The star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1908-1909, 1908-10-30
PRESIDENT PLAYS
POLITICS OPENLY,
WHY NOT CLERKS?
Rev. DR.. WATSON, in "The
Crown" Asks Some PERTH
nent Questions.
ROOSEVELT AND CABINET
NEGLECT THEIR WORK
Yet Former Automatically Rules
Against Employees Off
Hour Politics.

Tho Rev. DR.. Edmund A. WATSON, of
st. Stephens Episcopal Church, added
to his batting average today when he
Knocked out a literary home run in the
Crown, at the expense of President
Roosevelt and his Cabinet members
and their activity in the national cam
paign.
Under the caption of "Pernicious Po-
-litical Activity" DR.. WATSON writes:
Occasionally we read in the papers
how some petty paymaster or some
clerk or letter-carrier has been sharply
fropr1manded by q cabinet officer or
!even by the ALL wise President himself
rot taking too active a part in politics.
II he disregards their warning he is dis
charged.
And yet-the wretched hypocrisy of
at! For his same cabinet official and
this same all-seeing President crowd
Imors political activity into a fortnight
ftnAn n little subordinate does into a
hfe-tifne. Every member of the cabl-
net has at this hour deserted his post
and Is campaigning for all he Is worth;
n scarce q day passes that a political
E1uStllade is not discharged from the
White House.
Outside Time a Mans own.
T my mind the best rule to make
would be h q every government en-
ploye, of whatever degree, should give
government time to government work
Exclusively; and that outside of work
ing hours his time should be his own
to use in any lawful way that he saw
mt. There should be no prohibition of
political activity, however active inc
'perhicious.'
As II Is, the big fellows exercise the
liberty that they deny to their subordi-
mates. This is not democracy; 1t is
bureaucracy. And when one considers
the political characters of these head
mon the situation becomes nauseating
Here, for instance, is hat idol of
ireformcrs who are anxious to reform
Everybody but Observation-Disclosures
Hughes, OF New York State. He has
spent weeks In campaigning for Taft;
and now he is spending the rest Of the
campaign for himself. Meanwhile he
us neglecting his duties as Governor
of the State. He is taking the peoples
time, for which he faithfully accepts
the peoples checks, to help elect Taft
and himself.
Judge Men as They Are.
Il am aware that the American pub
Ilic Ii apt to go crazy after the latest
political reformers, who for their brief
period are too holy even to be criti-
ciEed. But l believe In Judging men
for what they are. apart from the ac-
cidents OF position and vogue. Cabinet
heads, ~president5, governors, are men
like the rest of us. and are to be
Judged. not according to an official in
availability. but according to their deeds.
And h painful fact is that a man
elected to high office at once begins 20
deteriorate o. at least to exhibit weak
nesses which had not the same field for
exercise before. For instance, Govern
or Hughes. the attorney, would not
Ehave dreamt of neglecting the interests
of a client for weeks ha~nd-running, as
The neglects the interests Of the people
of New York. And, If his own private
Fsecretary should abandon his duties for
a few hours, without a proper excuse,
he would be called to sharp account by
Ibis gubernatorial master.
What is sauce for the goose should
be auce for the gander."