The Hawaiian gazette., 1909-02-05
WRANGLE WITH
ROOSEVELT
By Ernest g. walker.

in Transmission) Three separate com.
mittees of Congress are feverishly work
ing this week on different lines. They
are seeking to discredit President Roos.
evelt in the merry war of the winter.
Nothing like it has happened since the
days when Andrew johnson was quar-.
relling with the Congress of his own
party that finally sought to impeach
him. 1t is no longer a matter of specu-
lation. The fight between Theodore
Roosevelt on the one hand and between
the Senate and the House on the other
is to be pressed to finish.
The winter is to be filed with the
wranglings. EXAMINATIONS and recrimi-
nations are to be in order. The Pres
ident is as palestine of temperament as
ever. He has no particular regret over
the situation. He pretends not to mind
| even that House of Representatives,
comprising a big majority of Repub-
licans, voted by 212 to 35 last Friday
to rebuke him. For the resolution that
the House adopted, laying upon the
table the offensive paragraphs of his
| annual message about the Secret Ser.
vice, and also his special message Of
| reply to the House inquiry, which re-
| flected upon several members of the APP
| preparations committee, was in parlia-
mentary terms very severe.
| At first it seemed as though the Pres
ident would escape bitter quarrel with
the Senate, where he is hated quite
as cordially as in the House. Senate
leaders tried to avoid an open breach
over the Secret Service paragraphs. The
Aldrich resolution, directing the com.
mittee on appropriations to inquire
about the employment of Secret Service
men and other detective organiza tions
| by the various departments, was fam
| ed with special caution to that end.
1t was reasoned by the Senators, who
participated in the preliminary confer
ences' over it, that the President could
not take offense at broad inquiry.
Comedies That Right to Congress.
And in that particular they reasoned
correctly. For the President at once
either of its branches. to inl titute such
an inquiry and so stated in his letter to
Senator Hale, the chairman of the APP.
preparations Committee. That line of in.
vestigation has now developed into
three Senators Gallinger of New
|
Clay of Georgia, the latter Democrat
has been designated.
They are proceeding with more eau
ton and more secrecy than the two
other investigation committees and ap.
parently are very determined TO dig
out material that will justly the in
quiry. However, there had been no
signs of intense opposition to the Pres
/ l.. NC
paragraphs and the Senate seemed will.
ing to be calm about the matter till
there were two special occurrences.
| One pertained to Senator Tillman
| The President hates that Senator with
a bitter hatred. Mr.. Tillman has criti-
cized him more openly and virLlertly
than-any other Senator, often in such
| incorporate language as to disgust more
judicious people. And it has been no
secret for some time that if the President
could ever get even with Senator Till
man, he would avail himself of the OPP
portunity to the utmost. The oppor-
tunity came.
Saw a Chance to. Make Money.
While lecturing in the West about a
year and half. ago, the Senator
thought he saw chance to purchase
on advantageous terms some Il nber
land supposed to have reverted to the
| public domain. 1t was in the posses
sion at the time Of a land gram com
| pany, whose title was claimed to be
| illegal. There was correspondence and
| Byron Darr, the manager of company,
known as the st. Paul and P.cifc Com.
pany, issued n circular, using Senator
| Tillman IS name as one of the purchasers
| of ten sections. 1t seems that the SEN
ator had not at that time paid over any
money. Before be got to tfct point he
convinced himself thct the propo sition
was not altogether in good hands .and
light in the midst of the correspondence
he rose in his Senate seat end denoupc-
ed the company as swindle. He even
asked that the Po7toifice Departm ent
issre fraud order against the &C n
pany.
President Roosevelt apl arertly hid
noted what was going on. inspectors
were put upon the case. They went to
| great lengths to secure evidence. hey
| even gained possession of letters that
| Senator Tillman had written, photo
graphed them, including the envelope,
which showed that he had been writing
private letsers under his Congressional
frank. That is contrary to law, al
though the chief offense at the c. toll
in that connection is generally rc2ar J
Ted to be in getting caught.
When the President came to make up
letter of transmittal for the docpmen.
tary evidence of the operations of the
detective forces in the departments,
complying with the Senate request, he
made the investigation against Til nan
a feature. To be sure he craftily @ ted
it o. an incident. In lead of sending a
typewriter letter, as is usually done
with letters of transmittal he had it
printed at the Cover nmept Printing
Office and sent out to all the newspapers
under a release date. The copies had
hardly more than left the White House
than intimations began to go forth from
people, who are not strangers there that
a Southern Senator had been caught in
the tolls of the Secret Service.
Tillman Admitted 1t.
"That is ~ said Senator Tillman,
the moment he saw it announced in The
newspapers and then the fun began.
Senator Hale had arranged that the
0raa tact uaoraary phnrId IL o1,aow.,ol