The National tribune., 1909-06-03
A TAFT ADMINISTRATION.
The Distinctly Roosevelt Leaders Steadily
Dropping Out Of 0ffice-Taft- Putting
in His Own Men.

ku HIS OWu NiSue
The distinct Rooseveltians in Office
are rapidly dispensing to private life.
There is panic among them accordingly.
They are. seeing the handwriting on
the wall at last. And yet such change
is nothing more than was reasonably to
be expected. President Roosevelt grad
ually eliminated the distinguished Nc
Kinleyites.
As matter of fact, there is little
difference in the practices of Presidents
about putting men of their own type
and following into office. While Pres
ident is the leader of his party, he
stands forth almost invariably as the
representative of some particular fac
ton of that party. He wants men of
his own faith at the helm. A Demo-
cratic President puts in Democrats; a
Republican President Republicans. But
the change in tenure Is almost as GER
tain when a Republican President sue
ceeds Republican President.
Roosevelt was not abrupt in diSplac-
ing the McKinleyites. OF course, he
came in as President for the term for
which Mckinley had been elected. and
did not feel like asserting himself about
appointments, as does one who had been
elected in his own right. Taft came in
in his own right, and therefore has been
at liberty to make his own selections.
He has not haStened about displacing
Rooseveltians, but he has proceeded so
steadily and unerringly that incumbents
are no longer cherishing illusions about
what is in store for them.
Natural as such development is. 1t
is significant of Taft's intention to be
President himself. A President must
have large body of loyal men thruout
the country. Some choose to call it a
machine. Roosevelt had his, and, after
the old Hanna-McKinley appointees had
been eliminated. most loyal machine
it was. Roosevelt knew how to build
up an organization and how to main
tain 1t.
Gradually Dropping Out.
President Taft started upon distinc-
tive policy in the choice of his Cabinet.
Only two of the men who have ever sat
with him in the Roosevelt Cabinets are
around his own council table. One OF
them is Secretary of Agriculture Will
son, who came over from the Mckinley
Administrations The other is Secre-
tary of the Navy Meyer. who has been
placed in the most difficult of Cabinet
positions, and is believed in Washing
ton to be making good. Ex-Postmaster-
General r. ]. Wynne, distinctly identi-
fled with the Roosevelt administrations.
was dropped out the other day as Con-
sul-General at London. Assistant Secre-
taries in the Departments have been
gradually displaced, and the AK is hang
ing over the heads of others. This is
not necessarily reflection upon the
retiring officials. Most of them have
been fairly efficient. A few have not
been. But there were other men, more
closely identified with the Taft cam
paigns for nomination and election.
True, President Roosevelt was the great
foreman in that aqrnnaipn his liQII-
tenants were on the watchtowers for
Taft. But the new President had his
own workers in nearly every State. Rec
ognition of them has been coming slow
1y, but none the less surely. The orig
inal Taft men are coming into their
own. Before Theodore Roosevelt re-
turns to America the Administration
organization will he manned by officials
whose first political allegiance has been
and is to Taft, not to Roosevelt.
A great stride an that direction has
been effected by the resignation of the
Director of the Census, Mr.. S. n. D.
North. It apparently was not sought
for political purposes, as far as the
President is concerned. But it was cor
daily welcomed politically by some of
the Presidents lieutenants. They will
be in command over numerous census
activities, which does not necessarily
mean to the detriment of the service.
IHeTe Will De soupeTNlSOTS Oh tne CENSUS
in every State of the Union. While the
enumeration of population will occupy
only a month at the outside. the Super
yisors will hold office for about a year.
Much of the time they will have little
to do except to correct errors in ac-
counts and hasten belated returns.
Their service will extend over the period
of the next Congressional election.
There will be numerous little ways in
which they can be helpful politically.
The wedding out o. Rooseveltians in
the high Departmental places and the
nominations of distinctly Taft men in
their stead and for good berths else
where is. on the whole. pleasing to Con-
gress. The leaders hail such evidence
as proof of distinctive Taft Admins
tration. They did not like 1t when
Roosevelt proceeded to oust Republi-
cans of the McKinley-Hanna brand.
The McKinley-Hanna outs are by no
means being taken care of now, and
that does not affect the rejoicing in
Congress one way or the other. The
cordial dislike of Roosevelt has not
abated on the Hill a jot. 1t is the pass
ing of Roosevelt's brand OF followers
from the nomination rosters that
pleases. The new men now getting into
Office are not so much anti Roosevelt as
they are pro-Taft, which, after all, is
quite a difference.
hiSiueHtdiiy' tHt poutIcdl power VI
PostmasterGeneral Hitchcock appears
TO be growing. How much positive in
fiuence he has with the President may
yet be open to question. 1t has yet to
be measured. But his influence In pre-
venting seems to be very strong. He
is credited with having kept an old
time opponent-Elmer Dover. of Ohio
and New York-from getting that fat
National Bank Examinership in New
York, at $4,000. Since that episode
the men in Washington, who make q
business of politics. have been taking
some notice of Hitchcock. They had
been disnnsed to ignore him