The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1911-08-17
TAFT in A HOLE
His Administration viii Have a Time to
Clear lts,lf of Fraud.
FRAUDS ON ALL SIDES

State, Agricultural and the Postoffice
Departments Are in Order Now
and the Surface of the Frauds and
Rascaliti,s in Them Have Only
Been Hinted At.
MIR. P. H. MCGOWAN, THE Washing
ton correspondent Of The State says
it is becoming more evident in Wash
ington day by day that the Taft ad-
ministration is going to have an ex-
ceedingly difficult time proving a
clean bill Of health when 1T goes be-
fore the people for Endorsement in
the national election next year.
Even lifelong Republicans those
who have stood the G.. O. P. outfit
in its good days and its bad ones,
through the exciting times of the
Roosevelt administration and the
tame ones that make every day alike
at the White House now-are begin
ming to see that aside from talk,
hope and expectation there are sew
eral good reasons to believe that
next year will see the departure
bag and baggage-from the White
House of the Republican party as
now organized and operated in the
United States
No one blames William Howard
Taft for the present condition Of af-
fairs. He is a good man, thoroughly
honest in all that the word honesty
implies, but absolutely unable to see
that he is surrounded 10y much the
same surroundings that characterize
ed the days when Capt. Kidd was pr
ratical lord and master Of the high
seas.
Today President Taft Is surrounded
by as shrewd a band Of political
gamesters as ever came down the
road And the funny part about 1t is
that they are getting away with IT.,
and Taft-with his strictly judicial
temperament and believing that ev-
erybody Is honest, even the polite
Ians-does not see it, though every
one else does.
Mr. Taft unfortunately was left
with an overstock of the Roosevelt
Junk on hand In the way Of
official timber, and has been unable,
so far to unload. And right here
will be his undoing when he tries to
explain to the people next year.
The worst blot on the Taft official
record is the case of that missing
vouchers in the Hay portrait case
and the manner in which the case
was hushed up for fear that more
and worse developments might come.
1t was bad enough, to be sure, as 1t
was but no case is ever helped by
covering up the truth, and it is going
to take mighty lot of clever work
10 make the people believe that any
thing but crooked work has been
going on in the department presided
over by Phllander C. Knox.
The missing voucher and the man
ner of its being found must stand
ont as particularly Objectionable to
the minds of honest people who want
an honest administration.
The Wickersham administration In
the department of justice has Jared
little better and the great head OF
the nations law department did him
self no credit when he shifted the
calcium from himself to the depart
ment of agriculture, where he
is trying his level best to make
"Old Borax" Wiley go home.
He may succeed. Wiley may
have to go, but thousands OF
people who have followed Wiley's
efforts to enforce the pure food laws
will say: There goes an honest
man" Then the scene will Shift
again to the " Wickersham stronghold
and what developments will follow,
unles they too, are chloroformed
with administration dope, will prob
ably recall the days Of Diogones and
the honest man.
But with Wickersham and Knox in
bad and poor old "Tama" Jim Will
son, for thirteen years the admins
tration's official farmer, about all in
because he has acknowledged that he
does not know what is going on in
his department and that the crop
statistics and like matters are ma
nipulated to suit the wishes of his
underlings, the people may, indeed
look for something real. classy when
they take hold Of the great and only
Frank II. Hitchcock in earnest.
So far the handling Of this gentle
man by the congressional commit
tees has been merely perfunctory,
but some time at no distant day his
real investigation is going to begin.
Then take notice. That same Hitch
cock knows things. and many vol
umes vii! be needed to make the
records when he comes down from
the witness stand. There are just
few facts relating to the batting OF
small postmasters all over the coun-
try that the Democrats want light
uDon, a few figures about campaign
assessments, and just bit of infor-
nation regarding pledges to sup