Jasper County Democrat, Volume 8, Number 17, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 July 1905 — WASHINGTON LETTER. [ARTICLE]

WASHINGTON LETTER.

Political and General Gossip of the National Capitol. Special Correspondence to The Democrat: The Secretary of Agriculture and his Chief Statistician, John Hyde, are making strenuous efforts to lock the barn door now that the horses have been stolen. In other words, after stoutly deny, ing for years that there was any jjossibility of a leak in the bureau of Statistics, the Secretary and Chief Statistician Hyde have discovered numerous ways in which the speculators may be given advance information of the official crop reports and the Secretary has devised a supposed method of preventing further leaks but one which would occasion amusement, if it did not call louder for pity, from every practical business man. The Secretary attempts to exercise personal supervision over the crop reporting to an extent which shall make leaks impossible and promises to himself stand over his guileless statistician while the final estimates are being prepared. Of course this scheme will not prove practicable. The Secretary of Agriculture is too busy a man to devote himself to the petty details of his department, and especially the details of a single bureau. Even since the rascality of Holmes and the incompetence of Hyde have’been demonstrated, the Secretary on the one occasion when it became necessary to tabulate the totals of a crop estimate, found himself too busy to supervise the work and had to delegate its supervision to the Assistant Secretary who looked on hopelessly, not understanding the least thing that was going on around him and as liable to be made the prey of any designing and dishonest employe as has been Chief Statistician Hyde, perhaps more so.

111 Secretary Wilson, whose honesty no one can possible question, seems utterly to lack appreciation of the gravity of the scandal which has arisen in his department. He has taken no steps to dismiss, or even to suspend John Hyde, while Hyde's Bureau is being investigated. He has even appointed as successor to Holmes a man who, the recent investgation demonstrated, left his office on two different occasions when final crop reports were being compiled and went directly to a broker’s office. This man claims that he went to the broker to ascertain the quotations on steel stock of which he owned a block, but there are few successful business men who would employ in a capacity of so responsible a character as that held by Holmes, and now by his successor, a man who would dabble in stocks and even leave his office at a time when be must have been in possession of information of great value from a speculative standpoint to go to a broker’s office. A man with so little sense as to incur such appearance of evil, if not dishonest must be too senseless to be trusted.

t t t The President has caused a reS>rt to be sent out from Oyster ay to the effect that he has no intention of asking for the resignation of Secretary Wilson and adding that Mr. Wilson’s only fault is that of possessing too confiding a nature. Mr. Wilson, according to the President, is so honest that he is unwilling to believe any of his employes dishonest The late Postmaster General Henry 0. Payne, was of a somewhat similar nature and he stood by the "Prince of Grafters,” Machen and by Machen’s partner in crime, Beavers, and talked of the charges against these thieving employes as "hot air” until his course became intolerable to the administration and only the political exigencies of the Republican party saved him from dismissal.

111 Will the President have the force of character to insist on the sort of railway rate legislation which he outlined in his message to the last session of the last Con* gress in the face of the almost unanimous opposition of the leaders of his party? This is a question which every true friend of the people is asking with more or less anxiety. The question is precipitated just now by the confidential statement sent to the railroad managers by theTr subsized press bureau to the effect that the President has seen the erorr of his way and will make only a half-hearted appeal for the railway rate legislation, next session, and will make nothing but the pretence of a fight for what be has hitherto described as “essential to a square deal to every American,” public control of “the ironed highways of commerce.”

It is only just to say that the President has not given the slightest indication of any intention of abandoning the campaign he began almost a year ago, but the confidence of the railroads that he has done so occasions anxiety. The railroads are not missing any opportunity for accumulating ammunition with which to defeat the President. They are working constantly on members of Congress with the purpose, of lining up a majority against railway rate legislation and it is already obvious that the only hope which the President can have of success is through a coalition of all the Democrats and a minority of the Republicans. It will take a brave man to wage a war of that kind from the White House and even the dangers of San Juan Hill will pale into insignificance as compared with the onslaught which Republican Senators and Representatives are preparing to make on the Chief Executive.

ft t One of the first fruits of war between Russia and Japan is reported by United States Consul Harris, at Nagasaki, who states that a line of fast steamers is about to be put in Commission between Japan and Corea and that when this is accomplished the traveler can make the trip from London to Tokyo with scarcely twelve hours on water. Everything points to a lasting peace as the result of the coming conference and peace which may be productive of most beneficial results to both belligerents. Don’t forget to attend Rowles & Parker’s July clearance sale. ‘