New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1911-11-24
IA TOILETTE ON M'K|NLEY
Stood Firm Against Special In
tereStS, Says Senator.
WITHST00D HANNA'S PLEA
Reed the Real Friend of Big
Business" Insurgent Leader
Shows in Article.

Senator Robert NJ. La Toilette treats OF
the Reed Congress and the new national
issues in the instruments OF his auto
biography in the current number of The
American Magazine" lie also recounts
some OF his personal recollections Of Will
lam Mckinley In these two connections
Mr.. La Toilette says:
During those years in the eighties while
/ was IN Congress the lines between the
progress and stand-pat elements We're al
ready beginning TO appear. The alignment
OF forces was not 50 clear to me then as
Il is now, but / knew well enough Where
the leaders stood. Reed always used ms
great powers in defending the eXisung
system. lie sneered at those VINO CeSlrtd
new legislation. lie closed one of his
speeches with these words:
And yet, outside the Patent Office, there
are no monopolies in this country, and there
never can be. An. but what IS that | see
on the far horizons edge, with tongue OF
lambert flame and eye Of forked hre. ser
pent-headed and griffin clawed? surely
il must be the great new chimera-IruSt
What unreasonable talk this is. y
dozen men fix the prices for sixty million
fIeemen They can never 90 il! There Is
no power on earth that can raise the price
OF any necessity of life above a Just price
and keep il there. More than that, II the
price is raised and maintained even tor a
short while, IL means rum for the comblna-
ton and still lower prices for the con-
sumner
Reed had no sympathy with the inter
state commerce bill and voted against II;
/ always felt that Mckinley represented
the newer view OF course, Mckinley was
a high proteCtionist, but on the great new
questions as they arose he was SenerallS
on the side OF the public and against pri-
Vate interests.
And This the people insGnctivcly sensed
In my own State of Wisconsin. during the
campaign for the Republican nomination
J I'm 1Sqh / was strongly for Mckinney, put
the old machine leaders. Payne. sawyer,
J Spooucr, P0stcr and Reyes, all worked
/ vigorously for Reed. Reed had Big Busl-
ness with him: but the sentiment in the
/ state was too strong for the bosses. The
Wisconsin delegation to the st. Louis con-
vention. of-which ! had been elected as an
anti-machine member, was instructed lVr
and stood solid for Mckinley.
| know Of my own knowledge that Nc
| Kinley stood against many Of the corrupt
] influences within his own party-that ne
even stood firmly against the demands OF
| his best friend, Hanna.
Mckinley had no sooner been elected
/ than the Wisconsin machine, hackeo
strongly by Hanna, demanded the appoint
ment Of Henry G. Payne as Postmaster
I General. And ! with others brought Tor
ward the name OF Governor Hoard OF WIS.
consin AS candidate for Secretary OF
Agriculture. A few weeks before Mchln-
/ leYs Inauguration, upon his invitation, I
went 70 Canton 10 see him. ] explained 10
( him what forces Payne represented in
! Wisconsin. and indeed, he had already
known Payne's work as a lobbyist in
| Washington. in connection especially with
/ Beef Trust matters and | knew he abomi-
mated that sort of thing. But he told me
| that he believed no other man had ever
been so strongly indorsed by prominent
{ influential politicians in every. part Of the
| country as was Payne for that appoint
ment When il was nearly time for me 10
Bob. - may not be able 10 appoint
Hoard. but ] will say 70 you that Henry
PAYNE shall not be q member Of my Cahi-
net
When 1 saw Mckinley At the White
House i'm the following winter he told me
how the effort to secure Payne's appoint
ment had eliminated. Re. said that Hanna
had come TO him just before his final de-
cison was made and said: You may wipe
ont every obligation that you feel toward
men and I'll ask no further favOrs OF YOU
II you'll only put Henry Payne in the Cabi-
net"
McKinIey's anwer was: mark. I would
do anything in the world 7 could for you,
but ] cannot put man in my Cabinet who
Is known rs a lobbyist"
And he kept his word.