The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1912-01-18
hITcHC0Ck'S lNTEkvlEH
Astonishes President by Civ
ING Out Interview With
out Consulting IN
CALLED TO WHIft HOUSE

. s. - y 1AA !" @A@A1hN AhSSA
/ There Has Been Friction .&etween
the Postmaster-(eneral and the
/ President Since Mr.. Hitchcock
/ Tried To Name the Arrangement
+ Committee for National Convention
-Rumored That the Postmaster
General May Resign-Supreme
Court Sustains Interstate Com
merce Commission-For Govern
ment Aid for Good Roads.
Especial TO The Caucasian.l
Washington, d. c., Jan 16, 1912.
/ Postmaster-General Hitchcock as
/ tonished Washington as we'll as the
whole country by giving out an in
terview Sunday evening to the press
stating that he would recommend In
/ his annual report that the Govern
ment should buy all of the telegraph
/ lines in the United States and operate
them as part of the postal system.
| It is said that no one was more sur
prised at the action of Mr Hitchcock
than was President Taft himself.
1t was considered a most astonish-
| ing thing that cabinet officer should
give out an interview stating what he
would recommend to Congress with
out having consulted his chief and
especially is this true when 1t Is
known that the Postmaster-Gen
| cannot make any recommendation to
| Congress except through the Presi-
dent, and that the President never
sends a recommendation from any
cabinet officer to Congress unless it
meets his approval and becomes,
therefore, an administration meas
ure.
On yesterday the President sent
for the Postmaster-GeneraI to ,coa9a
to the White House and explain his
action. The explanation which the
Postmaster-General made was to the
effect that he had intended to confer
with the President before the state
ment was published but that he was
called out of town and had forgotten
the matter. It was further stated
that the Postmaster-General had for
merly discussed the question of a
postal telegraph with the President,
and that the President at that time
had asked his Postmaster-Genera to
delay the consideration of the matter
for he did not want such a recon-
mendation then to be sent to Con-
gres.
! A prominent politician, comment
ting upon the explanation Of Mr..
Hitchcock, to the effect that he had
intended to consult the President but
had gone off and forgotten it, said
he had ever heard. He asked why
should the Postmaster-Genera have
given his statement to the press be-
fore he consulted the President, be-
cause he had clearly given it to the
press before he could have gone Off
and forgotten it,
Will Hitchcock Go Out of the Cabi.
net?
: 1t is understood here that there
has been frictioa between the Post
master-General and the President
ever since the meeting of the Nation
al Committee in December, at which
time Mr.. Hitchcock attempted to Sc
lect his own committee on arrange.
ments to prepare for and manage
the next national convention without
consulting the President. When the
Presidents friends learned this they
got busy and selected another and
different committee and made fight
to have it elected by the National
Committee instead of the sub-com.
mittee selected by Mr.. Hitchcock. II
is known that the fight was spirited
and warm, but the Presidents friends
won out.
Then it was that Mr.. Hitchcock ap.
pealed to Mr.. Hilles, representing the
, President, to increase the committee
from five to seven, and permit his
(Hitchcock's) friends to namef the
other two members. This was at lasi
.
agreed on as a harmony measure and
the two names that Mr. Hitchcock
recommended to be added to the com
mittee representing the opposition tc
the President were Mr.. Duncan, Of
North Carolina, and Mr.. Rosewater
of Nebraska.
There are some people in Washing
h. "a, Il
explanation for Mr.. Hitchcocks &C
, ton in declaring for Government
ownership OF telegraph lines without
consulting the President is that he
wanted to force the President to put
him out OF the Cabinet so as to leave
him free to support some other can
!, didate for President. Indeed, there
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