The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1908-03-20
Graft in All Departm ents.

Graft in All Departm ents.
Congress is still standing pat.
Even the Emergency Currency
measures are III doubt, although
it is possible that the Senate will
pass the Aldrlch Bill, after 1t
has been further amended. The
Fowler Bill, which provides for
radical reform of banking and
currency has been gaming friends
III the House of Representatives,
but Speaker Cannon and the
other leaders are opposed to it,
and are supposed to favor the
passage OF the Aldrich Bill, W hen
comes IRON the Senate.
Though the Republican lead
ers arc anxious To appear ready
and willing to pass reform legis-
lation they, In TACT. have deter
mined 10 throw every obstacle in
tae way of bills that would iuten-
sift new issues i'll the campaign.
What they desire Is to pass the
Appropriation Bills, with IA show
OF economy. and then adjourn.
The exposure of alleged corrup
ton III Indian affairs. which
threatens TO implicate the Chair
man of the Republican State Com
mlttee of North Carolina aud
tue other TAFT boomers, and per-
haps involve Secretary Garfield,
is alarming the Republican man
ayers.
The Submarine Boat scandal
, has reached the stage where a
committee has been appointed
by Speaker Cannon to investi-
gate the charges. but The general
opinion is that the committee is
so constituted that a white wash
lug report will follow. 1t will be-
remembered that there was "a
Holland Submarine Boat scan
dial in 1903, which resulted in a
white wash, although the rep
utatlons of some leading Repub-
leans were so smirched that 1T
resulted III their political un-
doing.
The Government Printing Of
flee scandal is still on the tapis.
The Electric Lamp Patent scan
dial is resting until the court
trial takes place, when interest
ing exposures may result. Then
there Is a fresh naval scandal
which has resulted from the crit
icism of defects i'll the construc-
ton of warships aud the evident
intention of the Construction
Department of the Navy to throw
all of the obstacles possible in
the way of witnesses who have
testified to the conditions which
appear to impair the efficiency
and security of our warships.
But the chief scandal, Que in
volving President Roosevelt, is
about the election OF delegates to
the Republican National Conven-
ton. 1t is charged that the Fed :
eral office holders, especially in
the Southern States, are obnOx-
iOusly active. and that the pins
have been set up by Assistant
Postmaster General Hitchcock,
who has since bsen .allured to
resign, with the approval of the
President, to continue the work
of packing the Republican Con-
ventions with the Federal office
holders. President Roosev {
has thrown Civil Service Reform
to the winds in his great desire
to control the Republican Ma
tional Convention. Former Re
pu blican Presidents have done
the same, but the result has been
TO disorganize their own party
and help the opposition.
The Republican brethren are
having such strenuous times now
days that the wisest of them are iu
the dark about the outcome. The
platform adopted by the Ohio
Republicans indicates how loath
they are to make specific declar-
ati0ns OF policies, although that
platform is reputed to have been
revised at the White House. Ii
declares for tariff revision after
the election, but there is nothing
in the plank on that subject to
prevent revising the tariff higher
if the Republicans elect a major
ity of the next Congress. Then
there is an equally vague and
evasive financial plank that
means nothing or everything.
Get a copy of that platform and
read it, and it might bother
strenuous Republican neighbor
to ask him to interpret what it