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DECEMBER 25, 1908
The Commoner.
Iif WMVWiH.
tion whether the honor of congress has heen
impeached should he in any way connected with
any question of the secret service except so far
as the secret service was employed to investi
gate members of the two houses of congress."
Mr. Culberson said the message was "a deliber
ate, studied and gratuitous insult to the con
gress by the president." Senator. Newlands de
clared that tile question at issue was whether
the secret service had been used to investigate
congressmen in the pursuance, of their legisla
tive duties or was only to detect fraud in the
duties devolving upon the executive departments.
"But," interposed Mr. Tillman, "the president's
message shows that he has investigated us gen
erally and that wo are a lot of scoundrels that
need investigation. Now, there may be men
that feel that way, but God knows I do not."
Mr. Newlands said he was not attempting to
apologize for the "president but wanted to have
the senate avoid any hasty and improper lan
guage. Senator McLaurin of Mississippi favored
a dignified resentment of the language of tho
president, and Senator Bacon declared that in
his view, "the message was the most deliberate
and carefully designed, carefully worded insult
ever sent to any parliamentary body in this or
any other country. "It is my deliberate judg
ment," he said, "that if the king of England
had sent such a message to parliament there
would be but one thing to shield him from tho
loss of his crown, and that would be the ap
pointment of a regent." Tho resolution was
then passed without a roll call.
THE PENNSYLVANIA Society of New York
gave its annual dinner at the Waldorf As
toria recently. Chief Justice Mitchell of the
Pennsylvania supreme court' was the principal
speaker. He'made .pointed criticism of:Pr,esident
Roosevelt, although he mentioned no names.
Justice Mitchell's address created considerable
discussion throughout the country. Later, in a
newspaper interview, the chief justice declared
that in all that he liadsaid he had the absolute
approval of his colleagues. For several years,
he said, the legal profession has been restless
under the strictures,, made by the president, and
he felt 'called on to! make the declaration con
tained in hjs New York address. "Do you
mean," asked a New York World correspondent,
"that the other justices, of the supreme bench
knew in advance of your address what you in
tended to say?" Chief Justice Mitchell replied:
"Yes, they knew what I intended to say and
they also heard it. I know from their expres
sions of opinion, made since the dinner, that
they were heartily in accord with all that I
said. Furthermore, expressions were made to
me by judges of New York state which showed
that their view was the same. There has long
been a feeling- that President Roosevelt, in his
criticisms, has given away to the American im
patience to get results without considering the
danger that might come if results were sought
by the same methods by unscrupulous persons.
It has been felt that the president has not ap
preciated at all the position of the judiciary, nor
realized that we are not lawmakers. For in
stance, there was the case in Chicago, when a
judge ruled that a witness who had been sum
moned by the government could not afterward be
prosecuted on the evidence given by him. Pres
ident Roosevelt declared that that was not law,
and it was spoken of as the immunity bath.
Now, of course, that was law. A man can not
be compelled to give testimony against himself,
and the judge who made the ruling was right.
But the president did not so see it. It is the
feeling of the bench and bar that the tendency
of the present administration has been to con
centrate power in the hands of the president.
The American people are impatient and want
things done, and the president is the impatient
American who does things. It is commonly
said that the best government in the world is
that of a wise, intelligent and benevolent despot,
but we can not afford to permit the establish
ment of such a government, because a despotism
once established is sure to be continued, where
us wisdom, patriotism and benevolence are not
at all sure. It will not do to establish a prece
dent where the main factors may fail and the
dangerous ones remain. The gist of all that l
said before the Pennsylvania' Society was
summed up in the last paragraph, which was:
'If the law as declared by the constitutional
tribunal is not what the people waiit it to ue
then let it be changed, but let it never be lost
Rio-hf nf tiio'f .fiiA miMiAJtv to chance it is legis
lative, not judicial, .still less executive.' So- far
the president's, crltioisms 01 mo juuiv.w
concerned, ho is, in ray judgment, overstepping
the limits of his offlco when ho makes them. The
judiciary is a co-ordinato branch of the govern
ment, and his criticism is as much out of placo
as would be criticism by tho judiciary of his
acts as executive."
DUTCH WARSHIPS operating on tho coast
of Venezuela have captured two Venczu
lan vessels. An Associated Press dispatch from
Washington says: "The existence of what
amounts practically to a Btato of war between
Holland and Venezuela, the absence for the first
time in many years in an acuto crisis of this,
kind of American warships from their. pr6per
sphere of influence; and the profession by tho
state department officials of their ignornnce of
the intentions of Holland, constitute a most
curious and interesting international situation.
The fact that America has a quarrel of her own
with Venezuela and has terminated diplomatic
relations with that country gives rise to a doubt
as to the accuracy of the statement that this
government is not interested in what is going
on off the coast of Venezuela. Indeed, there is
reaBon to believe that while the official records
may fail to show the existence of any formal
agreement between America and tho Nether
lands, the government of tho latter country is
proceeding with the tacit consent of America,
to bring to an end tho chaotic conditions that
have prevailed in an international sense in Ven
ezuela for the past two years. So far as tho
Dutch warships act strictly within the lines
of the Monroe doctrine as construed in the an
nual message to congress of President Roose
velt last year; sot long as no attempt is made to
seize -Venezuelan territory for permanent occu
pation; so long as -the Dutch warship captains
confine -their activities to the seizure of
Venezuelan' -ships, the ' blockade of ports
and the attempt to redress the affront
to Holland's honor, 'there probably will
be no interference on the part of tho United
States government. Of course, it is Inconceiv
able that this government has not already re
ceived some assurances- from Holland on this
point, but it is probably the case that these have
not been reduced to writing, but are simply
matters of mutual understanding. The experi
ence of the allied powers who operated against
Venezuela several years ago would seem to have
indicated to Holland the necessity of coming to
some understanding with tho United States be
fore proceeding to the point of actual hostilities,
which after all is the situation on the Venezuelan
coast notwithstanding diplomatic disclaimers.
Logically the next step will be the declaration of
a blockade, and of this due notice must bo given
by Holland to all maritime nations in order to
prevent the lodgment of claims for unwarrant
able injury inflicted upon neutral commerce.
Meanwhile the action of the Dutch cruisers in
seizing Venezuelan ships is calculated to have a
depressing effect upon the trade of Venezuela
and to discourage prospective shipments of mer
chandise in the present unsettled conditions."
A BERLIN cablegram dated December 15,
says: "President Castro of Venezuela,
who arrived last night from Paris, called this
morning on Chancellor Von Buelow and Foreign
Secretary Von Schoen, leaving his 'card. The
foreign secretary later in the day sent Counsel
lor Goetsch, who acted on the German indem
nity commission at Caracas in 1903, to return
the call and inquiry concerning President Cas
tro's health. The local newspapers today publish
various accounts of the luxurious living of
President Castro and party at their hotel in this
city."
MR ROOSEVELT'S friends seem to take pains
'to let the president's enemies in congress
know that he is eager for a fight to the finish.
The Philadelphia Public Ledger is a republican
naner and its Washington correspondent stands
very close to the Roosevelt administration. In
a dispatch to his paper this correspondent says:
''It is President Roosevelt's intention, and the
information comes from high administrative
officials, to shake up congress with a series of
e s olary broadsides if the house and senate
take him to task for his expressions in the last
annual message. These broadsides will not be
Mattering. According to unimpeachable au
thority they.will be aimed at groups of .congress
meX and -the. political slaughter is expected to
be-npalling. -The plan huto-'show up' the
rlcords and the affiliations of certain members,
ir P ? Ul? nr(u,t' contention that the
secret service should not ho hampered In la
work and to explain his intimation that It wa
Hon n7PnrCd, by,B,wn,"! wI faI investiga
tion at tho hands of tho secret police. So far
as known, the White House is prepared for a
tloln11 wlyV"-l,l nto tho camp of
to cap! tol. Even if tho sennto and house uko
JnnJ i nBi mZih0 '" eliminating from tho
record the section of tho message roforrlng to
n10,1 fG,T,!,CC' l,lte ""Miiobh will stand thorn
in no stoad. Tho president will tnko any action
by congress as a direct affront and will act
accordingly. It is understood to bo his deter
mination to mnko certain of his romarks undor-
Jn Jmi cou"l.ry' nnd ,nHteatl of baling In
gonerallt es ho will name names and assail rep
utations to bring this about. Specific cases will
be cited, it is declared, showing tho connection
between big men in tho public servlco and
equally big corporations. Those specific cases
are to bo comprehensive In their entirety and
t is oxpected that the congressional feelings will
be sorely wounded. All this Is to bo dono In
support of tho charge made by tho president that
ii many of those congressmen who voted for tho
reduction of tho appropriation for the secret
service had desired to protect the criminal
classes they, could not have adopted a bettor or
more successful method. If congress forces tho
issue, ho will attempt to prove his contention
in the. most forceful way." . V
THE PRESIDENT'S friends say ho la BtippUod.
with ample ammunition (or nil klndn of
assaults. Tho Ledger correspondent says: "Mr.
Roosevelt has gathered a vast amount of inter
esting Information concerning congressmen from
the secret service, whose work In tho land fraud ,
cases and the Investigation of other mntters has'
given it opportunity to unearth a considerable '
number of nuggets In. the rich political field of.
exploitation.. It Is known that Chief Wllklo has
been asked to get together all these facts and
such others as his force can assemble. For
several days the chief has been working person
ally and through his agents on this task search
ing other departments for evidence. Tho re
sult is said to contemplate the records of public
men on public questions, and then the Influ
ence of their actions with respect to private cor
porations, the Interests of which would bo .af
fected by their work or tholr votes. Aside from
the personal knowledge of derelictions of mem
bers of congress, tho secret service Is expected
to derive much Information from this setting
of congressmen's records against corporation
desires. Whether or not it is due to tho war
like attitude of the president, there was a
noticeable falling off today In the enthusiasm
that marked the beginning of the open attack
on the White House. Senator Culberson de
clared flatly that he would not Introduce the
resolution in the senate calling for action. The
democrats, ho added, would vote for any sug
gestion that the objectlonablo portion of tho
president's message be stricken trom tho Record.
In the house every effort Is being made to mols
ten the president's powder by demanding of'hfnil
the Information that the president Is riovr
threatening to produce. That this will be tho
natural recommendation In the committee's re
port was the statement this afternoon by John
Sharp Williams, after a protracted Interview
with Mr. Perkins, chairman of the committee.
There Is a feeling of distrust among the demo
crats that they are being made to playcatspaw
to the chestnut of the republicans who desire
an official whitewashing from tho house. If the
republicans refuse to ask for the president's
evidence, the democrat will refuse to assert
that the house as a whole, Including the repub
lican majority, is free from blame. That action
on the part of the democrats would put the re
publicans in the unpleasant position of making
a party matter out of the rebuking of tho
president and the whole affair would probably
go up in smoke. To avoid such a ridiculous
denouement the republicans are expected to al
low the democrats to dictate practically tho
terms of the report and the action leading up
to It. The democrats realize this and are anxious
to avail themselves of their unusual power."
It Is heart-rending to witness the struggle
of the esteemed New York Times and Evening
Post and other good papers of. the north in be
half of tariff reform after their support of tho
republican party in the election campaign. They
are deeply pained and mortified that the revision
of the tariff by its friends is being made a farce.
Knoxvllle Sentinel.
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