Q.-.
The Commoner.
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THE bitterness on the part of certain con
gressmen because of the Fourth Assistant
postmaster General Bris'tow's report seems re
cently to have been transferred to the First As
sistant Postmaster General Wynne. The Wash
ington correspondent for the Philadelphia North
American says that responsibility for the recent
report connecting congressmen with the post
ofllce scandals has been fastened upon Mr. Wynne.
Mr. Bristow in his testimony before the house
committee said that portions of the document rel
ative to excessive cleric hire allowances were pre
pared under Mr. Wynne's direction and this state
ment seems to have greatly aggravated those con- -gressmen
who appeared to be most deeply inter
ested. MR. WYNNE has made no denial of Mr.
Brlstow's statement and the North Ameri
can correspondent says that he does not appear
at all anxious to avoid responsibility, although ho
declines to talk. This correspondent adds: "Just
now, while Postmaster General Payne is ill,
Wynne is acting postmaster general. He occu
pied a similar position during a good portion of
last summer, when the investigation of the post
office department was in progress, and he was
chiefly instrumental in directing the attention of
the president to the need for a complete examina
tion of the bureaus directed by Machen and Bea
vers. These two men were the congressmen's
friends. They prided themselves upon the fact
and boasted of it. To investigate them, it was de
clared by their closest friends, meant that the
wrath of congress would fall heavily upon the
head of the man starting such an inquiry."
T I S further explained by this same authority
that similar arguments were made when
Machen and Beavers virtually defied "Wynne and
insisted on conducting their bureaus in their own
nanner,- regardless of Mr. Wynne's authority. The
North American correspondent adds: "An ef
fort will be made to persuade the president to re
move Wynne, but it should not succeed. More
than any other man Wynne brought about the ex
posures which made possible a cleaning -out of
the postofllce department. Congressional displeas
ure was then concealed, because the results were
of so startling' a character as to silence all ad
verse criticism. Now the criticism is permissible,
members feel, and seizing upon this circumstance
they are desirous of making Wynne suffer, not for
what he did in preparing the recent report, but
for what he did last summer, when he induced the
president to order an investigation of the entire
postofflce department."
THE house committee on 'judiciary has voted to
impeach Charles Swayne, federal judge for
tne district of Florida. Judge Swayne is charged
with being habitually absent from his circuit and
being a non-resident of the district for which he
was appointed. He is also charged with irreg
ularities in contempt proceedings and refusing to
hear a 'certain witness in a proceeding before his
court, alleging that he would not believe that wit
ness under oath. Should the house vote to im
peach Judge Swayne, the senate will be formally
notified of the result and the trial, will be had be
fore the senate, sitting in a judicial capacity. ,
THERE have been no impeachment proceed
ings before congress since those against
President Andrew Jackson. Concerning the im
peachment of judges, the Washington correspon
dent for the Cincinnati Enquirer says. . "Only
three federal judges have been impeached. These
were Judge Pickering of New Hampshire, who was
impeached for giving up the bark Eliza to her
owner without taking proper bond, after the bark
had been seized for smuggling; being drurik and
using profane language on the bench. Judge
Chase of Pennsylvania was Impeached for refusing
to allow a lawyer to address the court or a jury
n a question of law which he already had de
cided. Judge Peck of Missouri was charged with
improperly striking the name of a lawyer from a
roll of attorneys, for contempt. James Buchanan
was one of the managers of the house in this trial.
Hie proceeding against Judge SJwayne, if carried
to the senate, undoubtedly will delay for several
weeks the adjournment of the present session of
congress. If the senate . decides against Judge
Swayne the penalty is the loss of his judgship."
AN INTERESTING article on the crime
of the modern newspaperthe forgetfulness
of the moral responsibility that should be felt
whenever it publishes, is written by Edward Bok
and printed in a recent issue of the World's Work.
Mr. Bok undertakes to show "why people disbe
lieve .the newspapers, and it will be generally ad
mitted that he presents an interesting answer to
this question. For instance, Mr. Bok relates:
"Several years ago it was reported that the queen
of the Netherlands and her consort had quarreled.
Domestic unlmppiness was rife at The Hague; the
prince had even beaten his young queen. II so hap
pened that I had access to special facilities to
learn the truth, which was, as is now well known,
exactly opposite of the report. I was careful that
my information should have unquestionable au
thority, and with it I sought the editor of one of
the largest newspapers, who was making the
most of the story in his paper. I proved to him
that there was not the first semblance of truth in
the report. He acknowledged this. 'But you
know,' he said, 'first-page stuff is pretty scarce-just
now, and I'll have to keep this thing up a bit. It
doesn't hurt Wilhelmina and makes good reading.'
And he cabled his 'London man to send 'more
"special" about the Wilhelmina matter.' 'No
more. All false,' came back the response the next
day. 'Keep Wilhelmina matter alive. Send daily
special for first page,' was the message that went
back. 'What was I to do?' this correspondent
asked me some time afterward. 'Of course, I
"faked," or it would have cost me my job.' ""
AS I M I L A R instance which this writer says
occurred not in the office of a "yellow" pa
per, but in the editorial room of what is generally
accepted as a reputable newspaper, is related: A
report came over the cable that an English manu
facturing concern had placed an order for 5,000
tons of steel with the English representative of
the United States Steel corporation. The message
went to' the managing editor. Steel stock was low
that day. The paper had "interests." "Work
this up, Miller," said the editor, and with the or
der went a look. "The 'old man' tells me to worff
this up," said the man to the financial editor of
the paper "How far would you go?" "As far as
your imagination will carry you, I should say,"
was thereply. When the story appeared the ton
nage of the order had surprisingly changed, and
when the correspondent n London read his dis
patch in the paper a week later he could scarcely
believe his eyes.
MR. BOK says that during the campaign of
1900 a reporter on a New York paper cf
standing was sent out by his editor to report a
Bryan meeting. This reporter returned with a
report -that after Mr. Bryan had been speaking five
minutes a number of people walked out. "I would
change that," said the editor, as he looked over the
report and taking his pencil he scratched out "a
number of people" and substituted for it "nearly
half the audience." "But there wasn't a hundred,"
said-the reporter. "Send this up," said the editor
n tho "oonv" boy. ana tne report wum .lo luo
pnmnsinc-room. "What did you do?"
i, ronnrtfir. "Do? I'd be hanged
if I
asked
would
stand for that sort of thing, and I gave up my
job then and there." Anotner 1"" uui you
'cover' the new play at the Blank theatre th a
evening?" asked an editor of his dramatic critic
Sot lone ago. "I did, and it was pretty bad," was
th reply "Forget that it was bad," said the
editor, "and let me see your story- before you
send it up."
happened. That accounts for tho lack of 'go.'"
This was tho principal editor of one of the best
known newspapers in the country. Tho next day
I could scarcely believe my eyes when I read of
tho "unprecedented onthusl?sm" which made this
convention, "eclipse all previous conventions in
spontaneity of outbursts of applause;" Tho writor
,had seen many conventions, but this "far over
shadowed all in tho tumult of enthusiasm, which
lasted fifteen minutes." But as I had boon thcro
I know that it had lasted just three minutes. I
saw the editor the next day. "Did you write that?"
I asked. "Yes, Why?" "But I thought you told
me" "Oh, well," ho answered, smiling, "it
would never do to say that. Of course, tho account
was somewhat embellished. But we have to
'whoop it up' for the party, you know."
AM E M B E R of the Ohio state senate has in
troduced a bill for tho Jncreaso of the
quota of tho Ohio militia to its maximum of 108
companies. Tho real purpose of the bill is said to
provide for the creation of a regiment composed
of negroes. Ohio now has a batallion of colored
troops with companies in Cleveland and Spring
field and wants tho opportunity of making new
companies In other states so as to bring tho
strength of the batalljon up to four companies.
Considerable opposition is shown toward tho plan
and the fact cannot be concealed that the race
question cuts something of a figure in this opposi
tion. In connection with the proposed increase In
tho Ohio militia the Columbus correspondent for
the Cincinnati Enquirer says: "The startling
claim has been put forward that there is no legal
authority for tho enrollment of colored men In
Ohio in the state militia. This claim is based upon
section 1 of article IX. of tho Ohio constitution,
which says that 'all white citizens betweon the
ages of 18 and 45 years shall bo enrolled in the
militia.' It is true that the same instrument con
tains the same qualification with regard to vot
ers,' but that part has been susponded by. tho
amendments to tho federal constitution. In all
matters relating to .the exercise of tho elective
franchise the qualification of color has been wiped
out. It is held that the matter of membership In
the militia is a far different thjng, no civil rights
being Invaded by refusal to enroll the colored
men."
GREAT interest lias been manifested in the
order recently issued by Pension Commis
sioner Ware, providing penrions for disabled vet
erans over sixty-two years of age. In response to
numerous requests for information as to pension
disbursements since the close of the war, the Chi
cago Tribune prints tho following table which
gives by fiscal years the amount paid for pensions
between July 1, I860, and June 30, 1903:
18G6 ? 15,005,000
1867 20,1)30,000
1868 23,782,000
1869 28,476,000
1870 28,340,000
1871 - 34,443,000
1872 28,533,000
1873 29,359,000
1874 29,038,000
1875 29,456,000
1876 28,257,000
1877 27,963,000
1878 27,137,000
1879 35,121,000
1880 06,777,000
1881 50,059,000
1882 61,345,000
1883....... 66,012,000
1884 55,429,000
1885 ? 66,102,000
1886 63,404,000.
1887 75,029,000
1888 80,288,000
1889 87,024,000
1890 106,936,000
1891 124,415,000
1892 134,583,000
1893 159,357,000
1894 141,177,000
1895 141,395,000
1896 139,434,000
1897 .' 141,053,000
1898 147,452,000
1899 139,394,000
1900 140,877,000
1901 139,323,000
1902 138,488,000
1903 137,759,000
The Tribune adds: "It is estimated that Commis
sioner Ware's policy will add between ?15,000,0CO
and $60,000,000 a year to the pension expenditure.
It may then be expected that for the fiscal year
1905 pensions will reach high water mark, and that
the jjension expenditures will thereafter diminish'
for a few years until some still newer interpreta
tion be put on the act of 1890, when, doubtless, a
now high water mark of well over $200,000,000 will
be achieved."
TTTILLI AM T. STEAD, the great London
if -it ttv.. n hha f i murni ins hnnn intiron Tirv unnf n nrnivo
.idest convention I ever expected by the British authorities. This pautlon has beea.
nominations weit tut ."
SEVERAL other good stories are told along
the same line, but perhaps the following will
suffice I attended in 1900 the Philadelphia re
mibUcan convention that renominated McKinley
Ell UrnSriont and named Roosevelt for vice presi
5ntP was BurpriSd at the lack of enthusiasm.
.fated1 KaW' on a Jeadin .newsier
a. .-kn-HW1 1U1 n ULUUl .V - "
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