The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1909-02-27
IMPEACHMENT UNLIKELY.
BUT If ROOSEVELT HAD yDAp
MORE HE NIGHT FEAR TT
senate Committee Divided Over
strehgth OF Kittredge Report.
Grave Enough for Such Action

''oh Vi the report to be made by the
senate judiciary committee on tbe
merger of the Tennessee Coal and
iron Company with the United States
Steel Corporation during the panic of
lso' has gone over until Wednesday
afternoon.
Inc committee is divided in senti-
ment betweeen those who favor tho
adoption of the Kittredge report
which the subcommittee adopted on
Saturday, and those who are inclined
to believe that the report is too
strong. If the Kittredge report is
adopted, the legal advisers of the SEN
ate--members of the judiciary com.
mittee-will be on record as holding
that the president was without all
thority of law and that he violated
the Sherman law when he sanctioned
the merger.
The gravity Of this charge is ap-
preciated by every member of the
committee. The president is sworn
to uphold the laws as we'll as the
constitution of the United States. and
as his action in the merger case was
deliberate any. decision on the part of
the senate that what he did was IL
legal would be sufficient, in the minds
of many, to warrant the institution
of impeachment proceedings. Friends
Of the administration are laboring
hard to have the full committee-if
1t takes the same view as the sub
committee in the Kittredge report
tone down the report which is to be
made to the senate by the full COM
mittee.
They do not want the senate to go
on record as declaring that the pres,-
dent violated SO important law, and
IL 1t does go on record they wish to
have the fact stated in milder lang
uage. For this reason leaders in the
committee belonging to the Repub-
lican party thought it wise to allow
the matter to cover until Wednesday.
AS the matter stands now, half of
the committee is understood to be in
favor of the adoption of the Kittredge
report, which administers rebuke of
the most singing character to the
president. Whether the report will
be adopted without change will de-
pend upon the extent to which other
members of the committee feel on
Wednesday that they should give ad-
herence to the sentiments expressed
in the doucement.
The situation has not been improv-
ed by the attack which the president
has just made on Senator Hemenway,
of Indiana. The latter is one of the
most highly regarded members Of the
senate, although he does not stand
quite so high in the estimation of the
president and will step out of the
senate on March 4. The attack upon
Mr.. Hemenway is accepted by mem
bers of the appropriations committee
of the senate as an attack upon the
whole membership of that commit
tee, for the reason that the report
which Mr.. Hemenway wrote on the
secret service matter was prepared
with the approval of and was adopt
ed py the members of that commit
tee.
Therefore, in striking at Mr.. Hem
enway with the big stick members Of
that committee feel that the presi-
dent has reached over the shoulders
of Mr.. Hemenway and hit the mem
bers of the committee. The members
of the committee have decided how
ever, that they will not reply to Mr.
Roosevelt's attack until after he
leaves Office and his successor is inau-
gurated. For the present the retort
OF the president will be ignored. The
report which was made by Mr.
Hemenway, and which has aroused
the president, was only of a prelimi-
nary character. The final report is
yet to be made by the members of
the appropriation committee, who
have not yet completed their investi-
cation of the methods of the secret
service and of other secret agencies
of the government.
ID
senate there is strong feeling of re-
sentiment against the president. But
they have not been desirous of antag-
onlzlng him on account Of the near
approach of the end of his term They
all feel gratifed that within 10 days
MS administration will have drawn 70
close, and they have not been anyi
GUS TO precipitate another contro-