The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1911-08-23
TAFT In A HOLE
His Administrator Will Have a Time to
Clear Itself of Fraud.
FRAUDS ON ALL SIDES

State, Agricultural and the Postoffce
Departments Are in Order Now
and the Surface Of the Frauds and
Rascalities in Them Have Only
Been Hinted at.
Mr.. P. n. MCGOWAN, the Washing
ton correspondent Of The State says
it is becoming more evident in Wash
Eington day by day that the Taft ad-
ministration is going to have an ex-
ceedingly difficult time proving a
clean bill Of health when it 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 by much the
same surroundings that characteriz-
ed the days when Capt. Kidd was pi-
ratical lord and master of the high
seas.
Today President Taft is surrounded
| by as shrewd band Of political
| gamesters as ever came down the
road. And the funny part about: it is
hat they are getting away with it,
and Taft-with his strictly judicial
temperament and believing that ev-
erybody is honest, even the politic-
:ans-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,
50 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
md the manner In which the case
was hushed up for fear that more
and worse developments might come.
It was bad enough, to be sure, as It
vas but no case is ever helped by
covering up the truth, and it is going
% take mighty lot Of clever work
TO make the people believe that any
| hing but crooked work has been
3oing on in the department presided
over by Philander G. Knox.
The missing voucher and the man
aer of it's being found must stand
,ut as particularly Objectionable to
he minds of honest people who want
IN 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
| tOld 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
nam Then the scene will shift
again to the Wickersham stronghold
and what developments will follow:
anles 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
.ration'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
laipulated 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 H. 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
lnes will be needed to make the
records when he comes down from
he witness stand. There are just
few facts relating to the batting OF
small postmasters all over the coun-
try that the Democrats want light
upon. a few figures about campaign
assessments, and just bit of infor-
| nation regarding pledges to sup
| mort William Howard Taft and his
band Of G. o. P. braves
But this is only part Of the pro-
sramme which Ringmaster Taft will
present to the country's 9o,00o,000
people next year in the hope Of Sc
curing another four years tenure
in the White House. Seriously, the
administration is in bad hole, and
i. is question whether it is not too
late for political doctors to do any
oood The crisis is at hand.