The Washington herald., 1907-12-29

I
/ end by certain appointments. At once the
| President published his Sherman letter.
/ telling of Harriman's brag that he could
! buy laws and judges ad libitum. and for
which the President had classed him
| along with Debs. Meyer, and Haywood as
undesirable citizens" This incident as
sumed grdsat significance. owing 20 the
/ fact that organized labor resented the
/ slur upon the Western Federation Of
/ ficials about to be tried for their lives.
and for whom great defense fund had
/ been raised. Much was made by the enc
mics of Roosevelt OF the remark in his
! letter 10 Hartman that you and I are
practical men,
In the face OF the increasing hostility Of
many wealthy citizens. the President per-
sisted in promulgatirg his reform policies.
notably in his Decoration Day speech al
indianapolis. advancing the theory OF
Federal control OF railroads under the
postal clause of the Constitution, at
PrOvincetOwn. Mass. August 20. where in
laying the cornerstone Of the Pilgrims
monument he charged certain malefac-
tors OF great wealth with conspiring 10
depress business. in the hope of discredit-
ing his policies IN the eyes OF the people,
and again in his series Of speeches at the
dedication Of the Mckinley tomb, az Can
ton. September CO. and on the ensuing
Southern tour hurting defiance at his
critics.
Almost the same sentiments were ex-
pressed by Secretary OF War Taft in the
series Of addresses beginning at Colum-
bus. Ohio. August I9. in which he took
his stand as a candidate for the Repub-
lican nomination as the chosen defender
/ Of the administration. Such was the
launching Of the Taft boom, a dramatic
feature being his start on his world-cir-
cling journey. In the meantime all the
anti-adirinistration strength in Ohio had
been summoned into action BY the avOWed
candidacy OF Senator FOFaker, who gIo-
ries IN his differences with the President
Pennsylvania put forward Knox as her
favorlte. Fairbanks was shelved by the
cocktail story.
] Whether justly OF unjustly. the admin
istratiOn was blamed by many when the
pinch came, and besides the gibe Of the
/ Standard sOlOist. Chancellor Day, about
the raid on prosperity" Roosevelt re-
| celyed hard knocks from such sources as
! ex-senator SpOoner and Justice Brewer.
the latter at the opening OF the Civic
| Forum at New York, charging the Presi-
dent with playing pick-a-bOO with the
American people" about d third term. IN
| November the President did order Fed
eral employees 70 desist efforts for third
term delegation. and after the national
| committee met at Washington recently II
was reiterated from the White House
/ direct that a nomination would not be
p, accepted. The stand-pat message to Con-
gress on December 3 was indirectly the
Presidents stand-pat vaIedictOry This
cleared the atmosphere. checked the Cor
telyou boom on third-term thunder and
aided TAFT.
Bryan and the Democracy.
The staying powers Of the Twice De
feated, and his hold on the affections OF
the Democratic rank and hle in the face
Of a concerted effort 10 discredit him by a
clique Of the rich and powerful conserva-
tives still in control Of the party ma
chinery. was one Of the political wonders
Of the year. After his open espousaI Of
the national and State ownership Of rail-
roads last year. the current ran very
strong against Bryan. especially in the
South. This situation he met last April
by frankly saying that "he had come TO
the conclusion that the people were not
ready for the ownership idea yet, and that
regulation must first be tried out on Dem
ocratic lines" This did not prevent him
from championing the initiative and ref
erendum programme. Not until the mid
die Of November did he definitely an
nOunce his willingness again 10 accept the
nomination. No opposition appeared.
/ A general shake-up in the Roosevelt
Cabinet occurred in March. when Post
master General CortelyOu was transferred
TO the Treasury portfolio upon the retire
ment Of Secretary Shaw. George Won L.
Meyer succeeding Cortelyou as Postmaster
/ General. The Interior Department va
cancy created by the retirement of Hitch
cock was filled by advancing of Commits
sioner Of Corporations Garfield. the cor
porations post being filled by Herbert X.
Smith. The Treasury Department con-
| tinued 10 roll up a surplus, until Il ex-
] ceeded 500. 600 600.
] Postmaster General Meyer has made a
strong stand for the parcels post and pos
tai savings banks. and these reforms are
now brought to the attention OF Congress
with the Presidents hearty Endorsement
The Interior Department, under Garfield,
continued the work done by Hitchcock in
/ ferreting out land frauds in the far West
/ The Department Of Justice has had its
hands full with antitrust prosecutions.
/ including those against the Standard OIL
/ Company, the anthracite railroads. the
sugar trust. tobacco trust, and others
/ Secretary Of State Root by personal
visits in January TO Canada, and in
] August 10 Mexico, paved~the way for
closer relations with those countries.
The closing session OF the Fifty-ninth
| Congress was remarkable chiefly for the
number OF things which it did not do. or,
at least, which one branch did not do, or.
other to undo. Such. for instance. was
the fate of the ship subsidy law and the
/ Aldrich currency bill The more impor-
tant bills which became laws were for
the trainmen's sixteen-hoUr workday, for
the service pension. and for the exclusion
/ Of Japanese labOrers. The salaries of Sen
/ atOrs and Congressman were raised 80 per
| cent. The session was known as the first
billion-dollar session, although the Off
/ cial figures for the appropriations were
s93e. 79S. 149. The Sixtieth Congress, which
came into being December ?. under the
! ICannon-Aldrich leadership. has started off
with dO-nothinz- chastity policy. Tie
Senate committee was still investigating
the Brownsville riot case.
/ The Texas legislature. in a close con-
test. exonerated Senator Bailey from the
charge Of Standard Oil dealings. Nebras-
ka passed an anti-lobby bill. Missouri an
anti-tipping bill. Georgia and Florida ne
gro Gisfranchisement measures. New
York passed the Hearst recount bin over
/ McClellan's veto, and il was signed by
\ Hughes. but became ineffective through
court ruling. State pension measures
were vetoed by Gov. Stuart, of Penn
sylvania. and Gov. Hughes, of New