The Detroit times., 1911-01-09
INTIMATE CORRESPONDENCE.
M RATH.

i
through with a first.page article an
nouncing that William Howard Tart
Is a candidate for reelection. Why
doesn't somebody start the cheers?
President Taft is not without a
sense OF humor. | have heard him
tell this story on himself. IL was
when he first got into the running Tor
president business and had strayed
into Iowa OIL a tail-end jollying expedi-
tion With him was a native OF Iowa
BY the name OF kinkaid, long, rangy
and well-known politician or that state.
The train pulled In at little town
and Mr. Taft waddled out upon the
rear platform. Ahead OF him was Kin
kaid The coming OF the president
to-be did not arouse enthusiasm, SO
Kinkaid reached for the man nearest
him with the shout. Cheer, damn you.
cheer!"
North Carolina has declared for
President Taft for another term. Who
got the postoffice?
Retrenchment and economy (which
press-agenting so diligently this week.
ought TO take official note OF the fact
that approximately a million dollars
might be saved by presidential veto
applied to the French spoliation
claims in the omnibus claims bill.
Roger Sullivan comes very close to
being the rottenest and most danger
Gus political boss in the United States.
speak whereof know. His political
origin and the foundation OF his for
tune-he Is now a millionaire-was a
rotten gas franchise, later financed as
the Ogden Gas Co.. which he and Act
ing Mayor John p. Hopkins put
through the Chicago city council by
UNANIMOUSLY rotten methods. Today
Roger Sullivan Is not merely the DEM
ocratic political boss: he is part OF
the bipartisan special privilege ma
chine of Illinois. He Is as much re-
! sponsible for Billy Lorimer as SEN
ator as any rotten Republican boss
OF that state. Without Sullivan's help
4 Lorimer could not have pulled through
his purchased senatorial honors.
/ Roger Sullivan sent mutual friend
I
to the effect that Woodrow Wilson
must not oppose former Senator Jim
Smith of New Jersey in his efforts 10
return to the senate: otherwise Mr..
Wilson need not hope for the Illinois
delegation In the national convention
OF 1912 To Mr. Wilson's everlasting
credit be II recorded that he told
Roger Sullivan to go plumb 10 any
place he might like TO go to.
T. r. Is not for Tart. The busy press
agent Of the white house spends one
day putting out the story that TAFT
will have T. RS Endorsement, and the
next day that he doesn't need It. Per
haps he doesn't need 1t. Anyway, he
won't have 1t.
Senator Beverage Is loading up on
the Lorimer case. There are a lot OF
senators who are loading up. The
Lorimer case promises to be the most
spectacular topic of debate at this SEES
sion. The question clearly put by this
case is this: Can man whose cleo
ton to the senate Is tainted by brib
cry and corruption hold his seat III
that body?
The government has an action for
$40, 100000 against the railroads OF
the United States for money improp
erly collected by the railroads for car
rying malls. About four years age
you will recall, Victor Murdoch, con
gresham from Kansas, made fight
against what was called the false
| divisor'' used in calculating the weight
of the railway mail. AS result oil
| his fight, Postmaster-General Cortei
YOU issued a special order requiring
that In future the mails should De
weighed seven days, and that the tota
should be divided by seven instead OF
six In computing the average daily
haul. At the time this order was made
the difference between the results
worked out by the two divisors was
$4,000 annually. The practice Of
using six instead Of seven as the d!
visor had been carried on for "a years;
hence approximately $17O,000,000 ex
cess charges were paid out during
that period to the railways. Fearing
that the government might move &c
recover this enormous sum, the rail-
ways have, through their Hobbies, made
efforts lately to have congress legal
lie" the divisor seven with the pur
pose OF validating these old-time pay
ments.
find I'm talking to a majority OF the
Democrats In the house OF represen
tatives that they are not prepared AZ
vet to indorse the Judson Harmon can
didacy for president. Strange as II
may seem. most members Of the house
are Bryan Democrats, and will take
their cue from him and Champ Clark
Woodrow Wilson Is being watched
with more than a little interest.
Sincerely,
RATH.
skiNNEY A. NUFF, THE VILLAGE
| CuTAWAY.
1 Il