fiction for
his paper. Mr.. O'Brien speaks with
ample authority, for during the second
Cleveland administration he was one
of the presidents assistant secretaries,
and therefore is in possession Of ac-
curate information regarding his sub
ject. Moreover, he is democrat.
Denial by Democrat
In recent dispatch to the Trans
tcript he says:
The knockdown argument was still to
come, however "Cortelyou is a democrat.
He was appointed to office by Cleveland;
and we don't want Cleveland democrats
Ito run this republican campaign"
To any one who knows Mr.. Cortefyou' s
kI~t, ~ ri1Jx N. II
answering. Mr.. Cortelyou Is not a demo-
icrat, he never was democrat. he was
mot appointed to office by Cleveland, and
has, therefore, no debts to pay, even OF
the moral sort, on that score. AS the
Transcript correspondent has known Mr..
Cortelyou for a period much longer than
the political prominence Of the men who
throw out this argument, he feels quail
fed to speak with some authority.
g MIR. Cortelyou began his career In Wash
zington department clerk. His ahil1a-
tions. as far as he had anything to do with
politics UP to that time, had been republi-
can. In his departmental work he did
what every honest civil servant does
made himself as useful as possible to any
chief to whom he was assigned. and he
has always Loyalty preserved all the conf
dences reposed in him. whether under one
or another partisan dispensation. -.
Chosen az an Expert.
: An expert stenograp pher, and rapid in his
work, he was In great demand wherever
the correspondence happened to be heavi-
est and a quick dispatch Of business was
desirable. One day while MIR. Cleveland
was president for the second term a mem
Der Of the White House staff, who had
handled large share Of the presidents
: correspondence, for which extra care was
required, resigned to enter another call
Ing. Mr.. Cleveland asked him to recon
mend some one who could do the same
work with equal facility, and he sug-
gested Mr.. Cortelyou, who happened ther
to have been assigned to stenographit
work in the office Of the fourth assistant
postmaster general. MI. Cortelyou was
q sent for, his chief recommended hin
highly for the excellence of his service an(
the postmaster general consented to hit
transfer by detail to the White House
1t was a standing joke among his asso
ciates that in the civil service lottery {
democratic president should have, drawn
republican to conduct his intimate cor
respondence, but Mr.. Cleveland was lik'
d Mr.. Roosevelt in his belief that loyalty Il
an instructive trait and that a government
subordinate who will serve one chic
faithfully may safely be trusted by an
other. He was never disappointed in Mr.
Cortelyou, who worked as earnestly as i
the administration had been republican.
Called by Mckinley.
In due course Mr.. Mckinley succeede,
to the presidency. He brought with hin
as his private secretary John Addiso
Porter. Mr.. Porter knew nothing of stem
II ography, moreover, congress changed tn
title of his office to secretary to tn
president" and increased it's compensa
g ton, with view to giving it some
f% what greater dignity, and Mr.. Porter de
e voted more attention to the political an
4 literary work Of the position than to 4:
a strictly secretarial duties.
Mr.. Cortelyou was called in to take car
u of the actual correspondence. Presiden
N Mckinley also utilized his skill when pre-
pairing messages and speeches for impor
1 tant occasions, and his quick responsive
Il ness to any suggestion and some of his in
dividual comments came to be SO highl
+ appreciated that when Mr.. Porter wa
compelled by Ill health to retire, the presi
dent promoted Mr.. Cortelyou to the va
cancy. Later he expressed a purpose t
appoint Mr.. Cortelyou to the cabinet a
soon as a suitable opening offered itsel
= Mr.. Roosevelt, not only because he wa
carrying out his predecessors purposes
the matter Of appointments, far a
possible, but on his own account as wei
appointed Mr.. Cortelyou to the new sec
retaryship of commerce and labor. S
s not only has Mr. Cortelyou been a reput
ncan himself from the start, but the onl
appointments which he has received
public life have come from the hands
republican presidents, and the stories
Is the contrary have been manufactured
II for what ulterior purpose their author
best know--out of whole cloth.
N HEAVY RAINS IN KANSAS