The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1902-09-12
FROM THE CAPITAL.
Our Correspondent Talks in
General About Wash
ington.
(Communicated).
WASHINGTON.
Sept. s, 1902.

Either Mr.. Roosevelt is devel-
oping into a masterful politician
or else he has some exceptionally
clever advisers, is the verdict OF
the Democratic managers in this
city. His apparent desire to &C
complish control of the trusts was
a surprise to the Democrats, in
volving as it did, clever scheme
for diverting public attention from
the one essential remedy, tariff re-
vision. but he has carried the
game still farther and has sue.
crede1 in getting Senator Platt
to announce that he will not favor
the Endorsement of Mr.. Roosevelt
in the New York Republican State
Convention, and aided and allotted
by the leading Republican papers
has created the Impression that
Wall Street is against him. With
those persons who do not see
through the ruse the scheme will
prove successful. The large ma
jority of the people have come to
regard Wall Street as adverse to
their interests. and rightly so, and
a general impression that Wall
Street is opposed to Mr.. Roosevelt
will make for his popularity on all
sides.
A careful examination of the
facts, however, does not warrant
the proposition that Wall Street
regards the President with aver
sion. He has doue all that the
Street could ask and more. The
tariff is the mother of trusts.
Every careful observer knows
that, and Mr.. Havemeyer, Of
Sugar Trust fame. has stated so
when placed under oath by the
Industrial Commission. The
President has carefully avoided
any reference to the tariff in his
speeches and has in the main de-
Tended the trusts. He has adj
mitted that some trusts were per-
nicious but has implied that the
majority were not and has advo-
Gated remedy for the control of
the injurious ones which cannot
be applied for years and not, at
least until most of those at pres.
ent interested in the trusts shall
have passed to their long reward.
Should the next House of Repre-
sentatives be strongly Democratic
there is absolutely no reason to
believe that the Senate which can
not become Democratic for at
least six years, would sanction
constitutional amendment which
might prove inimical to the inter-
ests of the trusts in which they
are generally speaking large share.
holders. Were the next House to
remain Republican. it is more
than probable that such all amend
ment as would be proposed by the
Republicans would contain fea.
lures which the Democrats could
not afford to support and in any
event the Senate would defeat it.
Again, assuming that Congress
passed through both its branches
the amendment advocated by the
President can any sane man
imagine the New Jersey Legisla.
ture, for instance, approving it?
Can anyone imagine the Ohio
Legislature, under the dictation
OF Senator Hanna, approving it
Can anyone imagine the Pennsyl-
vania Legislature, which is com
pletely under the domination of
Senator Quay, giving it's ratifica.
ton, of the West Virginia Leg
islatOrs voting for it without the
consent of Senator Elkins, which
they would never get? Every
prominent Democrat in Washing
ton declares that the Presidents
proposed remedy is impractical
and chimerical and is intended
only as blind to circumvent the
demand of all Democrats and of
the western Republicans for a re-
moval of the tariff on trust made
goods.
Under the circumstances there
can be little faith in the state
ment that Senator Platt or his
proteges in Wall Street are op-
posed to Mr.. Roosevelt, and the
only alternative is the proposition
that they are assuming their pres
ent attitude to make the Presi.
dent more solid with the grangers
and hayseeds to whom Wall
Street is as a red rag to a DULL.
The continuance of the coal
strike is causing no small worry
to the Republican leaders. The
prospects for the poor man between
the eXtOrtions of the coal trust
and of the beef trust are not
promising. With both meat and
fuel advanced because protective
tariff enacted for the purpose of