"W'iW'WUf
Commoner.
9TvrTTinr v
The
WILLIAM J. BRYAN, EDITOR AND PUBLISHER.
Vol. ,4, No, 44,
Lincoln, Nebraska, November 18, 1904.
Whole Number 200
.....Roosevelt's Great Opportunity.
i
President Roosevelt has now an opportunity
suck as conies to but few men in a generation. His
nomination for the vice presidency was due to
his enemies as much as to his friends. The New
York leaders thought that he could give them
less trouDle as president of the senate than as
governor of the state. He himself was reported
as hesitating about accepting the position. He
was in doubt so the correspondents said wheth
er it would aid him in his ambition to reach, the
presidency.- 'Ho accepted and by the act of an
assassin the responsibilities of tne presidency were
suddenly imposed upon him.
Then he began to plan to succeed himself.
No candidate ior the presidency ever used the
power of the office more openly or notoriously to
secure a presidential nomination. His altered
position on the trust Question could not bo con
strued otherwise than as a surrender to the trusts,
and from the time he ceased to urge anti-trust
legislation he had the support of the great trusts.
Ho and the membqrs of his cabinet have virtually
admitted the receipt of trust contributions; they
have simply denied with emphasis that these
"well-to-do" and the "thrifty" he will naturally
look at questions from their standpoint and throw
the influence of the administration upon their
side. His writings have raised the suspicion that
he is Hamlltonian rather than Jcffcrsonian in his
ideas and bias. Hamilton believed that tho well
born were born to rule and that the not too well
born were born to bo ruled that tho well-born
must conduct tho government in their own Inter
est and also, of course, In the interest of thoso
born to be governed. Ho also believed that the
government ought to be strong and centralized.
Hamilton had a great deal more faith in tho
wisdom and patriotism of the wealthy than in
the wisdom and patriotism of the poorer classes.
Jefferson, on tho other hand, believed in tho peo
ple, trusted the people and 'defended the people.
He did not object to a man's having wealth, but
he insisted that a man must be measured not by
his worldly goods but by his character, and that
his influence in government should depend upon
his inalienable rights and not upon the number
of dollars that he had accumulated.
Men seldom change their sympathies. Opinions
contriDuuonwa fm0may change, but sympathies are more permanent
Dress or an -implied promise- 01
the trusts! ' "" "
In tho election just past the president received
an unprecedented rlurallty. it woll require an
analysis of the complete returns to determine just
to what extent it was a personal victory- and to
what extent e profited tiy tho .esentment felt
by democrats toward the leaders at present In
control of their party organization. But whether
tho president's great victory was aue tc admira
tion for his own qualities or to dissatisfaction
among democrats, he now; has ar opportunity that
will not return. He has announced that he will
not be a candidate for re-election and this an
nouncement not only relieves him of anxiety; but
it removes from him the blinding influence of
selfish ambition. Unless he is, restrained by obli
gations consciously or unconsciously incurred ho
can devote Simself to ti autles of his office with
an eye singly to his position in history.
He is too much of a student of public -affairs
not to be awaro of the growing issue between
democracy on the one tide and plutocracy on..he
other b etwee ' the mpsses, Interested in good
government and in equal opportunity, and toe
privileged classes, fattening upon governmental
favoritism. Being aware of this struggle he must
take his stand upon one side or the other. He
must contribute to tho triumph that must ulti
mately come to the people or stand as the cham
pion of organized wealth. Tho settlement of this
Issue will i-ave a large bearing upon the future
of tho country. Except insofar as he is influ
enced by gratitude or by a desire to repay those
who have contributed to his campaign fund, als
conduct will be determined by .lis sympathies.
If his sympathies are with the struggling masses
he will view .every question from their standpoint
and use the influence of the executive to further
their "interests. If -his sympathies are with the
and "when one's sympathies do' change the chanfjo
i3 usually though not always due to a change
in his financial condition. For instance, a poor
man may become rich, and when ho becomes rich
he may view questions from tho standpoint of
the rich rather than from the standpoint of the
poor, and this Is especially true If he acquires his
wealth by questionable me:ns. Tho man who has
grown rich by floating ilctltlous capital or by
watering stock is llkeiy to manifest a violent
dislike for the people who object to the exploita
tion of the public. The man who has grown rich
by usurious interest and by tho methods of the
Shylock is not apt to have a good opinion of those
who would limit interest rates and protect the
needy from Imposition and injustice. On the other
hand, those who have been made aristocratic by
wealth are sometimes made democratic by ad
versity. Sometimes, however, men cross the lino
through thoug t and reflection rather than be
cause of prosperity or financial loss. Insofar as
his executive acts furnish an indication as to his
sympathies, President Roosevelt seems to Incline
"toward tho plutocratic side of the controversy.
His refusal to enforce the criminal law against
tho trust magnates shows that the large criminal
who plunders on a gigantic scale does not seem
to him so heinous an offender c& the small crim
inal, for In no other way can his inaction be
explained, unless his friends say that it was due
to fear of the political .nfluence of the trusts. If
the law providing a penalty for conspiracies In
restraint of trade is an unjust one it ought to be
repealed; if It is a jutt law It ought to be en
forced. ..Ill he enforce it nowwhen ho Is no
longer terrorized by the fear of what tho trusts
may do? Or has he compromised himself by ac
cepting their financial support? If he is free to
act and his sympathies are on the side bt the
people we may expect c vigorous prosecution of
the private monopolies which aro now proylng
upon tho pcoplo.
Will ho recommend more strict regulation of
tho rallroadc?
No ono enn doubt that ho is a beliovcr In
the gold standard, but docs ho carry his reverence
for the opinions of tho financiers and his dcalro
to favor them to tho point of continuing the enor
mous advantago which tho government has been
granting to the banfts? Will ho continue to use
tho treasury department as if it were a busi
ness asset of the Wall street financiers, or will ho -administer
it in behalf of tho peoplo?
Labor Is demanding remedial legislation.
Will he become the champion of the wago-oarnora
to tho extent of recommending legislation to
which they are entitled? Ho demonstrated the
value of arbitration when he arbitrated tho anthra
cite coal strike; will he now Insist upon legislation
creating a permanent arbitration board which can
be called into activity whouovor there Is a dif
ference between the interstate employers and tholr
employes? ill he recommend legislation which
will remove from the courts tho power to employ
the writ of injunction as thoy havo been usln
it in tho Intorest of employers In their contests
with labor? Will ho Insist upon the enforcement
of the elght-hoir day ol public works? Tho re
publican national platform was silent upon these
questions while the democratic platform spoke out
upon them. What will the president do, now that
he has a chance to act unembarrassed by a desire
for re-election? He refused to make any promise
or outline any plan In regard to the Philippine
question. Will he direct his efforts toward the es
tablishment of self-government Jiero, or will ne
yield to the commercial demands for a colonial
policy? Wi.l he make his administration memorable
by establishing a republic in the Orient, or will
he sow the seeds of imperialism on American so!17
If ho is not willing to encourage the doctrine of
self-gover-mcnt among ae Filipinos, is he will
ing to help bring our own government nearer to
the people? Will he use the influence of his of
fice to secure tne election of senators by the peo
ple and thus make the senate responsive to the
will of tho people? Here is one reform which
alone would add more fame to his name than a
whole life-time spent in the service of predatory
wealth.
He owes his first elevation to the presidency
to an unexpected event the murder of a president
He owes hit. iccent great victory largely, to the
error of democratic leaders. Others have there
fore given him the opportunity which he coveted;
how will he employ ;t? His place in history will
depend not uje j. what others have done for aim
but upon wa -t he does for the country. Let hint
read again the history of his country and note
the difference between those presidents who have
befriended the masses and those who have es
poused the cause of ihe privileged few.
" The financiers and monopolists can male
"
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