The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-02-11
WEATHER FOR SALT LAKE.
METAL MARKETS.
JOINED THE ANANIAs CLUB.

President Roosevelt has proposed
some new names for membership in the
Ananias club, including the Indianapolis
News, the Indianapolis Star, the New
York Evening Post and the Boston Her
aid. Each of these prominent newsoa-
pers has charged the president. directly
or indirectly, of using the federal Of
fee holders for the promotion of Taft's
candidacy for the presidential nomina-
ton this year. Each has made its accu-
sation general rather than specific. Us
ing the indianapolis papers as an ex-
cuse, Mr.. William Dudley Foulke, long
conspicuous as civil service reformer,
asked the president to make a specific
answer 10 the charges.
Mr.. ROOsevelts reply is thoroughly
characteristic. Describing his critics he
uses language thus:
False and malicious"
Imaginative invention"
Does not contain slightest particle
of truth.
"Misstatement so gross that it is diff
f,cult to believe it other than a DELHI
crate invention"
NO successful effort can be made to
show there is the slightest foundation
for it"
And more to the same effect. The
quotations are enough, however. to in
dictate the entirely RoOseveltian nature
of the presidents remarks. He demands
proof of a single instance where an Of
fee holder has been threatened with
removal if he failed to support Taft or
where an appointment has been made as
a reward for support of the corpuIent
secretary. To Democrat or a disinter-
ested Republican, the presidents reply
TO his accusers seems the least bit disin-
genuous. It has been known for some
time that Roosevelt means to nominate
Taft as his successor of he can. He
has made no secret of his intentions,
and they have been thoroughly under
stood by every man who holds. office
by the grace of Theodore Roosevelt. It
goes without saying that an ordinarily
intelligent postmaster or district attor-
uGN OI ldllu OlllNt ctBAibAAANNN VI ANfNA@e.N
collector would need no further sugges-
ton to insure his activity on behalf of
Roosevelt's candidate. Even the ord
nary Republican Office holder can see the
path he has to tread and see it without
any topographic map drawn TO scale;
and the man who bankers for Office has
only TO read the newspapers to know
that office and support Of Taft are
synonymous terms in the Roosevelt vo-
cabulary. In essence. therefore, the
whole power Of the presidential office is
being used to compel support of Taft,
the chosen one. and. as a corollary, TO
compel opposition to any other aspirant.
II is evasive of Roosevelt TO say he
has not coerced any office holder; the
starving man knowing the terms on
which he can get food is apt to follow
those terms whether ne has them re-
enforced by a club or not. The average
government office holder lies awake o
nights listening for signs Of the presi-
Dental desire; he can hear an intima-
ton no louder than whisper farther
than most men can hear megaphone:
and he has the wireless system beaten
to a FRAGILE when 1t comes TO catching
stray messages from the White house
signal mast.
Talk about coercionl The president
of the United States exerts more in
fiuenee-if he is disposed to use his pow
er-he exerts more influence than all .