Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1908-11-19
WASHINGTON LETTER.
From our Regular Correspondent.


in Washington whether Congress is in
session or during vacation, are j st
now devoting themselves to cabinet
making and to the discussion of the
senatorial prospects of various men
prominent in political and official life,
with side glances at the tariff tinker
ing which is going on in the Office halls
of the House of Representatives, west
of the Capitol.
1t has been the expectation of many
that Secretary Root would be retained
as premier, or the head OF 1afts cab
met, but it is now known that the dis
tinguished secretary cannot be retain
ed by President. elect Taft. He and
the President elect are close friends.
Their association for years at President
Roosevelt's cabinet table has built up a
mutual regard and confidence, but Sec
retary Root seeks another and a more
active field. "Seek" perhaps is not the
word. Is is being thrust upon him.
He is not and has never been a seeker
others, the Office is seeking the man.
1t is expected that he will succeed
Senator Platt of New York and the
contrast between the two men is sharp
enough to mark an era and emphasize
revolution. Thousands, perhaps mil
lions of pessimists wi II take heart and
hope when the attorneyship of the ex-
press companies SHALL in the person of
Senator Platt, be removed from the
floor of the Senate, and when man of
the fame and force of Root shall repre-.
sent, in the American House of Peers,
the most populous and the wealthiest
than represent the state; he will repre-
sent the United States and his counsel
and influence will not be withheld from
his friend in the White House.
The Postmaster General has .complet-
ed his report which will go with the
Presidents message to Congress. 1t
shows deficit of over 16 millions of
dollars, the greatest deficit in the his.
of this deficit is that the Government
permits the express companies to filch
from it the profitable end of the mail
carrying business. The Department
is employing over thirty thousand car
riers on the rural routes and some of
these are able to put in their pockets
all the mail that they carry. But this
country lags behind the rest of the
civilized world and large portion of
the half civilized or harbaric peoples of
Asia, and is without the parcels post, a
most important and necessary append
age of modern life. 'There are four
objections to the parcels post" said
Postmaster General Wanamaker years
ago. "They are the four express COM
panies." But if there was q parcels
post, such as they have in all European
countries and in some Asiatic coun-
tries; such as they have in Egypt and
northern Africa, eighteen millions of
persons who are served by the rural
route system could have greatly
superior and actually indispensable
service and instead of yearly deficit
of millions of dollars, the postal service
would be source of profit to the Gov
ernment.
Two definite and positive statements
have been made regarding the person
mel of Mr.. Taft's cabinet. One is that
he has given the question of cabinet
appointments no consideration and will
not do so for several weeks; and the
other is that no promises in regard to
the cabinet officers were made directly
or indirectly during the campaign.
Nevertheless, the self appointed cab
met makers have been busy night and
day since the election, and enough
names have been submitted to fill half
a dozen cabinets. Among the names
presented is that of n wealthy New
Yorker known in Warrington from his
relations to the Panama Canal trans.
ment disposed of its rights in that en-
terprise for forty million of dollars.
His name is William Nelson Cromwell.
Mr.. Cromwell is said to b ambitious
TO enter the cabinet as Secretary of
State and it is known that his friends
are urging his selection upon Mr.. Taft.
1t is understood that he rendered valu-
able service during the recent cam
paign, to say nothing of large contri.
button.
Postmaster General George Won l..
Meyer is also much talked of for the
first place in the cabinet He is from
Massachusetts,; has been minister to
Russia and has been an active and eff
ficient cabinet minister in his present
position. 1t would be flattering how.
ever, to say that he is of the intellect
dimensions of the present Secretary of