The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1908-03-20

Lult dA W HlCA- VI lAACA liz nos
;eea reaching out after the President
in a very clever way, by trying to
show I'D TIE abuses of law in the
various departments, which are under
the Presidents jurisdiction. 1t is the
Speakers opinion that the high de-
partment officials have caught their
chiefs spirit and shown a great dis
regard of law. They have done about
as they Pleased in handling appropra-
lions made by Congress. If Congress
did not give them enough money, the
departments have been inclined to go
head and commit the government and
then go back to Congress for deficiency
appropriations. Even the imposition
of penalties for such things did not
avail The Presidents brother-in-law,
Admiral Cowles, chief of the Bureau of
Equipment. was one of the worst offen-
ders in that particular. Acting, Of
course, under the Presidents direc-
lions, he used all the appropriations
for coal for the ships and committed
the government to a further expendi-
ture of one million dollars. That made
the Speaker and the other Congress
sional leaders swear tremendously in
their boards. None the less they had
to smile pleasantly and vote the money
on deficiency appropriation bill.
stances have come to Uncle Joe's"
attention in the departments. The
other day he struck by vitalizing nine
House committees, whose duties are
to supervise expenditures in as many
executive departments. Usually those
committees do next to nothing. They
are intended chiefly to furnish nice
committee room for some chairman.
Get to work." was the word the
Speaker passed down the line to them
the other morning. Forthwith he di-
rected that a resolution be put before
the House authorizing the necessary
expenditures to put those committees
in working order.
They are going to work, of course,
and ii is announced that in the course
of a few months there will be thor
ough investigation of the various ex-
ecutive departments and of the abuses
existing therein. They are to find out
whether all the salaries paid employees
are justified. That is slap at the
President, who is credited with hav-
ing encouraged large forces of special
agents and of others, who work Sc
cretly at great expense to the govern
ment, and, it is claimed, without pro-
ducing adequate results. They are
also to ferret out cases of depart
mental disregard of law and show it
up so that the American people may
have cognizance of the same, which,
OF course, is intended as another slap
at the President.
Right on the heels of this ambitious
the President begins to tell
Congressman that they would do quite
as well to "get busy" on the general
he desires. He would be
better satisfied with that than with |
any official review of what he and his |
officers have been doing. |
There may be nothing more than
warlike demonstration between these
two great branches of the government
the executive and the judicial-and
again there may be more serious bus
ness.
Back of it all is the Presidents deep
sGdlGu ulSllhc VI SOilSlGSS anu lliC
leep-seated dislike of the President by
Congress. Since he entered the White
House the great majority of Repub-
leans in Senate and House have never
lad any love for him. While many
IF them have come to agree with the
principles of his administration, they
lave not approved of his methods and
hey have resented his apparent efforts
o discredit the legislative branch of
he government in popular eyes. His
attitude in that regard is in direct
contrast with the late President Nc
<inley, who had served in Congress
many years and always got along on
most amicable terms with Senators and
The President never
lad much experience in legislative
bodies, having been for a brief time
,nly a member of the New York Leg
stature.
Long ago Congress would have eX-
pressed it's disapproval of the Presi-
lent in some emphatic way, only its
members dared not do it.
They were aware the people were with
him and that it would make things
lot for them in their own constitu-
sncies if they did not proceed in ac-
ord with him. They knew that re-
;istance to his policies would probably
'esult in a Democratic majority in the
House of Representatives.
Now they think they see signs of
he Presidents receding popularity.
Tor a long while the reports that came
o washington were that the people
lid not. blame the President, but Wall
Street, for the panic, following the
IDEAS expressed by the President sew
raj times on that subject. But the
Industrial depression spreads, political
roubles have been multiplying. and
he latest reports are that the great
lumber of dissatisfied people, who have
uttered from the depression, are be-
inning to blame the President. The
mandarins will not want
o divide the party on the eve of a
residential election, but they would
,e ready to go quite a long way in
vening up the score with the Presi-
lent, if only they could be certain
hat a good proportion of their coun-
rymen would approve.
Therefore they are feeling their
curse. They are very certain the