The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-08-17
SEVERE ON McCABE.

Solicitor McCabe is, from what W.
learn of his earlier career, merely car
rying out in strenuous arbitrariness il
Washington the promise in this direc
tion Of his more youthful days He hal
been petty tyrant TO all his subor
dinates, or those whom he chose to con
slider his subordinatcs, in the U. S. De
partmeut Of Agriculture; and that has
been his characteristic from his first
appearance in the activities of life. Ht
has instituted crushing gag grule II
the department, as testified to by OF
ficals and employees in that depart
ment. and has carried things with g
high hand, as though he were himself
the head of the department. On being
called down in his arbitrary career
however, he shields himself behind or
ders that he claims were made by Sec
retary Wilson. but which others say
were prepared by himself, and were ap.
proved by the Secretary in merely a
pro forma way.
The two great offenses committed by
McCabe, however, were in changing the
wording of Missouri court judgment
and in appointing Il coffee expert on
precisely the same terms that DR.. Wiley
appointed chemical expert, and then
obiecting to DR.. Wiley's appointment
while holding fast to his own. On these
two points the New York Evening Post
excoriates McCabe in these severe
terms;
1t Is Solicitor McCabe and inferentially
Secretary Wilson that are on trial now
and in a serious position. in the inves-
DR.. Wiley's dismissal has brought about.
Yesterday the solicitor made the damag-
Ing admission that he had ordered a
a Federal court IN a pure food case, by
which il was made to appear that the
defendant company had pleaded guilty to
making q preparation containing Co
caine. caffeine. and harmful coal tar
dye" The fact is that It was benzoic
acid and not caffeine which the manu-
facturers acknowledged. and that the
Si9or harmfSf h Wss an out and ad
his action Is that the department had
never alleged that benzoate of soda is
harmful, had. In fact. held the opposite.
Therefore. the defendant company must
have erred In It's statement OF the in
gradients OF the preparation. 1t is omen
TO question whether an official capable
Of taking so naive a view OF the matter
Of tampering with court record Is not
too unsophisticated for the position OF
solicitor to a department When, how
ever we learn further that he had sane
toned the appointment OF a coffee ex-
pert In the Bureau Of Chemistry at $50
4 day. because he was the only one OBJ
Ialnable, and later refused 10 sanction DIR.
Rusbys appointment at a similar ex-
cess per diem. because IL would set bad
precedent, we feel that naivete Is hardly
4 sufficient explanation Of his actions.
Every one will concede that this is
a just censure and criticism of McCabe,
and every one will concur in the senti~
nent which is practically unanimous in
the House, that it is McCabe and not
Dr.. Wiley that Secretary Wilson should
oust, before stepping down and out
himself,
In the meantime, the wretched perse-
cution of DR., Wiley by McCabe, re-
yealed in the report this morning of
Wiley's testimony, is as scorching an
lrraignment as could be possible Of
Secretary Wilson s wrong alignment On
The great questions of enforcing the
pure food law, or else of his utter inef-
iciency as an administrative official.