Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1902-12-16
RCoSEvELTs MESSAGE.
The President Hats, wab0Ies, o.
Ca.,,Dron,saaa


dent Roosevelt himself writes faeS-
sage of imposing length, TO say very.
little of worth on topics which engage
the country's thought. On the subject
| OF trusts he seems to think that there
is more damage TO be apprehended
from attempts at restriction than for
an uninterrupted continuance of whole
sale and systematic robbery of the peo-
pie by tha great monopolies. A leader
whose mind is filled with fear lest his
blows shall hurt Nthe enemy is hardly
the sort of leader TO inspire his follow
ing with enthusiasm for the cause or
to give hope to anybody of Judgment
that he will accomplish much.
On the subject Of the tariff the Pres
ident hastens to surrender to the thick
and-thin protectionists. He denies with
them that taking of duties which en-
able the trusts to charge extortionate
prices in a walled-in market would
force reduction of these prices-and
then lets his heart go out to small com
petit.irs of the trusts who would be in
jured by tariff revision and reduced
prices. The pillagei consumer appa'-
entity does not appeal to Mr.. Roose-
yelt's syripathies at all.
Yet he favors reciprocity treaties as
means of lowering the tariff, and
actually recommends the removal of
the duties on anthracite coal. This is
rank discrimination against the coal
oh lNoc {rl,f 20
lection as any other trust that monop-
olizes the necessaries of life. He Is
confused and self-contradictory
Mr.. Roosevelt asks us to believe thae
he is determined to curb the trusts,
but not at the awful cost of meddling
seriously with the sacred Dingley tar
iff, which shelters so many of them,
That would be to alarm and incense
the protected interests" which are
solidly Republican. He would like re-
ciprocity, but is not strenuous in his de.
sire for it; it is a ticklish subject, and
he defers to the wisdom Of the leaders
of the party. And they, in the Senate,
regularly knife all proposed reciproc-
ity treaties.
The two proposals for dealing death
TO bad trusts and correcting the glar-
ing abuses Of the tariff which the
President flung from the stump With
such energetic confidence not so long
ago-a constitutional amendment and
commission-he family refers to. Mr..
Roosevelt has heard from the press Of
the country. His transparent devices
for delaying the day Of action have
been seen through.
Doubtless Mr. Roosevelt views him
self in his guise of trust-fghter rs a
brave and gallant figure. To UNDER
stand him and credit him with any sim
cerity we have to consider the atmos-
phere he lives in. In land of blind
men one-eyed man is king. SO Re
publican President who admits that
there are evils in connection with the
trusts and confesses that 1t may be
expedient to discuss the ACCESSIBILITY
of remodeling some of the Dingley
schedules-in the far future of course;
say, after the next presidential election
no doubt is regarded by bis associ-
ates and himself as a daring radical.
Mr.. Roosevelt once more gives voice
to his familiar scorn for the weak
ling" and properly. But this long
dTTsas~rrr-ont message Of his Is weak,
very weak, He halts, he wabbles, he
compromises, he Is as feeble as any
man must be who tries to win for him
self the support of the country's anti
trust sentiment and at the same time
to assure the trusts that they are in no
real peril from him or his party-which
they know quite well already.
Nothing is to be done at this session
except to pass the appropriation bills,
a Congressman told ex-Speaker Reed
III Washington the opening day
"Whatw cried the hooking Reed,
ARE you going to miss your opportu-
nifty to amend the constitution? Arc
you going to miss doing an indefnable
something, to be done in a way nobody
knows how, and at time nobody
knows when? That, as l understand
it, is the program against the trusts"
And that is the impression which all
the Presidents speech and his message
can but make upon the minds of men
who know what must be done i'll order
to destroy a monopoly and free the
American people from trust spoliation
and domination.
This latest message assists material
~ in giving the nation Mr. Roosegelt's
measure. He isn't large and be doesn't
Chicago American.