The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-04-17
TAXING TIE orrEngryr.

| ".
 TAKING THE OFFENSIVE.
 It Is announced at Washington that the Republicans are resolved to assume the offensive: that they are tired of be- ing called on to defend, first, the condi- tions that exist in the executive depart ments and, second, the conduct of the Chief Executive himself. It will be i'm teresting to see just how they will go about taking the offensive. So far they have been hard put to it for one instance to stave off an investigation of the Post office Department. They have fought this proposition in the House and they have bitterly resisted it in the Senate. The spokesman of the party in the Sen ate, Lodge of Massachusetts, has sneer- ed at Congressional inquiry on the ground that these are necessarily hur- ried. imperfect and fruitlkss; but even he seems to be giving way under pressure and now holds out vague promise that the leaders will consent to have the Postoffice Department overloaded by a Congressional Committee, and so go on the offensive, Whether this Is done or not, the trembling half-hearted promise will show to the public at large that there Is something to conceal. The peo- pie will never be satisfied that there is nothing wrong there. when Congress sional Committee could so easily dem onstrate this fact. The Republicans. however, up to this time have resolute- ly declined to start an investigation.
 We take it for granted, too. the Dem ocrats must know what they are doing when they urge an inquiry. They must. we suppose. be in possession of informa- tion conclusive to their minds, that a rotten condition exists They must know that a failure, on an examination. 10 show this would react on the party. | Nothing would help Roosevelt more at | this juncture than for the Democrats to | force an investigation and have this re- suit in A clean bill of health. The ru- | mors in Washington are to the enect l that the Democrats are thoroughly pre- | pared to go ahead and that they feel morally certain of such a demonstration as will soandalize the country. There Is. ! 1t can be said, a growing sense that the whole Republican administration should l be gone into. The Presidents bold pro- fessions of his belief in decency and hon. esty are not deceiving anybody. In the | one matter of the civil service, the rec l ord shows he, a double-dyed reformer. has suspended the law more often than | H.. xrada1aanorS and more than ten times as often as Mckinley during | the whole time of the latters service. 1 The President has shown marked dis position to disregard the law in other quarters. He was on the point of send ing a small army to the Isthmus of Pan anna for a permanent occupation of the | canal territory and was barely prevented from doing this by the active interposi- tion of the older Republican Senators. It is clear he designed descent upon San Domingo and the absorption of that so. called negro republic, when in like manner, an alarmed body of Senators intervened and held him back. No won der Republicans everywhere are con
 fessing, they are afraid to look in thi 7
 morning paper. No wonder aged sena T tors profess. a fear at leaving Roosevelt
 alone in Washington for the remainder
 of the year. He keeps the country in
 fever of apprehension and of course
 makes these elder statesmen tremble fol
 the success of their party in November
 It is a curious and noteworthy fact tha
 the members of Congress who defend th'
 President are only White House inti
 mates, like Lodge and spooner. Int
 body of the membership in both Senate
 and House are significantly silent wheI
 he is arraigned. They would like to b.
 aggressive but they have no heart fo
 it. They are smitten with the chicken
 liver when they are called on to stant
 up and brag about the statesmanship O
 man, whom they have daily learned
 more and more to distrust and fear.