Los Angeles herald., 1907-06-02
PRESIDENT MAY
WARN POLITICIANS
TOO MUCH ACTIVITY SHOWN
IN N>ELECTI0NS
Pre-Convention Work Will Not Bring
censure, but Efforts to Aid
Friends After Nomination
Are Condemned
Special Correspondence of The Herald.

Special Correspondence of The Herald.
WASHINGTON, May 25.-As long as
federal office holders confine their po-
litical activities to work within their
own party they are not likely, appar-
emily at least, to be subject to a rebuke
from the president. A distinction ap-
pears to be drawn between ante and
| post work on the part of
Office holders. The proposition appears
| to be simple. In taking part in the
preliminaries leading to the selection
| of delegates to the state and national
conventions office holders are merely
exercising their rights in their own
party.
But should they, being servants of
the whole people, employ their office to
further the election of choice of only
part of the people, then they become
guilty of pernicious activity. Secretary
of the Interior Garfield, who, like Mr..
Roosevelt, was formerly a member of
the civil service commission, said it
was possible the president might call
attention to this feature of the civil
service regulations before the election.
Inferentially he is not likely to do so
before the convention.
The part to be played by feredal Office
holders in selecting the next Republican
nominee promises to be an important
one. All through the south there are
evidences of their activity. Ohio is
also a storm center. There is no dispo-
sition, however. on the part of the ad-
ministration to interfere with office
holders in states having ''favorite
sons" No pressure has been brought
to bear in Indiana, Illinois or Pennsyl-
vania as far as known, to prevent fed
eral office holders from Loyalty sup
porting Mr.. Fairbanks, Mr.. Cannon or
Mr. Knox. In Ohio the case is some
what different, for there is a contest
between the president ;nd the senators
in that state, and the federal office hold
ers are lining UP for his candidate.
Whatever doubt may exist as to the
assistance the president may give Mr..
Taft in other states, there is none what
ever hat he will help him to the limit
in Ohio.
The disposition of the administration
is to let things in New York strictly
alone for the present. Governor Hughes
appears to be hoeing his own row with
considerable success, and does not ap-
pear to want or need any assistance
from the federal administration.
Whether his record as governor will
make him a sufficiently prominent fig
ure before the next Republican conven-
ton to endanger the chances of other
candidates is problematical. For a
while, at least, the administration will
not make any more removals or ap-
pointments in New York.
The activity of a certain group of
self-appointed guardians of the public
morals and welfare promises to cause
the president considerable annoyance.
This combination is backed by two peri
odicals, a weekly and a monthly, which
are securing considerable free adver-
tisine thereby. 1t is composed princi-
pally of writer's in the employ of these
periodicals, together with some Office
holders and others. The writer's boom
the office holders and the others, and
the latter help the writers. Ever since
it's organization the combination las
been actively supporting the president
and everything he has done. Several of
them are almost daily visitors at the
White House, and in a note accom-
panying a recent article from one of
them the periodical publishing it said it
came from a person obviously so closely
in touch with the administration that it
was impossible to give his name. The
article was devoted to praising the
president.
1t is now stated that these periodi-
Gals and. inferentially, their employees
and representatives propose to attack
Fairbanks, Foraker and, --nox, and
probably others, holding them up to
the public as creatures of the corpora
tions. Already one of them has at
tempted to show that Mr.. Fairbanks
exerted improper influence in connec-
ton with certain government contracts.
and it is announced the other will
shortly contain an article on the same
subject from the same writer. Attacks
on the other leading candidates are
scheduled to follow. While 1t is not
even intimated that the president ap-
proves of these attacks or is even cog
nizant of them, the relations between
the White House and the representa-