The daily sentinel., 1907-10-14

| P"H'tNiaus VINO are in the
know that developments of n most
sensational character may grow ont
OF the Wins investigation of the Ry-
ah-Belmont traction interests in this
city. Indeed, it is said that If the
probe goes deep enough, one of the
New YORK candidates for the presi-
Dental nomination may have his
hopes blasted for all time by the pro-
uucfon of evidence tending to show
that he is the political creature OF
certain monied interests now in ex-
cessively bad repute.
Spicy Political Gossip.
In those dear dead davs now
gone beyond recall" when the game
OF practical politics was played for
all 1t was worth, and the widest pos
sible license given to all participants
such talk as one now hears in clubs
and hotel lobbes would not have
been fraught with great danger to
the aspirant around whom the CON
Nersatlon cehters.. In those DAYS,
the statement, even if indubitabIy
proved, that a powerful but obnox-
lous man Of wealth. representing
huge, but highly unpopular corpor-
ate interets. had contributed to the
election of a candidate for a great
ofiice-in those days, | say, such do
ings would have been regarded as
matter of course and the PROPOSE
tion would not have excited more
than momentary en- neom.tB ETAO
than monetary comment. But in
these sensitive times, when the pub
lie money in politics, the mere hint
that high executive officer owes
his present political altitude to such
help, is apt to prove damning. And
in this particular case the effect will
be all the more hurtful because of
the "holier-than-thou attitude which
the official most concerned has al
ways occupied in the public eye.
In effect, the story that is now
the politicians to chukcle is |
that by the appointment of a COM
mission to investigate the street rail- |
way doings and dealings in this |
much burdened city, Governor E |
Hughes may find himself "hoist by \
his own petard" A large sum of l
money devoted by the Ryan Brady
Belmont interests to some cause or
other has not yet been accounted for
and the destruction of the books
means that its recipients
will forever remain mystery: but
l fairish indication of how such
money goes was given by that emf
lent accelerator of public opinion,
Mr.. Lemuel Eli Quigg. in his tes-
imony at the WINS inquiry last week
Mr.. Quigg's admission that he was
he tool of the Ryan -Brady-Belmont
,raud in tho -nrOepigatinn of a,garY
orm of demonstration for or against
my proposition that they favored or
was no news to the peo-
Die who know the methods of his
employers.
When men of the ilk of Ryan,
Brady. Sheehan, Belmont and Nc
Carren go in for patriotism" and
,iyic Improvement the trail of the
serpent of high" finance is very
lpt to be found i'll the immediate
neigh borhood of their operations.
With them business is politics, and
politics is business. Their keen in
crest and their hard cash was given
% the pushing of Judge Alton b.
Parker (now colloquially known as
the Belmont Lemon") towards the
and 1t is to be assumed
hat they stand ready at all times
to push anybody who they think
will best serve them.
Naturally the interests represent
I'd by these men and their Standard
Oil railway allies are not to be con-
served by the election of a man
who is pledged to the constinuation
IF politics inaugurated Mr.. Roose-
velt. which would be the case in
the event of the election of Secre-
.ary Taft Therefore 1t is said that
they have selected Governor Charles
L. Hughes as the candidate of the
party who is least like
" to be inimical to the great moniei |
interests of the country; and hence
that there will be no lack of money |
in the effort to push Mr.. Hughes in
to first place.
In this movement, these rich al
legged Democrats will be aided and |
abetted by the Republican interests
that have been antagonized by the
Roosevelt administration, But 1t is
plain that the rank and file prefer
Taft. and will fight even the en-
dprsement of another man Pur-
itanigm in politics is as unforgty-
able as Phariseism; and public
counting of phylacteries on the part
of an aspirant for high political hon
ors has never yet met with popular
approval.