The Montgomery advertiser. [volume] (Montgomery, Ala.) 1885-1982, 1907-04-26
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day or two ago about the case of
Mr.. wadswerth of New York, and the
probability of his obtaining member
ship in the Presidents AnanIas Club.
Mr.. Wadsworth Is an ex-Congressman
and Republican, and has been say
ing things about 'the greatest Presi-
dent since Washington" that plainly
| penetrated the Presidential cuticle, and
| the following from The Philadelphia
Record sheds more light on the situa-
| ton:
Congressman wadsworth haying de-
scribed the President as a fakir and a
humbug. in consequence of his elimina-
4 ton of Wadsworth's friend Archie
| internal revenue in Rochester.it Is Of
| ncially Announced at the White House
| that Wadsworth's surmises are correct;
| the President called for the resigna-
| is not furnished will remove him. not
because his work is unsatisfactory. but
| because he is friend of Wadsworth,
who is no friend of the President or
/ Of Governor Hughes, whom the Presi-
| dent is determined to support in order
| to make a candidate for vice-president
| out of him.
The President announces that he is
1
! age will enable him, to do to fortify
Hughes, and he is not working in New
York only. Assistant Postmaster Gen
eral Hitchcock has been dispatched to
Atlanta on account OF reports of the
formation of an anti Roosevelt organ
| ization among the Suthern Republic
sans. The Postoffice Department has
! more patronage than any other branch
| is now being employed in the aid Of
REFORM 1t Is not without Its humor-
| Gus aspects.
AS The Record says In another place,
the evolution of a full-hedged dis
penser Of patronage out of a lifelong
civil service reformer is an interest
ing study" Yes, 1t is interesting, and
| It may also have its humorous as
peets," but we think most right-think-
| ing>people will call the action of the
president by quite different term.
Mr.. Sanders, 1t will be observed, Is
not charged with incompetency. dis
honesty. or anything else TO his dis
credit as a government official. He Is
to be kicked out OF office--if he re-
fuses to resign--f for no other reason
than that he is friend of Mr.. Wads-
worth. Is not that an almost sicken-
Ing performance on the part of pres
ident of the United States who is
everlastingly and noisily boasting
about square deal. civil service re-
| form, civic honesty and the like? As
| The Record argues, Roosevelt has
evolved himself from a civil service re-
former into a dispenser Of patronage
for his own uses. Perhaps the svolu-
ton was easy, however.
But a; has not been told, for. ac-
cording to The Hartford Times, the
president is making something like
war of determination against all wads-
worth men in New York. He is not
only removing, wherever he can, all
who are known to be friends of the
ex-Congressman and putting anti
wadsworth. men In their places, but ia
prevailing on Governor Hughes to do
the same wherever he has the power.
All this. we are told. the president is
doing in the interest Of Governor
Hughes, who is his friend, and who
is expected to control the New York
delegation to the national Republican
convention In the interest of the pres
| ident or whoever may be his choice
| for the nomination. All through the
whole affair 1t Is a matter of bargain
| and sale, of you tickle me and III
tickle you" business. That 1t Is not
creditabie matter should be plain
to all, but what can we expect?
1t would not be altogether so bad If
Roosevelt had never protested to be
anything but a spokesman. II he had
all his life been openly and publicly
recognized as a man who was In poll
tics for what there was in 1t for him
we would not expect anything else
| from hi al a: This stage of the game.
There are polite ians who make no
secret of the fact that the game of
politics is to them like a game Of
cards, and that they play it solely for
what they can make out of 1t. That
| such has not been the public estimate
of Roosevelt heretofore is due to his
own frequent declarations. Some of
these The New York Post thus puts
| together:
1t cannot be too distinctly laid down
| that President Roosevelt's removal of
| Collector Sanders of Rochester purely
| for political reasons as Is officially ad-
| mitted, is directly in violation of his
| own professions and pledges, AS 1t GER
| tainly is of all sound principles of
| civil service reform. 1t is not alleged
| that Sanders was in any way incom-
| petent or derelict. He was simply
| 'Wadsworth's man." and therefore had
| to go. OF such ruthless use of public
offices. the president has put on rec
ord his indignant condemnation. In
| the brave days when he was a civil
service reformer. he said (1S9S): Re
movals for political reasons in places
! where the duties are wholly non-p o-
| litical, cannot be defended by any man
who looks at public affairs from the
| proper standpoint" Even his after
thought about the duty of using pat
| ronage to hold up the hands of Hughes,
he had accurately branded In advance.
In his Century article of 1900, he
wrote: mo man is justified in doing
evil on the ground of expediency." AL
so: LAS soon as a politician gets to
the point of thinking that. in order to
be practical he has got to be base,
he has become noXious member of
the body polite" And If anybody
SAYS that we ought not to criticise a
false to his promises and careless of
reform, we have a warrant in his own
words. In his valiant essay on civil
Service Reform" he spoke of the duty
of "all friends of reform" to watch
carefully the course OF public officials.
"They should be condemned when they
do ILL., and attention should be called