The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-10-10
AIRY PERsTFLAGE.

In his speech as the presiding of fcer of the Republican State conven- tion in the State of Massachusetts last week United States Senator Henry Cabot Lodge asserted or charged that the air of Boston was surcharged with stories of political scoundrelism con- nected with the municipal government. He mentioned among other things the barter in city offices, percentages paid and received on city contracts, the padding of payrolls and the borrowing of money on the city's credit to sup port idle politicians. The mayor of the city of Boston promptly denied the charges but the district attorney more promptly summoned Senator Lodge before the grand jury to submit his evidence. Senator Lodge now hastens to state that he has no evidence which would be of use to the grand jury; that he was merely dealing with wide spread and prevalent rumors.
 These charges brought by the ordin- ary man would have been at once as- cribed to political heat and those at whom they were directed could have afforded to contemptuously ignore them, but coming from member of the senate of the United States, who Is known as the scholar in. politics, they at. once took on serious form They were flashed over the wires from one end of the country to the other. All were prepared to see the scandals of the Pacific coast repeated in the staid old New England. Now Senator Lodge explains that he did not really know any particular cases of wrong doing but that he had been told in an Irresponsible way that there were such; hence the formal charges. This lets in an unwelcome sidelight on to the character of this distinguished gentleman. namely. willingness for partisan purposes to lead an audience bent upon partisan enterprises to take more ferocious view than it might otherwise take of the sinfulness of the opposition. This may he acceptable to the people of the State of Massa- chusetts. but 1t would not be to the people of the State of Connecticut, who with all of their faults do insist upon fair play. Here the political party responsible for such a lawless assertion would feel at once the strong lash of public opinion and would de- serve it whether Republican or Dem. ocratic.
 | But aside from the measure of criti. cisn which ought to ba meted out tc Serator Lodge, who is the more sin. ming because of his higher intellectual advantages and political opportunities public attention should be directed al this inexcusable assault in order tha'
 others may be deterred from initiating lit in other connections. The same rule which governs the conduct of men 1T their social relations should goverr lthem in their political relations. More than one-half of tho trouble in thil
 world can be traced to men, and wo linen, too, doing and saying in certair Icapacities and places what they woult
 never dream of saying in their private Icapacities and personal surroundings they appear to feel that change O environment entities them to swing { lstick If the municipal government O lBoston is wicked and one has the fact
 in ones possession to prove 1t on lshould present them to the prescott ling officer from the highest motive of patriotism. If someone irresponsi | ply says that municipal governmen Is wicked and such transformation
 used to inflame the passions of lcommunity it is well that the prescott ling officer should demand of him tn
 proof. Of all the people in public If
 Senator Lodge is without excuse fo
 such an attack as he has made, an
 If 1t does not lower him in public es
 timation then Massachusetts is lost t
 all sense of what is called "the squar
 deal" He ought at least to be com
 pelled to apologize.