The Marlboro democrat. [volume] (Bennettsville, S.C.) 1882-1908, 1907-12-27
CAUSES SENSATION
Fall of Hitchcock, First Assistant
Postmaster General.
The Withdrawal Of Southern Patron
age From His Disposal Stirs Up

age From His Disposal Stirs u
Hungry Boys.
The Washington correspondent Q
the Charleston Post says from AL
exandria to Eel Paso there will be
sensation among Federal ofnceholder
who have been part OF the plans o
Frank II. Hitchcock, Firat Assistan
postmaster General. when they learI
that Mr.. Hitchcock has been practi
caliy deposed by the administratio,
as postofiice dispenser In the Soutl
and that the work OF handling ap
pointments down there has passed
directly into the hands Of Postmaster
General Meyer, whose loyalty to tn,
President Is not questioned.
TIE Presidents displeasure will
Mr.. Hitchcock is now too we'll knowr
for anybody to doubt. It is q polit.
ical history. So far no move has
been made by the administration tc
hint that the resignation Of the as.
sistant postmaster general is desired
Whether Mr.. Hitchcock will retire
before the hint Is given or whether
he will remain in Office are matters
for the future to determine.
Shorn, however. Of the tremen
dous prestige and power he had as
sole dispenser Of Southern postonicc
patronage Mr.. Hitchcock will no
longer be the figure in the South
that he was. 1t is predicted that
nj IN
will quickly fall to pieces as the
ofliceholding rats desert the ship he
placed on the political seas. If that
ship had ever gotten into port it
would have unloaded the most cur
ious assortment of politics ever seen.
When George B. Cortelyou be-
came Postmaster General, he placed
Mr.. Hitchcock in charge Of the
Southern patronage. Mr.. Hitchcock
had been thoroughly familiar with
the situation in the South from the
time he resigsed as chief clerk Of the
Department of Commerce and Labor
to go with Mr. Cortelyou in the man
agement Of" the 1904 campaign. II
was his duty in that campaign to
learn all about the Southern lead
ors and their methods of business
In no time he found out that they
will rally around the pie counter
quicker that around gospel meeting
or a good card game. He played
them accordingly. In less than
three years he formed them into an
organization that played bold poll
tics On the surface the organiza-
ton shouted for Roosevelt for an
other term. Under the surface 1t
was for Secretary Cortelyou for
President. Even in the national
committee it worked with the pre-
cision OF trained regiment in op-
position to everything that the Taft
people wanted.
The president heard many stories
about the combine. For long time
he remained in doubt. He believed
Mr.. Hitchcock to be one Of the great
est living third termers. He could
not conceive It possible that there
was any other motive back OF the
work Of the Assistant Postmaster
General. Every bit Of gossip that
came to him he mixed 1t with plenty
Of salt At last he saw that under
the third term guise Secretary
Taft's head was being cracked at the
rate OF fifty times day aid the
Cortelyou boom was becoming a
power in the land What followed
every intelligent man now knows
What is to follow may be conjected.
In the only cases that have arisen
in, hn In loo oi n1YC
Postmaster General Meyer has por-
sonally handled them. The Annis
ton, Ala, case was one Of these IN
that case the recommendation Of the
men who have been playing with
Mr.. Hitchcock was turned down and
he recommendation Of new power
in the State was accepted In two
r;eorgia appointments about which
there is a fight in the Senate, Mr..
Meyer IS personally in charge.
These are the officers at Toccon
and Conyers both Of which have been
filed by women. Until these appoint
ments came up Mr.. Meyer had not
bothered with this work and did not
iesire to do 1t. From now on he will
handle it exclusively. Mr. Hitchcock
received tip about ten days ago
TO turn over Southern appointments
o the Postmaster General.
It is understood that the White
House does not give any credencc
- story that an anti-Roosevelt
combine has been formed In the
Senate 20 hold together the Hitch
,ock coalition by refusing to con
firm appointments that may be made
w tho. President that are contrary
"a the plans OF the coalition