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The Commoner.
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14
Vol. 2, No. 37.
. THE FORUM OP THE WfiEKLY PRESS
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THE PRESIDENT AND THE TRUSTS
THE BLIGHT OF CLEVELANDISM
Scrlbnor (Nob.) News: How dons
President Roosevelt know 'that the
Shormah anti-trust law is not suffic
iently stringent wlidn his attorney
general has novor tried to enforce it?
Eastbh (Md.) Star Domocrat: The
success of Mr. Roosovelt's efforts to
socuro tariff- concessions in behalf of
Cuba may bo regarded as typical of
tho support lio will rocolvG from a re
publican congress in aiiy effort he
may mako to curtail tho power of the
trusts. ,
Franklin (Pa.) Spectator: President
Roosovolt never once asked congress
to do a thing against the trusts. Ho
waited until ho camo to Pittsburg to
dolivor that dramatic "pronundtamonto,
knowing it to bo a harmless thunder
bolt as long as Ntho republicans have
control.
Centorvtllo (Miss.) Joffersonian:
President Roosevelt has decided to
mako war on tho trusts. Mr. Prosldent,
tho people know that congress has ad
journed and they also know that when
you say that you are going to mal.o
war on tho trusts that you are just
giving us somo "hot air."
Lowlston (111.) News: The trusts
own tho republican party body and'
soul and thoy aro glad to have a war
lord to' poso and howl befbro tho peo
ple; especially as ho capitulates to
them in private on every vilo scheme
of plunder which greed can invent.
Montrose (Pa.) Domocrat: The pres
ident's anti-trust laws aro being
laughed at, and aro regarded as a be
lated attempt to save his party's repu
tation. Chairman Griggs, of tho dem
ocratic congressional committee, crit
icises Roosevelt for waiting till con
gress adjournod before taking action.
Criafleld . (Md.) News: President
Roosevelt is giving -wide publicity to
his Intention of "dealing with tho
trusts," but tho record of tho Fifty
seventh congress proves Mr. Rooso
velt's inability to do anything in this
direction, even if ho bq sincere in his
desire to accomplish trust restriction.
Bollefonto (Pa.) Democratic Watch
man: It's a fine time for tho presi
dent to grow so blatant against trusts,
and so concerned about tho welfa.e
of Quba. Tho timo to act was while
congress was in session. Had he done
something then there would bo little
need of so much insincere solicita
tion now.
Fergus Falls '(Minn.) Weekly:
President Roosevelt waxed eloquent in
opposition to encroachment of the
trusts, In his Pittsburg speech then
went to dinner and spont tho rest of
tho day, with Mr. Frick, president 01!
tho biggest trust in tho country. They
agreed that trust encroachments aro
things to kick 'about in public.
Schulenburg (Tex.) Sticker: Now
that congress has adjourned thepresl
dont is touring the country, delivering
speeches in which his unalterable de
termination is proclaimed of having
such legislation enacted as is essen
tial to the' absolute regulation of tho
trusts, ;and a great, many popple will
accept his declared Intention as slix-
coro!
Monmouth (111.) Democrat: Wo will
rostraln tho trusts, said Mr. Roosevelt,
and tho attorney gonoral forthwith
proceeded to do tho restraining act.
The trusts in tho meantime have given
tho president and tho attorney general
the "ha-ha," and. a republican con
gross has passed into history with no
attempt to make the Sherman anti
trust law effective.
Chilton (Wis.) Times: Tho repub
lican party has been in absolute con
trol of the executive office and both
branches of congress since March 4,
1897. It has promised tho people ro
lief from tho trusts, but thus far has
taken no stops to carry out tho prom
ises. Will the people not see that all
this talk of republicans getting after
the trusts is buncombe?
Tiffin (0.) Advertiser: Not one law
was passed by tho republican congress
to prevent or restrain the trusts from
robbing the people, although repub
lican platforms protended to bo against
trusts. If you judge it by its fruits,
you must condemn It for its hypoc
risy and false pretense, and its en
deavor to fool the people, while per
mitting tho rapacity of tho trusts to
continue.
Rolla (Mo.) Sharpshooter: A Clevo
larfd demodrat "is a Vo'ry good 'Roo'se-
1
volt republican.
Pittsburg (Kas.) Kansas: Oh, yes
the Cloyeland-Hlll democrats' but,; by
the way," there ar.nbhe these l'f el--lows
aro all republlcansi; - 1
Mosquito (Tex.j Me&quter: In giv
ing advice,, to the democratic party,
Grover Cleveland places himself in an
attitude similar to the confidential
.clerk who stole alt his' employer's
money and. then wrote, him a. letter
telling him how to get another start.
Mayfleld (Ky.) Mirror: Grovpr
Cleveland might better have remained
in his hole. His recent "harmony"
speech has embittered every democrat
who did not formerly agree with His
monetary views and has made enemies
of many consistent democrats who
do not lovo a wrecker.
Alvorado (Tex.) Bulletin: For eigh
teen years the Baltimore Sun has been
one of the bilndest Cleveland partisans
in the country, not excepting some of
the Texa3 sycophants and notwith
standing the fact that he has twice
wrecked the party it still wants more
of Clevelandism and more debauch
ory'by tho New York politicians.
Bulesville (Ark.) Bee: The reor
ganises and whilom bolters of tho
democratic national ticket and plat
forms take great prido in pointing to
Cleveland's two elections as proof of
had made matters worse.
little county conventions
An Honest Confession.'
We paid $20,000,000 for the Philippines, and have spent for the
army $170,000,000 on them since. We wish to the Lord it had
been the democrats that did It. GnlHapolis (O.) Tribune (Republican).
Iola (KaB.) Farmers' Friend: Ev
erybody knows about tho Yankee
farmer who locked tho stable after
his last horse was stolen. Well, Pres
ident Roosevelt's plan to crush tba
trusts is a parallel. Ho announces,
now that congress has adjourned, that
ho intends to wage war on tho trusts
"vigorously" and urges congress "to
act" on a bill to be prepared by Mr.
Llttlefield of Maine; and that the at
torney general is to be conferred with
and then tho measure Is to be mado
an administration measure.
Richmond (Mo.) Conservative: Now
that congress has adjourned, President
Roosevelt announces that he intends
to wage a vigorous war on tho trusts
at the next session. There never was
a more opportune time for the enact
ment of legislation for the control and
supervision of trusts than durlnc the
session which closed last wreck, and
the republican party alone is respon
sible for tho failure of that body to
enact legislation along this line. Tho
recent declaration of war by the presi
dent will not worry the trusts; neither
will the people consider it seriously.
the superiority of his brand of politics,
but in this connection they never re
call the congressional elections of 1891
in which their fetich, Grover, led tho
party through the slaughter house into
tho open grave of the most disastrous
defeat in twenty years.
Wiser (Idaho) Signal: God save
the democratic party from any "restor
ation" to Clevelandism. It would bo
better to support the republican party
outright, because then you would know
what you were voting for and would
get tho goods with the correct label on,
Instead of having tho same thing
handed you under the guise of dem
ocracy. Red Lodge (Mont.) Chronicle: Cleve
land vetoed the bill to coin the selgn
nlorage with a great flourish of trum
pets, and his claquers among tho fd
called "business interests" made the
air resound with .their shouts of ap
proval. He had "saved the credit of
tho nation" and protected our cur
rency from tho baneful effects of an
other influx of "rotten money." Mc
Klnley wont to work quietly and
coined this self-same seigniorage with-
out an act of congress, without tho
knowledge of the" "business Inter'esEs"
and not a word of protest was heard.
Hastings (Mich,? Journal: Whqvde-j
feated Bryan and the democratic, par- .
ty'iri 1896, anti. made imperialism rand
High pr6tectiv,e .tariff possible? ' Clevo- .
land,. Hill, Whitney, Dickinson, Bel
mont, Pattison and a long line of ro
organizers, who now want the 'demo
crats, who stood loyal to their p'aijty
to acknowledge they were in error and1 .
bow' down before these gilded pre- . ;
sumptlous deserters and obey, their
mandates. Democracy can afford 'to
wait ,for victory of principles, gather -than
secure power and place by- a
policy the republican party and their
allies indorse.
Muhfordvllle (Ky.) News: The. com
mon people in 1896 knew that they
were suffering and they knew that they
were suffering from the evil effects iof
the 'gold standard; and thoy kntw
that' they had put Cleveland in office
to give them some relief from the evil
and thoy knew that he had not only
failed to give them relief, but that, he
So in their
all over
America they met and made a whip
out of the, strong cords of disgust,
discontent,., disappointment and Jdls-
approval and drove out the money V
changers and cleaned tho temple of
democracy.
Rochester (Ind.). Democrat: There- '
publican papers are saying, with tha
bolting democrats, that Bryan wrecked
the democratic party just as Cleve
land had given it power and promi
nence. " Oh, fudge! Who wrecked ,tho
democratic party in 1894 two years
before Colonel Bryan was thought of
as a party leader? Indiana gave
Cleveland 11,000 majority In 1892, and
two years later rebuked his adminia- s
tration by 47,000 republican majority.
And two years later Bryan reduced
the republican majority of 1894 nearly
30,000. This talk of Bryan wrecking,
the popularity of democratic prin
ciples which Cleveland had established
is tiresome and positively silly. But
the republican papers find It a conven
ient paddle with which to pat Grover
and swat Bryan.
El Reno (O. T.) Globe: There is a
crowd of so-called reorganlzers of tho
democratic party who are working in
the interest of trusts and the money
power. Why are they coming in evi
dence. Tho leaders know that thero
is to be a political change and that
If Cleveland, Hill or any one of theso ,
reorganlzers will only be democratic
in name and when elected the presout
policy would continue. We must bo
on our guard and seo that whoever
seeks to be our standard-bearer has
given full and undivided support to
the democratic nomineo in 1896 and
1900. Nominate a democratic demo
crat, not a pretender or a traitor to
the party, who now wishes to be a
leader when the prospects for demo-
cratlc success aro growing brighter er
ory day.
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