interests, of the Standard Oil, and of the Sugar Trust. He defended the prominent men involved in the recent insurance scandals. Probably no man in the country has done more business with and for trusts than Mr. Cromwell. Even the Associated Press admits that there is some 'mystery' about the choice of Sheldon. There had been, so the dispatches say, a practical agreement on Representative McKinley, of Illinois, who, it is said, had been told that he would be 'drafted.' Up to yesterday Sheldon's name had not been considered. This was the situation when Cromwell arrived, having telegraphed ahead urging that no selection be made till he came, as he had a candidate. He came, and his candidate was accepted. McKinley was not 'drafted.'

"As to Sheldon himself, it is to be said that he, too, is a trust man. He is said to be interested in the Republic Iron and Steel Company, the American Locomotive Company, the Paper Bag Trust and various railroad and trolley syndicates. He was one of the organizers of the famous Shipbuilding Trust. Sheldon was at one time, if not now, interested in the Tobacco Trust. He is a man of prominence and president of the Union League Club of New York. It is said that he, as a New Yorker, will be governed by the New York statute requiring publicity in the matter of campaign funds, and that this was the principal reason for his appointment. But it is hard to see how a New York statute can control the conduct of an officer of the National Committee except in relation to New York affairs. That there will be plenty of money we do not doubt. If Cromwell and Sheldon cannot get it, no one can.

"The position of assistant treasurer, it is said, will be tendered to Mr. McKinley. He is known as Speaker Cannon's right-hand man, especially in any negotiations that it may be necessary to carry on with the trusts. The ruling influences of the House are thus represented on the committee, and thus the committee ought to be able to 'make good' on any pledges it may see fit to give. Further than this, Mr. Sherman, candidate for the Vice Presidency, is to continue as Chairman of the Congressional Committee. Mr. Sherman is a member of the inner organization of the House, a member-with Speaker Cannon-of the Rules Committee, which tells the House what it must and must not do. With McKinley and Sherman in the foremost of the campaign, and with Cannon behind them, there will be no trouble in shaking the plum tree. Cannon, McKinley and Sherman can say whether or not there shall be any tariff legislation, and if so, of what sort. Thus the Republican organization is made up of trust magnates, of the Speaker acting through agents, of one of the Speaker's representatives in dealing with the trusts, and of the Rules Committee which controls the action of the House. No man who gives money need do so without knowing exactly what he is to get for it, or without the assurances that he will get it.

"Last of all there is the new chairman, Frank Hitchcock, former First Assistant Postmaster General. People will wonder whether the selection of Mr. Hitchcock is to be taken as evidence that the Federal officeholders are to be used to bring about the election of Mr. Taft as they were used to bring about his nomination. Mr. Hitchcock is an able leader and a good organizer, but it must be remembered that he had great advantages in his pre-convention campaign. That is, he was helped by thousands of Federal officeholders who were under the compulsion to do his bidding. But still he is an efficient and capable man, and with the help of Cromwell, Sheldon and the trusts, and of the inner organization of the House as represented by McKinley and Sherman, he ought to get results. Clearly the new organization was made by 'practical men' for practical men. McKinley would no doubt have made a good treasurer, for he, too, knows a good deal about trusts and their habitat. But on the whole it will have to be admitted that Cromwell's candidate is to be preferred. The party will have a great, efficient, smoothly-working organization composed in about the right proportions of men who want and men who can give things."

Discussing the Republican Executive Committee, the Indianapolis News says:

"We have had something to say occasionally of the remarkable efficiency of the Republican National organization. Mr. Hitchcock, the National Chairman, has already proved his quality. His success in rounding up delegates with the assistance of Federal officeholders -many of the delegates themselves being Federal officeholdersproves that he is an extraordinary practical politician. Mr. Sheldon, the treasurer, is a trust man, sustaining close relations to the great interests. He was appointed, it will be remembered, on the recommendation of William Nelson Cromwell, himself a trust man, and Harriman's attorney. Only the other day Frederic W. Upham, o Chicago, was appointed assistant treasurer, with headquarters a Chicago, clear outside the scope of the New York law requiring publicity of campaign contributions-after election. Mr. Upham is a member of the Illinois Board of Review, which passes on the taxe of corporations and wealthy individuals. The Congressional Cam paign Committee will be under the control of Speaker Cannon, and Mr. Sherman, candidate for the Vice Presidency, these two men through the Committee on Rules, of which they are members, being dictators to the House of Representatives. We doubt whether ther has in the whole course of our political history been a more effectiv organization. It covers the whole ground, and touches all necessary

points.

"But there is still more to it than this. We now have a Executive Committee announced, which is made up of the following gentlemen: Charles F. Brooker, of Connecticut; T. Coleman DuPont of Delaware: William E. Borah, of Idaho; Frank O. Lowden, of 111

nois; Charles Nagel, of Missouri; Victor Rosewater, of Nebraska; Edward C. Duncan, of North Carolina, and Boise Penrose of Pennsylvania. Mr. Brooker is an old member of this committee, having served in the year 1900, so he has had a valuable experience. He is a very worthy gentleman with very desirable connections from the point of view of the treasurer of a political committee. He is interested in manufactures, railways and banks, is a member of the New York Chamber of Commerce, and of the Union League Club, and vice president of the board of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Company. That he will in every way measure up to the responsibilities of his position we can not doubt. Mr. DuPont is known chiefly by his family connection. The family is engaged in the manufacture of powder, which it sells to the Government, as well as to other customers. It has even been said that there is a Powder Trust. Certain it is that the affairs of the combined powder makers have been sharply assailed in Congress-and outside of it. The DuPont family is rich, one member of it now being Senator from Delaware. William E. Borah is a Senator from Idaho. He was recently indicted for complicity in land frauds, and was very promptly and properly-as far as we know-acquitted. He is chiefly famous for his prosecution of one of the men charged with the cowardly murder of the late Governor Steunenberg. Mr. Lowden is a member of Congress, has been actively interested for some years in both State and National politics, and is connected by marriage with the Pullman family. Charles_Nagel is a St. Louis lawyer, has served in the State Legislature, and been president of the St. Louis City Council. Victor Rosewater is an editor and publicist, with a keen interest in politics. Edward C. Duncan was Collector of Customs at Beaufort, N. C., from 1890 to 1894, and is now a Collector of Internal Revenue. He has no profession, but is a director of the Atlantic and North Carolina Railroad. Every one knows Boise Penrose, Senator from Pennsylvania. He is a product of the Quay school of politics, and is the central figure in the Republican rings of Pennsylvania and Philadelphia. He is said to have close relations with the Standard Oil Company. His ring has assuredly had close connections with the public treasury. It is believed that he is quite as skilful as,

was his master Quay, in shaking the plum tree.

"So we have this new committee, the Executive Committee of the National Committee. Brooker, DuPont, Lowden and Penrose in particular seem to be in every way qualified to conduct a most effective campaign. Whether they will work under the famous New York statute which is supposed to control Treasurer Sheldon, we do not know. No one of them is a citizen of that State, as the assistant treasurer, Upham, is not. It is a great committee. When we consider its personnel in connection with the failure of the Republican Congress to enact a publicity law, of the overwhelming defeat by the Republican Convention of a publicity plank, of the very timid handling of the subject by Mr. Taft in his speech of acceptance, and of the appointment of Sheldon at the suggestion of Harriman's lawyer, we think that even the most unsuspicious and trusting soul will see great possibilities in the situation."

The announcement of the appointment as Western Treasurer of Mr. F. W. Upham, of Chicago (who since his appointment has reduced the valuation for taxation of the street railways of Chicago $8,597,534 below the appraisement made by the county assessors), called forth the following editorial from the Indianapolis News:

ANOTHER REPUBLICAN TREASURER,

For

"With two headquarters, one in New York and another in Chicago, it seems fitting that the Republican Committee should have two treasurers. No doubt this precedent will be followed by the Democrats, though they have not as yet had time to select their second treasurer. But the Republican Committee is already thus doubly equipped. Mr. Hitchcock, chairman of the Taft Committee, has appointed Frederick W. Upham, of Chicago, to be treasurer of the Western headquarters. The Cincinnati Inquirer is of the opinion that 'Mr. Hitchcock's action in placing the raising of money in the West in the hands of Mr. Upham will cause more comment than anything else among practical politicians.' He is reputed to be a wealthy man and it is said that his chief qualification for "frying out the fat" is that he is a member of the Board of Review, which passes on the amount of taxes corporations and large estates shall pay in Chicago and the State of Illinois,' It is thought that 'Mr. Hitchcock's organization will get slathers of cash from Chicago if Mr. Upham is sufficiently tactful.' "Tactful,' is, we think, a good word in this connection.

"Undoubtedly a man who wields the taxing power of a great State is an important and influential personage. A man with this power would be more likely to get the money he asks for than a man without it. For every one wishes to stand well with the taxing officers. This is human nature. It is not necessary that such an officer should abuse his power in any way, not necessary for him to make promises or to indulge in threats. All that is necessary is that he should have the power, and that men should understand that he can reward or punish. As long as men feel-as they will feel-that they may be rewarded or punished they will be likely to contribute iberally to the Western headquarters. It ought not to be difficult

for a member of a tax board to get money from those whose taxes he helps to fix. He cannot be thought of apart from the position which he fills, and whenever he approaches a prospective contributor it will be as a member of the Board of Review as well as treasurer of the Western headquarters.

"It must, therefore, be freely admitted that Mr. Hitchcock has made an admirable selection. Nor should it be forgotten that Mr. Upham will operate in a jurisdiction unembarrassed by any law requiring publicity in the matter of campaign funds. Mr. Sheldon, treasurer of the committee, will, he insists, be bound by the New York law, compelling publicity-after the election. But it is not so with Mr. Upham. He may, indeed, be somewhat limited by the law making it a crime for corporations to contribute, but even so, his field of usefulness will be large. With two treasurers, one chosen on the recommendation of Harriman's lawyer, and the other a member of the Illinois Board of Review, the Taft Committee ought to do very well. We doubt very much whether there will be any serious stringency. On the contrary, the indications all point to a liberally financial campaign.

"So it is that Mr. Hitchcock has already 'made good.' Last week we had something to say of the Wall street view of this matter as expressed by J. S. Bache & Co. 'Contributions of money,' this firm declared, 'will be plentiful for the Republican campaign from individuals and corporations, too, and no modesty or hesitation need be shown about the amount.' We do not look for any 'modesty or hesitation,' for these qualities have no necessary connection with that 'tactfulness' which Mr. Upham is expected to show. As we said several weeks ago, the Republican organization is probably the most efficient one that the party has ever had. The appointment of Mr. Upham will serve still further to strengthen it. No small part of the contributions to the Republican campaign_fund will consist of money spent in operating business at a loss-as J. S. Bache & Co. advise, if it is necessary-for the sake of creating a prosperity for campaign purposes."

TAFT, HITCHCOCK, GRAFT & CO.

When Mr. Hitchcock was named Chairman of the Republican National Executive Committee the Courier-Journal said in its editorial columns:

BUNKOM AND BUNKO.

Oh, Gosh! Oh, Mother!-Shakespeare.

"The redoubtable Frank H. Hitchcock-he of the Steam RollerProxie Frank, let us call him for short-is to be Chairman. To be sure. They need him in their business. They could not get along without him. For a little while there was seeming hesitancy; a scant show of virtue and reluctance; some apparent consideration and concession to the victims first run over and then piled up in the Auditorium Annex. But, brought to book, face to face with necessity, the manipulator of Predatory Means and the Organizer of the Federal officeholders and victory, was bound to get there, and so nobody was surprised when the news came from Hot Springs that Hitchcock it was and Hitchcock it is. Glory be the name of Hitchcock!

"Second only in importance to the Chairmanship of the National Committee is the Purse-bearer; the Custodian of the Lawless Wealth which is to buy the voters and corrupt the election; in other words the Treasurer of the Campaign Fund. What is Home without a Mother, or an Army without a Commissary? A sleek and portly gentleman by the name of Bliss has hitherto worn the regalia of office, that is a swallow-tail coat, white neck-tie and a sprawling watchfob. Commissary Bliss was a Sunday school scholar of goodly presence and fair proportions. Never a Deacon could pass the plate more gracefully. Unction was his strong suit; sanctimony the sign-post of his other money. Mr. Turvydrop might have taken lessons in deportment from Mr. Bliss. Had Mr. Honeythunder seen Bliss posing for his picture before going after a campaign contribution, he would at once have said, 'Where do I come in?" and "May the Devil admire him.' But our good Cornelius groweth old and waxeth fat, withal; he can no longer see through six cards in the pack, only two, or three, with magnifying glasses; he can no further take three jumps and a mustang leap upon a corporation, nor brown a manufacturer to a crackling before frying the fat out of him; he is, in short, superannuate, whilst Taft, Graft and Company require the leatherlegs and leather-conscience of Youth.

"It seems that they had hit upon a person by the name of McKinley-a Congressman, or a Kibboo, or something away out in the wilds of Illinois-still hoping to conjure with a famous and muchloved name-for Keeper of the Stolen Goods, Dispenser General of the Tainted Money, in short, as Fence of the Gods and Graft, the Taft and Morality Crusade. But Cromwell turns up.

"Oh, for an hour of Cromwell,'

says the rhyme, and Cromwell-William Nelson-Bill for short-Bill Taft and Bill Cromwell-the man of the Forty Thieves that turned the Panama trick-twenty millions for the Thieves in Paris and twenty millions for the Thieves in Washington-not counting the twenty additional millions for the Thieves of the fly-by-night Republic of Panama-Cromwell, little Vanilla Bean's partner-sends a wire to Hot Springs to say, 'Hold the Boss Thief out, for I am coming, Gentlemen.' And then? Why, then William Nelson, who knows all about decorum and dividends, the old flag and an appropriation, he arrives upon the scene with a message from Cornelius and a brief of his own. "Take Sheldon,' saws Cromwell. 'Sheldon is as good on looks and as slick on manners and things as Bliss used to be. What we want is Respectability! See? Somebody who will unite pomp and plousness with the pumping process; who has a brown-stone front with a back-cellar connection; something gilt-edged, you know! Sheldon's the man. He is as hunky-chunk as a church-warden.

stands head of seven Trust Companies and vestryman to six churches. He is president of the Hoky-Poky Humane Society and the Union League Club. He hails from Harvard and he once lived in Brooklyn. His anagosity is only less appalling than his dignity. Why, gentlemen, he is so respectable that the street-lamps bow to him whenever he passes them, and to see him walk down Fifth avenue with his prayer book is a liberal education and true religion to boot. Take Sheldon, if you love me; if you love Bliss; if you love Money, for Sheldon's other name is Crummy!'

"Thus they turned down McKinley and exclaimed, 'All hail to Sheldon-to George Rumsey Sheldon-the Guarantee of the Straight tip, which it is Publicity!'

SHERMAN A TYPICAL LEADER OF THE FORCES OF

PREDATORY WEALTH.

In the issue of June 20th of the Louisville Courier-Journal the following communication appeared from Colonel O. O. Stealey, the veteran Washington correspondent of the paper:

"Washington, June 19.-[Special.]-The nomination of James Schoolcraft Sherman for Vice President by the officeholders' convention was a distinct surprise here. Mr. Sherman is well known in Washington, having been a member of the House for a number of years. He has never made any record above the ordinary. He is a rich man, having made his money in trusts. Unlike Mr. Cummins, of Iowa, he is not a 'trust-buster,' but a 'trust-truster.' He is certainly a man of affairs so far as 'business is concerned.' He is president of the New Hartford Canning Company and a banking company in Utica, and a few years ago was head of an Ice Trust conpany. He is an intimate friend of Senator Platt, where he got all his political inspiration and training.

"As Chairman of the Republican Congressional Campaign Committee, he succeeding in 'frying the fat' out of the trust and insurance companies and the bloated monopolies, protected by the tariff infamy. He is the same Sherman who figured in the celebrated disclosures regarding the Harriman subscription, taking an active part in that notorious transaction which brought out the correspondence between Roosevelt and Harriman. It has always been believed that Sherman knew all the inside facts and could have damaged the President badly had he leaked.

"When Sherman formed his Ice Trust company in Utica there was a great deal of severe criticisms as to the 'business methods' of its promotion. All of this will be brought out later, with some other things not entirely creditable to the Republican candidate for Vice President. He has always been a bitter opponent of the labor element, going out of his way a number of times while a member of the House to attack labor organizations, being under the training of Mr. Littlefield, of Maine. His record on labor will also come to the front before the campaign is old.

"Just what strength Sherman can bring to the ticket, even ir. New York, is puzzling the politicians. Of course, he will put up considerable of his plunder money, but that is all that he can possibly do to help the ticket. He is rather an agreeable man among his associates, but autocratic among that class of people with whom he has not affiliation. He is sleek, well fed and well dressed, and a typical son of predatory wealth. The only real prominence that he ever really had here in the House was when he was selected to investigate the hazing at Annapolis.

"The Democrats here, and no doubt elsewhere, are extremely delighted that Sherman and not Fairbanks or Cummins was made the running mate of Mr. Taft."

SHERMANISM AND CANNONISM.

Associated Press dispatches say that Representative James S. Sherman, the Republican nominee for Vice-President, will make a tour of the West in behalf of the Republican ticket. Some one suggests that Mr. Sherman, who is Speaker Cannon's right-hand man in the House, tell the people what he thinks of the Republican revolt against Cannonism.

By the time Mr. Sherman gets through explaining to Republicans the methods of the Cannon-Sherman oligarchy in the House, he may have some time to devote to his widely advertised "arraignment of Democrats."

WHAT ABOUT SHERMAN?

We are told by the Chicago Record-Herald that: "The Kansas City Star argues that it would be a good thing if a Democratic Congress were elected to serve with Taft as President. It says that the country knows full well that if Taft were elected and Cannon remained in the Speaker's chair the boss of the House would obstruct progressive policies under the new administration just as he the last session of Congress. The dominant party is under

suspicion because of the reactionary strength in that session and in the Republican convention."

And what would James S. Sherman-now and for years Cannon's right-hand man in the House-be doing in the Presidency of the Senate? Is it not reasonable to believe that Mr. Sherman would do a little obstructing on his own account when it came to "progressive policies"?

Assuredly the Republican leader is hard put for a persuasive plea to the rank and file of his party.

THE REPUBLICAN ON SHERMAN.

The Springfield (Mass.) Republican in its issue of Thursday, June 25th contained an editorial on Sherman, from which the following extract is taken:

"To suppose that Mr. Sherman's nomination will make the empire state or the east generally the safer for the Republican ticket is a curious idea. The Illinois delegation was swung to the New Yorker by Speaker Cannon, one of whose lieutenants in Congress Mr. Sherman has been for a number of years and whose presidential candidacy Mr. Sherman had favored so long as New York state had remained uncommitted to another. It (Mr. Sherman's nomination) is politically damned by Mr. Sherman's record as a solicitor of campaign funds. As chairman of the Republican Congressional campaign committee in 1906, Mr. Sherman was a collector of money for use in the fall elections. To illustrate the extent of his activities in that position, it is sufficient to quote from the correspondence made public by President Roosevelt, a year ago last April, in answer to the celebrated letter Mr. Harriman had written to Sidney Webster. In the letter of October 6, 1906, which the President wrote to Mr. Sherman, occurs this passage:

As I am entirely willing that you should show this letter to E. H. Harriman, I shall begin by repeating what you told me he said to you on the occasion last week when you went to ask him for a contribution to the campaign.'

"If Mr. Sherman ever did anything In public life to attract national attention, prior to his nomination to the vice-presidency, it was his appeal to Harriman for campaign funds In 1908, as revealed by the President's letter. Harriman at that time had not become so notorious and so obnoxious to the American people as he became somewhat later, yet his business character and political standing were as well understood in the autumn of 1906 by Republicans like Mr. Sherman as they are today. Taken in connection with the campaign fund publicity issue, the Sherman nomination seems to be as audacious-we will not say insolent-a performance as the Republican party in these later years of its history has been guilty of. The party was primarily responsible for the failure of Congress at the last session to enact a publicity law; the party convention this week has defeated a publicity plank by 880 to 94; and its record now culminates in the nomination for the vice-presidency of a man who less than two years ago went, hat in hand, to Harriman's office begging for that sinister creature's money to help elect Republican Congressmen!"

"LAFE" YOUNG KNEW

If those Republicans who are surprised to learn that their party's campaign funds have been contributed by the representatives of special interests had cultivated the acquaintance of Colonel "Lafe" Young, editor of the Des Moines (Ia.) Capital, they might have learned something to their advantage.

Several years ago Colonel Young, who is a stand-patter, engaged in a controversy with Senator Funk, an Iowa Republican who endorses the Cummins idea. Senator Funk said that he did not believe that the Republicans of Iowa must "catch the tariff keynote from the American Economist, published by and for the most selfish beneficiaries of protection."

Colonel Young retorted: "Is Senator Funk determined to reject any of the campaign funds offered by the 'protected industries' in the campaign of 1904? Senator Funk knows the vast amount of campaign funds allotted to Iowa in 1896, partly through the influence of National Committeeman Cummins. It is presumed that a good part of that fund came from these hated 'protected interests.' Will Senator Funk advocate rejecting any part of such fund if it shall be offered by the National Committee to the Iowa member of such Committee in 1904?"

ison.

Prudent jealousy is the first duty of citizens.-James Mad