An Awkward Situation

The Littauer glove contract is still agitating the war department and official Washington. On account of the peculiar relationship existing between President Roosevelt and Congressman Littauer, the question is on the tip of every man's tongue, "What will Roosevelt do about this latest scandal that gets close to him?" At a Harvard college dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York on the 23d of February, 1900, Roosevelt declared with pride and emotion that his closest personal friends and political adviser was Mr. Lucius N. Littauer, member of Congress from New York. To quote his exact language: "I want to tell you that it is a congressman who is my most intimate personal friend and who is my closest political adviser." 

"Who is he?" came from all sides. 

"Lucius Littauer," said Roosevelt. 

The laws of the United States forbid a member of congress to take any government contract. The New York Sun, a republican newspaper, friendly to Mr. Roosevelt, of course, reveals the fact that Mr. Littauer, during the Spanish-American war, manufactured some five hundred thousand dollars' worth of gloves and other supplies bought by the United States [government]. A man named Lyon got the contract from the government, and Littauer made the gloves for Lyon. In a letter to Lyon, Littauer asks whether he (Littauer) shall go and see the responsible war department official, General Luddington, "in regard to other glove contracts." And Littauer's brother acted as bondsman for Lyon in procuring of contracts. 

What will Mr. Roosevelt do under the circumstances? Will he instruct the attorney general to investigate the matter? He cannot doubt that his [endorsement] of Mr. Littauer would have great weight with the war department. Mr. Littauer may not have known, in spite of his offer to see a certain official, that Lyon really got the contracts on the strength of representing Mr. Roosevelt's intimate friend. 

But what will Mr. Roosevelt do? 

He has not hesitated to give us his views of official purity. He has said, "Words are good when backed up by deeds, and only so." Will his words be backed by deeds in this case? Or is there a difference between an ordinary individual and the Harvard graduate who happens to be the president's "closest political friend and adviser." 

The people would perhaps like to ask Mr. Roosevelt this question. 

What can be expected of the post office people if the intimate, political friend and most trusted adviser of the president makes a profit of some ninety thousand dollars on government contracts, when the law says that no member of congress shall profit by such a contract, directly or indirectly? 

Mr. Roosevelt has said that he proposes to have everything about him "as clean as a hound's tooth." Isn't it about time for him to buy a carload of tooth brushes? 

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Ann Arbor is out of debt once more, and that too without a bond issue of $40,000 or any other sum. With careful handling of the city's funds from this time on until the beginning of the next fiscal year, it is to be hoped all need for the creation of even a floating debt of any amount may be avoided. It undoubtedly requires much greater administrative ability to keep within a special income that it does to create a debt for future years to pay. But reasonable and businesslike economy and handling of public affairs should be made the concern of those who are [entrusted] with the city's business. Expenses should not be created when their creation is unnecessary. Progress in the city development is of course essential, but even this should be carried forward thoughtfully and with [judgment] rather than with extravagance and recklessness. It is entirely save to say that Ann Arbor is pretty well pleased up to the present time with the administration of its city affairs.