Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-02-28
At THE WHITE HOUSE
Fight Against National City
Bank of New York.
MR.. SULZER IN EARNEST
TAKING THE MATTER TO THE
PRESIDENT.
Keeping Track Of Bills - Presidents
Pardon Record-Canal Com
mission Purchases.
MR.. SULZER IN EARNEST

mission Purchases.
Representative Sulzer is taking his fight
against the National City Bank of New
York to the White House, and insists that
the Attorney General of the United States
ought to be required to begin action to
vacate the contract the government has
with that institution as to the rental OF
the old customs house in New YORK city.
Mr.. Sulzer told President Roosevelt that
there has not been greater scandal con-
nected with the administration in years
than this one. and that most complete
investigation should be made in addition to
legal steps.
AT the rate the new customs house in
New York is being built" said Mr.. Sulzer.
1.-The Standard Oh people will soon have
gotten back from the government every
cent of the money they agreed to pay for
it. They agreed to pay s3,265,000 for the
old customs house, and the government,
in turn, agreed to pay $130GOO a year rem
tai for the building. / do not know how
many years it will be before the govern
ment is able to get into the new building.
But these are not the main points What
] am principally fighting for Is to prevent
the city of New York being robbed or Sloo,-
600 in taxation each year by the oil octo-
pus.
1.-The part the government is playing in
that is nothing short of scandalous. Al
though the National City Bank bought the
property many years ago, the title mas
never been transferred to the institution
and still remains in the United States gov
eminent. In this way the city and state If
New York are deprived Of thousands of
dollars in taxes each year. The Treasury
Department should be compelled to pass
title to the National City Bank or the
Standard Oil Company, and the ownership
should be fixed. This is pure robbery and
nothing else. If that great trust club, the
Senate, puts back in the sundry civil bill
the item for rental, $780, 600, the House will
put up the greatest fight ever seen there.
We are determined to bring this matter to
an issue and force the Standard Oil people
to take some action If they are not salts
fled. The property they got from the gov
eminent was worth $6,0O0,0OO at the time
they got it for half that sum, and now 1t is
worth s1OOOO,0OO. The government aids
them to escape taxation by still keeping
the property in its name. There is TO
worse scandal In the country"
Keeping Track of Bills.
Wise congressional heads have for many
years found it good sense to keep close
track of bills in which they are personally
interested at the wind-up of a session Of
the legislative body. Unless they do so
their pet measures liable to become
mslaid and fail of becoming law. There
were several senators and representatives
at the White House today talking to the
President about the signing of bills and in
curing as to whether the measures had
reached the Executive Mansion. They were
profiting by the experiences of the past
and keeping close track of bills. Nearly
all the big bills of Congress go through
without trouble, but 1t is the insignificant
ones that occasionally get lost in the
shuttle
The President had many congressional
visitors before the cabinet meeting. Sen
ator McComas talked to the President In
behalf of Col. L. NJ. Maus, assistant sur
geon general of the army. senator NC.
Comas thought the record of Colonel Maus
entitled him to retirement with the rank of
brigader general. He said Colonel Maus
had been chief surgeon in the Philippines,
had done duty IN Cuba and elsewhere ana
had a splendid record.
Upon the recommendation of Representa-
tive Brooks of Colorado, the President
ordered the nomination of Paul M North
as postmaster at Goldfelds, Col, sent to
the Senate. Mr.. North is a son of James
N North of the board of pension appeals
of the pension office, this city.
Representative Gilbert of Kentucky pre-
scented ex-Judge William NJ Harrison of
Shelbyville, Ky. Mr.. Harrison Is seeking
an appointment to a good position under
the federal government, and the President
is willing to do something for him II a place
can be found.
Senator Talaferro, Representative Spark
man and Representative-elect Clark OF
Florida, Senator Clay and Representative
Adamson of Georgia, Senators Blackburn
and McCreery of Kentucky, Senator Over
man and friends of North Carolina were
among the democratic callers. Some of
them had requests to make and others
were making visits of courtesy.
Presidents Pardon Record.
Representative Grosvenor of Ohio saw the
President about pardon case and was re-
ferred to the Department Of Justice. Presi-
dent Roosevelt has granted fewer pardons
than any President the country has had in
proportion to the number of petitions. His
views on pardon cases are well known dt
the Department of Justice, and the pardon
attorney and Attorney General do not pre-
sent him with recommendations for Glenn
ency unless the prisoners have the most
meritorious cases. The President has no
time to give to going over cases himself,
and leaves the recommendations to the De-
pertinent of Justice. The pardon attorney
goes through the cases and presents them
to. the Attorney General with HIS recon-
mendation. The cases are then passed up
to the President so that he can write de
MED granted" upon them. AS a rule
he reads nothing but the recommendation
of the Attorney General, and 1t Is rare that
he departs from that.
Canal Commission Purchases.
Secretary Taft talked to the President at
today's cabinet meeting about the charge
made before the subcommittee Of the House
committee on interstate and foreign COM
MERGE that the isthmian canal commission
has bought thousands Of dollars worth OF
supplies without advertising and competi-
ton. Mr. Taft said that about two weeks
ago he had sent to the commission for the
emergency contracts made by that body
and had gone into them to some extent.
He proposed, he said, to look into these
contracts further. So far as he had gone,
however, he was convinced that the canal
commission had acted wisely in the emer-
gency contracts and that no fair criticism
could be made of the action In these cases.
In some instances there may have been
small purchases open to criticism, but the
only wonder was that larger number of
! emergency contracts had not been entered
| into in view of the necessity for haste in
supplies of various kinds, especially med
| ical supplies, Secretary Taft told the Pres
| ident that he would look into the cases fur
| Their and in greater detail.
Arrangements for the inaugural ceremony
were discussed informally by the cabinet,
| but no conclusions, beyond a few of ma
| ture personal to the President and the
members of the cabinet were reached.
Attorney General Moody said that Judge
| Charles Swayne, acquitted yesterday by the
| Senate on the Impeachment charges, had
requested and had been granted a leave of
absence for two months. Jurge Swayne ex-