River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1904-10-13
MODEST JUDGE PARKER.
His Letter of Acceptance Assumes a
Monopoly of Honesty.

Monopoly of Honesty.
No one can read Judge Alton 3. Park
er's letter Of acceptance without being
struck with its temerity and self-suln-
cheney in making an issue of administra
tive honesty between the Republican and
| Democratic parties. Evidently this
progeny Of David 3. Hill and Tammany
| Hall is one of those rare men ''who can
| hear the Decalogue and feel no self-re-
| proach." Written primarily for Demo
cratic consumption this letter presumes
| that members Of his party possess a mon
opoly of the qualities of honesty, sinceri-
| ty and economy necessary to run gov
eminent without corruption, crookedness
and extravaganza.
SO far as Judge Parker rs willing to
admit the Republican party of this gen
Grafton included but one honest politi-
clan, and he is dead. With ostentatiOus
recognition of the axiom de mortuis nj
nisi bonum, it recalls and garDles a pass
age from the last address of our mar
tyred President, William Mckinley,
''who had won the affection of his coun-
trymen," in order to convey the impress
sion that with his demise all that was
honest and trustworthy had passed out
candidate who was discovered and
groomed for the presidential race by Da-
vid B. Hill, William r. Sheehan and Pat
rick H. McCarren, argues colossal I'M
| pudence or an ignorance of the situation
| 50 dense as to be almost beyond belief
How Judge Parker harps upon this is
sue of honesty may be judged from such
passages as these:
Among these Gssues) are tariff re-
form, imperialism, economical admins
tration and HONESTY in the public ser
| vice.
Whether the purpose of the bill Ito
| reclaim arid landS) will be fully accom-
plished must depend in large measure
upon the ability, sobriety of judgment
independence and HONESTY Of the Off
GERS Of the Interior Department having
this great work in charge. The
magnitude of the conception and the
| enormous expense its carrying out in
| wolves makes us realize the overwhelming
Importance of a broad, capable and
| HONEST administration of the work
authorized by the statute.
Both (the army and navy, however,
have suffered from persistent injection of
personal and political influence. Promo
tons and appointments have been fire.
Quently based on favoritism instead OF
merit Trials and courts-martial have
been set aside under circumstances indi-
eating political interference.
a return to the constitutional princi-
pies, frugal expenses and administrative
| PURITY of the founders of the republic
is the first and most imperiOus duty of
the times-the commanding issue now
| before the people of the Union QUOTED
| from a Democratic platform of 1876 as
| expressing the demand of the people in
1000"
The postal frauds, in which the guilty
| rascals were exposed, tried and convict
! ed, are made the excuse for the unsup-
| ported assertion that "a widespread i'm
! preston exists that thorough investiga-
ton may discover other cases of misfeas-
| ance." 1t would be interesting to know
| whether Judge Parker conjured this I'M
| founded impression up out of the "vaSty
deep" of his own unfamiliarity with pub
| lie affairs or had it thrust upon him by
the INSCRIPTIONS cock of Wolfert' S
Roost
He charges a "Violation of national
good faith" in the methods by which the
executive acquired the Panama canal
route and rights" without one iota of evil
dence to support the assertion, which is
an indictment not only of the executive
but of the American people, as the votes
ratifying the treaty and appropriating
the money to clinch the violation of ma
tional good faith" were practically unani-
nous.
The entire letter invites a comparison
of the honesty, courage and administra-
tive capacity of it's author and his party
with President Roosevelt and his party.
Fame has already taken the measure of
Theodore Roosevelt's qualities. No one
has ever questioned Judge Parker's hon
esty, but whether he possesses high civic
courage and administrative capacity no
one knows.
AS between the two parties such a
comparison would be odious to the party
which to-day rests its entire hopes of
success upon the favor of Tammany
Hall. Investigation and punishment OF
crime has been the position of the Repub-
ican party: the attitude of the Democ-
racy to crimes committed under it's rule
has too often been illustrated in the in
SOlent and brutal question of Boss
Tweed, What are you going to do about
it?''
Confidence in Roosevelt.