The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1908-03-27
GRAND OLD PARTY
Spends Most Of His Time Travel
ing Over the Country Hunting
Votes-Print Paper Users Will
Get No Relief-COst Of Yachts.
Cost of the Navy-Plan Of
Stand PatterS.
By WILLIS j. ABBOT.


gathering in Washington is the rapid
ity with which story, at first merely
hinted at, passes quickly from the
realm of rumor to the point of puhll-
cation. A few days ago it was ru-
mored that the facts concerning the
enormous expenditures Of money being
made to secure the nomination for the
presidency Of Secretary Taft were like
Iy to be made the subject of inrcstiga-
ton by widely circulated weekly pa
per Within forty-eight hours the story
of the Taft money cHn0aiSn was told
in full in New York newspaper.
Secretary Taft is fortunate in having
a brother who is enormously r!ch, VINO
attained his fortune partly through
marriage ard partly because OF
shrewd combination of politics and
business and the successful manlpula-
tion of public service franchises in Cln-
cinnati Two weeks ago people III
Washington who professed to know
told me that the Taft campaign for the
nomination was costing in the neigh
borhood Of $SO0,O00. The investigators
for the New York paper, proceeding
along, as have reason to know, entire
ly distinct lines, fix it at SI5O,tU. Ihis,
be it known, is the expenditure up to
date, yet the real work OF controlling
q convention has only just begun.
While there have been men travelling
all over the United States III the In
terest of Taft, while he has had head
quarters in Washington and in Column
bus, yet what has been done up to the
present time does not represent nall
the expenditure that will necessarily
have TO be made If his brother is to
buy the nomination for him. The con-
vention is nearly three months or, ana
these three months will be the time
that, if it does not try mems souls' VIII
try their pocketbooks.
Many people on the Republican side
of the house and senate think that Sec
retary Taft would have done better
to have made his campaign without
this lavish expenditure Of money. a
Kentucky congressman living almost
directly across the river from him SAID
to me today that two OF the issues
likely to be raised against Taft are his
apparent neglect of the duties oil his
office while travelling all over the INIT
ed States in the interests OF his can
didacy and the lavish use of money TO
force his nomination upon an unwill-
Ing party. At present Secretary Tart
says nothing in answer to any crltl-
cism, but If he shall be nominated he
will have to explain whence came the
money that paid for his extravagant
campaign and how he was able to Sc
cure from q civil service reform presi-
dent the leisure to go to all parts OF
the world for self advertisement and
political purposes.
Dodging Free Paper.
The newspaper publishers and own
ers Of the United States who have been
pleading with this congress for relief
against the cytortions Of the paper
trust will no doubt shout with JOY
when they learn that the Republican
majority has agreed to put an item in
the agricultural appropriation bill for
their benefit. The huge sum Of $4,000
is to be asked for the Investigation OF
new substances from which paper may
be made.
I happen to know the proprietors OF
three or four different newspapers OF
Calculations ranging from $4,000 to 25,-
900 daily who say that the recent IN
crease in the price of paper has cut
down their net earnings from $4,000
to $4,000 annually. You can imagine
what it must have meant to papers
like the Chicago Tribune, the New
York World and the Philadelphia North
American, with five times that circula-
tion.
The Newspaper Publishers associa-
tion asked that print paper and the
raw materials necessary for the manu-
facture of print paper should be ad-
mitted to this country free Of duty.
They sent a committee to interview
President Roosevelt on the subject,
and he tossed them q wilted bouquet
by saying in his next message that
this should be done in order to protect
our forests. The Republican congress,
or, rather, the five men who run 1t, de-
cided, however, that to touch the tariff
on paper or on wood pulp would be to
open the tariff question. Therefore
nothing is to be done on the subject
except the appropriation Of $4,000 to
secure information which will be quite
as valuable to the paper trust as 1t
will be to the newspapers now ground
under the heavy heel Of that t1:st.
What are the Republican papers re-
sponsible for the president who be-
trayed them and for the congress
which ignored them going to do about
3?
Yachts, Private and Public.
A New York newspaper the other
day printed half page of pictures Of
steam yachts owned by millionaires Of
that city that were offered for sale
because Of the financial stringency now
existing. They are beautiful big ships,
two or three Of them requiring
crows of from thirty-eipht to fifty men,