Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-03-04
SOMEWHAT UP N THE AIR
KENTUCKY oFFIcEHoLDERs
NOW IN A QUANDAEY.
Effect of Bradley's Announcement
for Fairbanks May Be to Cause
New Alignment.

Postmasters and other federal Office
holders in the fair state of Kentucky are
somewhat up in the air this bright and
gladstone day in March. Also the Taft
campaign managers are still restless as
result of the solar plexus punch handed
them by Senator-elect Bradley of Ken
lucky in his announcement yesterday that
he was a Fairbanks man first. last and all
the time. This is admittedly one of the
hardest blows that the Taft boom has
had since IL was launched, a good while
ago.
The situation in Kentucky used to be in
terestinsly different When Secretary or
the Treasury Cortelyou had a little boom
of his own the federal officehoiders In
Kentucky-and they are not less OF
power there than elsewhere-were Tor MIN
THE com bination of Cortelyou. the candi-
date and Cortelyou. the Treasury Secre-
tary plus Hitchcock. the first assistant
postmaster general and prospective Post
master General in the Cortelyou-castles-
fn-Spain cabinet, was too strong to De
overlooked.
Then some naughty person with sharp
and cruel knife cut long. gaping slit In
the Cortelyou boomlet and First Assistant
Postmaster General Hitchcock came into
the Taft camp and was baptized all over
again. So the interested portion of Ken
lucky. with such of the disinterested as
like to linger within sound of the band,
switched actively and gracefully.
The situation was embarrassing. Post
masters and other federal officeholders
had aided materially at the June state
convention last year in killing a nice set
of resolutions indorsing Taft. But at that
time Frank Hitchcock. who was travelling
I'm the south for his health and for Cor
iteiyou, had not seen the light. But Ken
lucky came around all right. embarrass-
ment and all. and saw the light too.
DIT ft,ol icrl,f lie i'm 20 n n
Bradley has come out for Fairbanks and
thinks the state will come the same way
before election day. Perhaps he Is right,
but at any rate federal officeholders in
the state are between the naughty red
devil and the deep blue sea. They just
can't forget for the minute that Gov.
Bradley has been elected republican
senator from Kentucky and that he has
help thinking. in this connection. of that
interesting case of the New Hampshire
pension agent and of those Ohio post
masters and their fate when their names
came up for confirmation some tire ago
in the Senate. In talking with Star
reporter this morning a prominent Ken
tuckian. who has been Taft man. called
attention to these things and commented
gloomily on the situation
THE announcement by Gov. Bradley
that he is for Fairbanks and all that 1t
means has done more to give the Taft
boom a jolt than anything else 1 can
think Of he said with. a shake of his
head. Gov. Bradley is the biggest re-
publican in the state. but even admitting
;. this. his declaration for Fairbanks would
not hurt so much were it not for the fact
that he has been elected to the Senate.
where he can keep an eye on patronage
down our way. From this time YOU
won't see the .postmasters and other fed
eral officers who were supposed to have
been brought into line for Taft fall over
themselves aiding his candidacy. Why
should they? They know on which side
their bread is buttered, and the New
Hampshire and Ohio disturbances are too
recent not to have left deep impressions"
So it would seem that Gov. Bradley's
election to the Senate has not only served
to make some republicans joyful but has
the general gayety of nations.