JAJPIUL 24, 1903.
While Mr. Roosevelt Is boasting of the antl
jtnwt legislation passed by the republican con
gress, he ought not to forget to
Hw , explain how it happened that
Did It immediately after all this antl-
" Happea? trust legislation was accom
plished, the packers began tho
Organization of a combine which in power and
wealth will be second only to the great steel trust.
In his speech at Milwaukee, President Roose
yelt quoted some things from the famous address
no delivered at Minneapolis
when he was vice president. But
one statement in the Minneap-
oils speech Mr. Roosevelt did
not rnfar to and that was
-wherein he said that it would bo necessary in tho
future to shackle cunning as in the past we had
chadded force.
Forco
and
Cunning.
VSVS
The Chicago Tribune says: "The result in
.Cleveland leaves Mayor Tom L. Johnson the most
conspicuous democrat in Ohio.
Tho If he wishes the party nomlna
Clevaland " tion for governor he can have It,
Victorv. and repeat his spectacular auto-
mobile campaign of 1902." Yes,
and it will give the people of Ohio the opportun
ity of electing to the office of governor a man
who will be a faithful representative of the peo
ple. - j
That
Criminal
Clause.
In several of the speeches which the presi
dent is now delivering on his famous tour, he has
referred with considerable de
tail to what the administration
has done in enforcing tho Sher
man anti-trust law. But it can
not have escaped the observa
tion of the people that Mr. Roosevelt has not un
dertaken to explain why the criminal provision
which is the chief feature of the Sherman law
has not been enforced.
In his annual message, President Roosevelt
Recommended the appointment of .a tariff com
' mission whose duty it would 'be
That to revise the tariff. And yet in
Tariff the speeches which the presi-
Board uent Is now making, we read no
reference to a tariff commission.
On the contrary, the president's opinion as to the
desirability of tariff revision under any circum
stances appears to have undergone radical change
since he wrote his annual message to congress.
The New York Tribune says that "no man
.Who fairly faces' the question can say the ma
chinery of government ought
not to be employed in breaking
them (practices of the trusts)
up." Then why has the repub
lican administration failed to
employ the "machinery" as provided in the Sher
man anti-trust law in order to accomplish this
end? "Why does It object to tho removal of-the
shelter which the trusts find in the tariff and why
has it neglected to enforce the criminal clause of
the Sherman anti-trust law?
Put
It
In Motian.
In an effort to establish narmony among the
reorganizes, the Brooklyn Eagle says that "there
is room for all and relative place
Room for all." And then the Eagle
for cheerfully proceeds to read out
ail tut of the democratic party the
democrats who believe in the
principles set forth in the democratic national
platform. But it must be understood that when
papers like the Eagle say there is room for all,
they take it for granted that their readers un
derstand that they mean all but democrats who
believe in democratic principles and support dem
ocratic tickets.
The Baltimore Herald says: "If a drouth such
as 'prevailed two years ago in tho west should
- ' be repeated this year, the trusts
Looking would have 'the country in their
, - for grip. Any sort of trust is bad
Relief. enough, but one that can control
, K any necessary of life is partic
ularly oppressive. It would seem that the west
ern formers and ranchmen who are prosperous
could unite and form a big company to manage
the slaughtering and distribution of meat so as to
reap the profits of the business themselves, treat
ing, tho people fairly at the same time, and thus
rid themselves "frpm the oppression of the trusts.
The Commoner.
That or some other plan will bo hit upon. , The
trusts have Invited war, and it will bo war If
any worse extortion Is attempted."
'In his speech delivered at Chicago, Presldont
Roosevelt said: "Boasting and blustering are as
objectionable among nations as
among individuals, and tho pub
lic men of a great nation owe it
to their senso of national self
respect to sneak courteously of
foreign powers, just as a bravo and self-respecting
man treats all around him courteously. But
though to boast Is bad, and causelessly to insult
another, worse, yet worse than all Is It to bo
guilty of boasting, even without Insult, and when
called to tho proof to be unable to make such
boasting good." It is not In tho least surprising
that this statement is interpreted by Admiral
Dewey's friends as a reflection upon tho hero of
Manila Bay. And yet Is It unfair to say that
Mr. Roosevelt himself is a bit glyen to "boasting
and blustering?"
5
Boast
and
Bluster.
The
Economist
Knows.
The Sioux City Journal, a republican paper
that is in favor of removing tho sholtor which
the trusts find in the tariff, is
.engaged in a heated argument
with tho American Economist.
Tho Economist says that If Gov
ernor Cummins undertakes to
carry out his threat to Taiso this question in the
national convention, "what would happen to him
and his faction is not difficult to foresee." But
the Journal thinks that tho Economist is not well
informed. There are a great many people who
will be inclined to believe that the editor of the
Economist knows just what he is talking about;
and the editor of the Journal might have his
doubts removed If he would give intelligent obser
vation to the remarkable change that has taken
place in Mr. Roosevelt's position on this question
since the date of his annual message to congress.
A
. Biting
Sensation.
W. McDougall, writing In Nature, indorses the
theory of James Sully that laughter Is not all joy,
out that "there is in it from tho
first ejaculation something of a
biting sensation, or something
of a melancholy pain;" and
again, "the lamrhalilo anfififainlo
commonly shows us in tho background something
regrettable." Whatever may be said as to the
correctness of tho position taken by Messrs. Sully
and McDougall, it is safe to say that if tho emi
nent reorganizes who, prior to election day,
were preparing to indulge in a good laugh because
of the returns from the municipal elections in
Chicago and In Cleveland, 0. carried out their
original plans, that in their laughter it was evi
dent that "from the first ejaculation there was
something of a biting sensation or something of
a melancholy pain."
Dealing
In
Futures.
The Des, Moines Register and Leader, a re
publican paper, says that Secretary Root was un-
aouoteaiy speaking for the
president when he made a vig
orous protest against tariff tink
ering at the coming session of
congress. According tn thn Rocr-
ister and Leader, "a prolonged tariff debate with
its consequent irritation will be used by the demo
crats as a basis of their campaign," therefore the
plan seems to bo to put into the national plat
form the republican program end then carry it
out in the first congress following the national
election. The Register and Leader says that it Is
important that every state convention say clearly
and definitely what it believes should be the pol
icy for the future. A very interesting program to
be sure, but the Register and Leader may just as
well understand now that there will be no "Iowa
idea" in the republican platform.
The Chicago Record-Herald says that "the
'Iowa idea' was triumphant m the western and
northwestern states In the last
Tna congressional election. The
Iowa people are disposed to take the
Idea. party at Its word in characteriz
ing the tariff as a business and
economic proposition, to bo changed according to
tho needs of our changing industrial conditions."
Then the Record-Herald asks, "Do tho republi
can leaders mean to abandon this position?" The
truth is that the republican leaders never intend
ed to take this position. They were quite willing,
to be sure, that voters who favored the "Iowa idea"
should lay the flattering unction to their souls
that that plank would bo adopted; but if the Record-Herald
has now doubts on this point, it might
learn something to its adyanlago by a careful
reading of tho speeches which Mr. Roo"sevclt Is
now delivering.
It Don't
Follow
Warren.
Senator "Warren of Wyoming has written &
letter in .which he objects to tho election of United
States senators .by popular vote.
Sonator Warren says that this
plan "would develop a desire for
and greatly increase tho prob
ability of apportioning' tho sen
ate according to tho voting strength" of tho sev
eral states. This, while Increasing tho represen
tation of tho older eastern states, ho says, "would
carry tho western states back to one senator from
each stato, or possibly pno senator for a group of
two or three states." Senator Warren's letter
moves tho Now York American to say that a
United States senator should bo better acquainted
with tho constitution of his country than Mr.
Warren appears to bo, and the American directs
attention to article V. of tho constitution in which
it is said: "No stato without its consent shall bo
deprived of its equal suffrage in tho senate." But
perhaps when tho constitution quit following tho
flag Warren lost track of it
JVSS5
Mr.
Lincoln's
Belief.
Tho New York Journal of Commerce prints In
Its editorial columns an interesting letter omlt
vtlng names. Tho Journal of
Trusts Commerco assures Its readers
,. .and that the letter Is authentic Tho
Tariff. letter was written by an Eng
lishman to a citizen of tho
United States, and speaks for itself as follows:
"Wo have had oho of tho trust men hero of
ho showed mo ono of his balance sheets tho
of made up to December, 1902, show
ing over 100 per cent profit and paying a divi
dend. At this rate he got as his sharo about 20,
000 and told me ho had received this rate for sov
eral years. The amount carried forward to next
account was nearly 200 -per cent. Pretty good for
tho iron trade, don't you think? I told him that
If his government were foolish enough to adopt
free trade, wo would soon knock his profits down
to a modest rate. Hq very complacently said:
'But they won't.' What a contrast between that
and what wo can do In England! If wo get a 10
or lfc per cent wo can sell our business at a big
premium and have many buyers."
Tho religious beliefs of Abraham Lincoln are
again being discussed and while many insist that
Mr. Lincoln was a believer, ono
affirms that ho "denied tho very
existence of God." It does not
seem possible for ono who has
read Lincoln's writincs and
speeches to accept tho latter version. Throughout
his public utterances his references to tho Cre
ator were made In such revorent tone and tho
principles ho espoused were so closely associated
with the principles of the Master that It seems
unnecessary at this day to agitato the old time
controversy. Who can forget that masterly speech
wherein Mr. Lincoln said that "our reliance Is In
the lovo of liberty which God has planted in our
bosom;" or that splendid letter to tho grief
stricken mother who had lost five sons on tho
field of battle, in which letter Mr. Lincoln said
that "I pray that our Heavenly Father mav as
suage the anguish of your bereavement;" or other
testimony to Mr. Lincoln's firm belief In the Cre
ator, including the eloquent peroration to his
Emancipation Proclamation wherein he invoked
upon that act "tho considerate Judgment of man
kind and the gracious favor of Almighty God."
The Kansas City Journal, a republican paper,
says that ostensibly the president and the coal
strike commission appeared on
Public tho scene In tho Interests of tho
Must people and it thinks that the
Submit. commission performed a good
service in bringing tho striko
to an end and raising the coal famine. But tho
Journal adds: "But there may be a difference of
opinion as to tho satisfactory character of tho
commission's final decision. If we Indorse It, we
must do so from the basis that as consumers we
are willing to pay tho miners more money. Fur
thermore, it appears that we must indorse an ef
fect which tho decision carried along the effect
of paying the operators more profits while paying
the miners more wages." Is it not possible that
tho. same public sentiment that forced tho coal
barons to do partial justice to their employes will
in time require tho coal barons to do justice to
the coal consumers? Or must we accept the
views evidently entertained by these republican
papers that the coal barons are all powerful and
that the public must submit to whatever program
the baroas may see fit to outline?
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