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The Commoner.
VOLUME 9, NUMBEIl I
6
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IF SENATOR KNOX becomes secretary of
stato under Mr. Taft something must bo
done to cure his ineligibility. The constitution
provides that a senator shall not be cliglblo to
appointment to any ofllco which was created or
tlio salary of which was Inci-oased during his
senatorial term. Senator Knox with other sen
ators voted to increase the pay of cabinet mem
bors from $8,000 to $12,000 per year. Para
graph two of section G of the constitution says:
"No senator or representative shall, during the
timo for which ho was elected, bo appointed to
any civil ofllco under the authority of the United
States which shall have been created or the
emoluments whereof shall have been increased
during such time; and no person holding any
olllco under the United States shall be a member
of either house during his continuance in ofllce."
WHILE EVERY one admits that the con
stitution is explicit President Taft might
appoint Mr. Knox in spite of his ineligibility and
tho senate could confirm it. Thero are in fact
two precedents in which this constitutional pro
vision was ignored. Tho Philadelphia Public
Lodger says: "Tho late Matt Ransom was a
sonator from North Carolina when the salary
of ambassadors was raised from $12,000 to
$17,f00 a year. Ho Voted for the increase. Sub
sequently, and within tho term for which he
was olectod, ho was appointed ambassador to
Mexico. Tho senate promptly confirmed him
and ho served as ambassador. The case of the
late Sonator Wolcott, of Colorado, was similar.
Ho voted for the creation of tho monetary com
mission which President McKinley sent to
Europo to study bimetallism. But ho was made
a member of the commission and the senato
confirmed him."
SENATOR Halo, of Maine, has introduced a
bill providing that tho salary of the secre
tary of state shall bo restored to tho old figure,
$8,000. This bill is intended to cure Senator
Knox's ineligibility. Should it pass the secretary
of state in tho Taft administration would re
coivo per year $4,000 less than that received by
other cabinet ofTlcers. Tho Associated Press dis
patches of February 12 said that it was likely
Mr. Knox would not accept tho offer, feeling
that by tho passage of tho Hale bill his ineligi
bility would bo cured by subterfuge. But the
Halo bill passed both houses and Mr. Knox will
accepts
HERE IS AN interesting bit of nows furnished
by the Washington correspondent for the
Now York Horald which shows how devoted Mr.
Roosevelt is to a high, principle: "Presidont
Roosevelt has forgiven at least one federal ofllco
holdor for 'pernicious activity' in politics during
tho recent presidential campaign. He is Harry
II. Myers, of Brinkley, Ark., and his nomination
as registrar of tho land office at Little Rock,
Ark., was confirmed today. Mr. Meyers held tho
position in tho Little Rock ofllce last October.
Protests came to tho president about that time
charging Myers with tho grossest kind of po
litical activity, 'pernicious' and every other kind
Tho presidont had mado a rule and ho had to
stand by it. So ho removed Mr. Myers from
ofllco, or, to bo more accurate, that ofllcial re
signed. Lewis B. Eddy was appointed in his
place. But tho election was over long before
December 14, and on that day Mr. Myers was
nominated 'to fill a vacancy caused by his resic-
appointeda.' " 'VlC LGWlS B" Bdlly' temi)orarily
THE NEW YORK Herald of Thursday, Feb
ruary 11, prints tho following: "At a din-
?i0Ii Sh? ,ahmnl of Manhattan College in tho
Hotel Knickerbocker last night Mgr. George W
Mundeloin urged the election of n Roman Cathl
olic as president of tho United States and
praised Theodore Roosevelt as tho first president
who had ever recognized Roman CatU ics and
appointed them to high ofllce. Moro than two
hundred alumni of the college were present and
cheered the speaker entlmslastically "rhora
has never beon n nrncHw k .;;. ,, Ullr
.ho sniri .!, i;.,1' r.r.: "t,,u u me uose,'
k "" ",UI IMUlu regard and fair
ness for the Catholic church than President
Roosevelt. Ho has shown it by his fearless
appointment of Catholics to high office. He's a
man a' doer of big things, a clever politician,
but a successful statesman. There is no other
living American whoso name is so well known
In foreign lands, and particularly in tho Vati
can.' Mgr. Mundelein spoke, he said, for the
Roman Catholic church. He recently returned
to this country after a third special trip to con
fer with Pope Pius X., representing the New
York diocese of the church. Deploring the fact
that President Roosevelt will soon leave office,
he said the church considered itself fortunate in
h'is successor, as, ho said, 'Mr. Taft has broad
views, an honest purpose, and has made good
wherever he has been.' 'His relations with the
Vatican,' the speaker continued, referring to Mr.
Taft, 'will be friendly and fair. They have had
proofs of his service and they ask no more than
that.' Referring to the possibility of electing a1
Roman Catholic, president, the speaker said:
'Give us a Catholic, able and honest and just
and give him the solid support of a united party
and I believe ho would bo elected hands down,
oven now. The American people arc just. We
are the only people who have never dragged
religion into politics. The Vatican trusts that
it will never see the day that such is the case.
Wo want our rights, that and nothing more.
Wo want and demand the privileges granted to
us by the constitution. We are fourteen million
strong and all we ask and what we want is the
free exercise of our faith, no discrimination
against us and a square deal. And the man
who gives us that we will vote for in the future
as in the past, be he Catholic, Protestant or
Jew.' "
NOW THAT the cruise of the American bat
tleship fleet has been completed tho follow
ing by tho Washington correspondent of the
New York World will be interesting: "In round
numbers tho cruise of the battleship fleet, when
it is finished at Hampton Roads on February 22,
will have cost tho American people $20,000,000.
That cost is figured on the prices prevailing in
the latter part of 1905. The 16,000 men aboard
have spent about $6,400,000 an allowance of
$400 for each officer and man, spread over four
teen months. The repair bill, after the ships
reach their home ports, is expected to run up
to between $5,000,000 and $6,000,000. Rear
Admiral Arnold's third squadron of the Atlantic
fleet, now concentrating at Guatanamo, is under
orders to leave there between February 8 and
10 to meet Rear Admiral Sperry's sixteen battle
ships, which are to leave Gibraltar February 6.
Somewhere in the broad Atlantic the ships of
tho several squadrons will get into wireless com
munication with each other, and then, with Ar
nold's ships as an escort, tho vessels will pro
ceed to Hampton Roads. With good weather
they may reach the Virginia capes two days
ahead of time. Arnold's squadron consists of
the battleships Maine, Mississippi, New Hamp
shire and Idaho and the scout cruisers Chester,
Birmingham and Salem."
THE MEDICAL WORLD, published at 1520
Chestnut street, Philadelphia, is primarily
fpr doctors. Its editor says, however, that it
is not merely a medical journal1; it is a journal
for doctors and pity the doctor who is only a
medical man." The editor of the Medical World
Dr. C. F. Taylor, supported Mr. Bryan during
the recent campaign. By some of his readers
he was commended and by others he was con
demned. Justifying the attention The Medical
orld pays to politics and other subjects aside
from medicine, Dr. Taylor says: "As to politics
and religion, they are a part of our life a part'
of a doctor's life as well as any other person's
life. Let us be fraternal and mutually helpful
and mutually tolerant and forbearing in these
things as well as in our narrower professional
ife and interests. Since President Roosevelt
lnLSPOk01S?,bravely (since the election) upon
religion and the presidency, I asked a good his
torian a profound biblical student of my ac-
S?,11111,?0! t0 T'ito UP a serIes articles on
'The Religion of the Presidents,' devoting I
column to each and one for each month be
ginning with Washington, but he did I Sot have
the time, and could not refer me to any one
qlse competent to take up the task. I wish I
had time to attempt the task myself, but it would
take much time, investigating, consulting with
scholars, etc.; so I guess I will have to let it
go. Are you shocked, doctor, that I had such
a thought, for a medical journal? Well, I think
our readers are broad enough to welcome such
a thing. As to Mr. Bryan, a very large number
of the citizens of this country have insisted on
an opportunity to vote for him for president.
His candidacy the first time was the result of
a spontaneous demand in the convention; the
other two times the demand for his candidacy
came directly from the voters of his party. And
his life has been an open book, both politically
and personally. The many marks cf esteem for
him by those who know him best, among them
being his remarkable reception when he arrived
from abroad, ono hundred picked men of Ne
braska, those who knew him best, going to New
York to escort- film home, and the fact that he
carried his precinct, city, county and state in
the last election, his defeat in the nation being
due to the united opposition of the capitalistic
elements these and many other things quite
offset what you say about him. But the election
is all past now, and civilization would go along
much the same if a' dozen Bryans or a dozen
Tafts were defeated for the presidency. Wo
should not give too much importance to men,
personally. We have thousands of good men,
and they can't all be president. I have a plan
which will work better than the election of any
man to the presidency. The power of combined
capital against the interests of the masses must
be finally combated by more power directly in
the hands of the people, by means of the initia
tive and the referendum, first in the states, and
then in the nation."
ALREADY MR. TAFT has shown indications
of over-ruling the Roosevelt administration.
Mr. Roosevelt called the president's home the
"White House," but under the Taft administra
tion it is to be known as the "executive man
sion." The Washington correspondent for tlie
New York World explains: "The program for
the inauguration ceremonies was made public
this evening. 'On reaching the platform,' the
program reads, 'the president and president
elect will take the seats reserved for them, the
chief justice on their right and the committee
of arrangements and the sergeant-at-arms of
the senate on their left. On the conclusion of
the address the members of the senate, preceded
by the sergeant-at-arms, vice president and the
secretary of the senate will return ta the senate
chamber, and the president, accompanied by the
committee of arrangements, will proceed to the
executive mansion.' Notice the use of the words
'executive mansion' to designate the president's
residence. All of Roosevelt's messages to con
gress have been dated from 'the White House '
No president before Mr. Roosevelt entirely
dropped 'executive mansion' from his state pa
pers. There is a general preference among sen
ators and representatives for the old form and
the program indicates a return thereto if it
2 f ai,proyal of Mr- Taft. Customs and
precedents have been closely followed arrang
ing the program for the inauguration."
O-
T N txTHF, BRUARY number of the Medical
"HohESn i 1G Tfollowinf letter' appeared:
Robinson, 111., January 16, 1909. I inclose
check for $1 for 1908; and ask that you discon
tinue your journal. Should I ever decide I want
another Bryan paper, will take The Commoner.
Yours truly, T. N. Rafferty." Replying to this
letter Dr. Taylor said: 'Certainlydoctor let
wm'Ti Tue Coramoner you for this year.
I will order it sent to you and order the bill
sent to me. I will guarantee that it will do
mo nnIiaHm,flf.r ,Th0 Comraner has come to
nifo " Gi Us flrst Issue' and ara sure it has
I" 3 eod things; and its influence
upon the political thought and action of this
country has been very great. I will grant you
I imre ar? t0 many Blyan worshipersf if
you will grant . mo that there are too many
Bryan haters. I will also grant, if you will, that
ill ,
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