OCR Text |
Show I MR. LAFFAN ON MR. ROOSEVELT "SOME PEOPLE DON'T LIKE US" m The following excerpts from the New York M Sun, which are but a few of the varied phases in Hj which Theodore Roosevelt appears to the editor M of that journal, are reproduced lor the benetit of H those who have wanted to say the same things m and didn't know how those who have carefully H weighed the hectic utterances of the present in- H cumbent of the White House and noted with won- fl der his errant actions of the past two years, and B who are rejoicing in the knowledge that only a m few short weeks intervene before a safe and sane H man who will give the exalted office its old time H dignity will be at the head of the government. W Mr. Laffan follows: KVfl The Presidency. H Twice in the week preceding the holiday recess of Congress the Chief Executive of Kwfl the United States was insulted grossly by H the members of that body. In the House a Aw characteristically undignified message from fl the President was greeted with jeering H laughter. In the Senate the delivery of HH another message was purposely impeded &gQ and its bearer was kept waiting in the door- Py way, that t le contempt of the Senators for HH its author might be made manifest, Wherein the Representatives and Senators Sen-ators who thus displayed their attitude toward to-ward the President conceive their conduct to have been worthy of applause or capable cap-able of defense we cannot see. If they believed their affront was to the1 man who now occupies the White House, their powers pow-ers of comprehension are low indeed. Their puerile conduct was directed against the Chief Magistracy of a nation, a co-ordinate department of Ihe government, the highest office to which an American citizen can aspire. That Theodore Roosevelt has abused his office; that his natural qualities have led to the most alarming and lamentable consequences; conse-quences; that his unbridled lust of self-aggrandisement and love of publicity threaten 'the stability if not the very existence of the political structure in which he holds office; all these tacts do not justify or excuse ex-cuse the, Congress of the United States In adding their effoits to his to humiliate the people. Roosevelt, without their aid, has done all that is necessary to degrade and dishonor the American nation. Uneoual Fate. The effusion of Samuel Gompers in the January number of the American Federa-tlonlst, Federa-tlonlst, In which he expresses his opinion of Theodore Roosevelt, is of Interest principally prin-cipally because of Its close adhesion to the facts. Nor Is there any man better qualified quali-fied than Mr. Gompers to speak with authority au-thority on Mr. Roosevelt's relations with organized labor and its leaders. Mr. Gompers Gom-pers In another day was welcome at the White House. He was not then one of the "certain" Irredeemably bad and dangerous characters to whom reference is made In the last annual message of President Roosevelt. Roose-velt. Mr. Gompers has only suffered the fate that ha3 overtaken and submerged all who have associated themselves with Mr. Roosevelt Roose-velt in the promotion of his political and economic policies. One after another they have fallen from the heights of favor to the lowest depths of unpropltious circumstance. circum-stance. The same road has been traveler by a numerous and notable body of clt-zens clt-zens whose stomachs revolted or whose v"3'- fulness ended, and who In consequence experienced ex-perienced a most remarkable and Interesting Interest-ing decline in desirability. Well may Gompers rail at unkind fate. "Twelve months in jail for me, for Mitchell nine months, six months for poor Morrison. For our honored and fortunate accomplice, Two Years in Africa!" The Spies of Private Hatred. 1 Certain secret service agents, paid by the people of the United States, were used by a president of the United States as spies or private detectives in an investigation that was prompted by personal hatred. The discoveries of these secret service agents in the case of Senator Tillman either were such as to require the prosecution prosecu-tion of Senator Tillman by the Government authorities or they did not warrant legal proceedings against him. If the evidence collected by the spies who hounded the man whom President Roosevelt hated was sufficient to warrant his prosecution under the laws of the United Unit-ed States, then Mr. Roosevelt not only failed in his sworn duty, but he also gave the lie to his own professions as contained 'in a message addressed to Congress five days ago, when he said: i "If I had proof of such corruption affect- I ing any member of the House in any I matter as to which the Federal Govern ment has jurisdiction action would1 at once liave been brought, as was done in the cases of Senators Mitchell and Burton and Representatives Rep-resentatives Williamson, Herrmann and Driggs, at different times since I have been President. This would simply be doing my duty in the execution and enforcement en-forcement of the laws without respect to persons." If, on the other hand, the lnve3tiga- -tlons of the spies of personal hatred afforded af-forded no ground for official proceedings against Mr. Tillman, but merely revealed circumstances discreditable to him short of criminality, then the publication of the results of the spying by Mr. Roosevelt for the gratification of private spite is an of-! of-! fense difficult to characterize adequately. It is an abuse of official power fairly deserving de-serving Impeachment; it is a personal abuse of official opportunity combining the elements of cowardice and audacity, and without precedent, we believe, in the . career of any gentleman who ha3 ever inhabited the White House. The President's Salary. While Congress is dealine: in a manner so becoming and so just with the subject of the salary of the president-elect, there are, perhaps, matters not wholly unrelated thereto that might appropriately engage its attention. One hundred thousand dollars a year is little enough for the President of the United States, particularly in these times of strenuous state. Mr. Roosevelt ought certainly to have had $100,000 instead in-stead of half that amount. His notions of hospitality and of state observance almost bordered on violence. We should not be surprised to learn that more champagne was consumed in the White House during Mr. Roosevelt's seven years than in any six previous incumbencies. It was the, antithesis an-tithesis of the administration of the lamented la-mented Hayes, at whose state banquets the late William M Evarts used to say that the "water flowed like champagne." Mr. Roosevelt's board was as lavish as that of his Irish ancestors. The White House has had no great reputation in the bibulous line since poor old Andrew Johnson's John-son's time. Johnson was a hard drinker, there is no doubt of that. The trouble with him was that he didn't know how to dilnlc, a charge that has never been laid at the door of the present incumbent. All the same, Johnson was an honest man, and he put his foot down on hard liquor and made the people of his State send him to the Senate, a mighty, memorable and creditable achievement. We take it for granted that the assignment assign-ment to Mr. Taft of a salary of $100,000 or more will permit Congress to dispense with the extra allowance of $25,000 a year for traveling expenses now enjoyed by Mr. Roosevelt. It may occur to Congress to inquire what dispositon Mr. Roosevelt has made of this appropriation, and whether it has been applied conformably to the intent of Congress. The futility of il such an Inquiry on the part of Congress is rather attractive, but should not discourage discour-age the inquiry. In its present mood of complacency toward to-ward the Executive, Congress might be very properly moved to pay up and discharge dis-charge the President's obligations to various vari-ous railrods for transportation and supplies, sup-plies, including a good deal of Scotch whiskey, obligations incurred with a gracious gra-cious abandon and liberality which always suggested that Mr. Roosevelt expected his bills to be paid by the United States. Mr. Roosevelt is probably not so indifferent as he has the air of being to his debts for , personal transportation, and we cannot help thinking that he would prefer to take his departure for Africa leaving behind H him a clean slate. H It would be well for Congress In dealing H with this subject to avoid a too pointed in- H quiry into Mr. Roosevelt's apropriation of H $250t00 a year. It might occur to him to H regard it as an impertinence, in which case H Congress would have its pains for noth- H ing. He would certainly tell Congress H that it had no constitutional right to in- H quire into his conduct, and it is only too H likely that such action on his part would H have to be final. It would be just as well, H therefore, to avoid the lesson under com- H pulsion that the Constitution impinges at H any point upon the Presidential preroga- H |