The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-10-04
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 4. 1910
MONEY rn rms ~,

THROWING MONEY TO THE WINDS
1T was on last Saturday night tina
President. Tart. In entering ,ln d. gen.
eral denial of the charges agains
MS administration, said before tn,
National League of Republican Clubs.
1t Is possible to save money in car.
rslns on this government, and we are
struggling III this Administration to
ma out now modern principles of bust.
ness orsanizationand efficiency may be
applied to a governmental structure
that has been HANDED down for a hun.
dred years and has never been re.
organized with the idea of securing
modern business economy"
In the same paragraph of his speech
Mr.. Taft challenged the Democratic
party to put its finger on the expen.
Cultures which 1t criticizes and would
avoid We're it put In power The cata-
logue Of such expenditures is a
long one, amounting to total of s3,-
ooo.ooo,ooo, out the attention of the
president is respectfully called to the
outrageous extravaganza practiced by
me Department of Justice under the
direction of Attorney General wicker
Sham. The wastefulness in this de-
partment has been brought into the
umelight by the recent nomination of
FORMER Federal District Attorney Henry
L. Sttmson for the governorship O,
New York.
The amounts which the Department,
OF justice has paid out to special at
torneys In the Taft administration con.
stitute condition deserving the
harshest public criticism. There are
several instances of such reckless
squandering of the public money. blu,
the two most conspicuous cases arc
those of Mr.. Stimson and of Mr.. Wade
II Ellis, Of Ohio. Mr.. Ellis last spring
retired from the office of assistant Mt.
torney general. In which he received
$1,000 a year. returned to Ohio took q
prominent part in the management of
the Ohio Republican party, and was
offered and accepted very tat re-
tainer by the Government. The De.
rartment of Justice was widely critl-
cized at the time for the size of the
Zee The excuse given was tina,
MIR. Ellis had been engaged, he
Tore his resignation in case ia
which the Government was marry
ana that his knowledge so gained made
him Indispensable to the Government
+ In tho th,ar
The Stimscn case is practicable. a
Parallel. lie was engaged In prose
cutlons as the Federal district attor-
ney in New York at a salary of $40 nor
the year Having made himself more
or less indispensable to the Govern
ment for the speedy conclusion of
these prosecutions, on salary which
was satisfactory to him, shortly after
MS resignation he was retained by the
Government as special counsel with a
Zee. exclusive Of expenses. agsregatinp
Six times what his annual salary hnd
been. AS special counsel he received
100000 for wltaf..as district attorney
he would have done as a part of his
duty upon stipend of $4,000 the
year
The point of these cases is that hon
Mr. stimson and Mr.. Ellis used their
Federal Offices in such a wav and re-
signed them in such circumstances as
to force the Government to nav ire
mendous sums of money to them for
the doing Of work which they inten-
tionally left uncompleted Both cases
amounted to peaceful hold-ups and the
Government must come in forits share
OF criticism for allowing itself to be
the victim. Either both of these Off
GERS should not have resigned at the
time they did, or. continuing In tho
cases as special counsel, they should
have received a compensation proper
tionate to that which they would have
received had they been In the regular
employ of the Government.
For allowing this practice, which
smacks strongly of corruption. severe
censure should be bestowed upon At
torney General Wickersham as tho
head of the Department of Justice.
upon Messrs. stimson and Ellis and all
Others who nave benefited by this prac-
tice. and upon the present administra-
ton with It's blusterings about its
economical management of the public
business The President Is a lawyer
and ought TO know an extravagant and
outrageous retainer fee when he sees
one. In the matter of saving money,
the Department of Justice is recon-
nnended to him as fit starting place.
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THE DANIEL MEMORIAL.
When John Warwick Daniel died.
there passed away the last of the old
order of Senators, men who serted
their people. their States, and their ma
tion in a single-hearted fidelity. SEN