The Forrest City times., 1902-12-26
WILL POSTPONE REFORM.
IuLewarm President and TRUSTEE on
tr0iIed Congress VIII Leave
Trusts ndisturbed.

:
can party on the trust and tariff issues
has resulted in the triumph OF the
| Hanna faction. Let well enough
alone or do a. little a possible i to
he the programme in congress and
not a vigorous reform Of abuses which
was promised before election.
1t has been fondly hoped that Presi-
dent Roosevelt, would add the weight
Of his great Office TO the side of the
/ people and urge reform. But 10 the
| great regret of all " no believe in equal
rights TO all and special privileges 10
none" the lukewarm recommendations
in the presidents message is . victory
| for the do noihings. Strange to say.
there j. no specific recomme ndation in
the whole message for law 10 pre-
vent the extortions Of the trusts or the
subsidies granted them by the protec-
tive tariff. II is not the production of
the strenuous Roosevelt. but the gilt
tering generaliiies OF the anxious poll
tician. intent on pleasing all factions
and especially the strongest.
II Mr. Morgan or Mr. Rockefeller had
been president and had written the
message or decided upon its contents
il could not have been more eonserya-
tive. and the intention made more evi-
dent that no legislation Of consequence
will be attempted by congress. The
financial kings o. Wall street. through
their senatorial and congressional al
lies. appear TO have. by the force of
numbers. deluded the president into
the belief that there i great danger
Of disturbing the business OF The coun-
try. II any reform j. even attempted
The presidential chariot has been
bitched TO the juggernaat OF Wall
street. which ruthlessly ignores the
cries OF distress Of those under their
feet. The presidential recommends
ton for the tariff commission has for
weeks been the demand of the prin-
cipal Wall street organ. il being well
known that the procra stinating work
ngs of such a body would hinder rather
than accelerate reform. In fact Presi-
dent Roosevelt emphasizes this when
he says: "The unhurried and unbiased
report Of this commission would show
what changes should be made in the
various schedules"
"Unhurry" is Just what Wall street
and the trusts desire Furthermore,
| the president has been led to believe
| that reforming the tariff by removing
| the protection that allows the trusts
to sell their products cheaper to for
| eigners than 10 our people. would be
wholly Ineffective Thus the beef
trust, the coal trust. the steel trust and
the hundred other trusts, as far as the
tariff is concerned. are 10 have free
rein TO continue their exactioHs. But
| President Roosevelt recommends that
! the duty on anthracite coal BE- repealed
! though he acknowledges that such an
amendment would only be of service
/ in such a crisis as was produced by the
/ coal strike. He does not recommend
4 that bituminous coal should also be
free; though that would be Of greater
benefit in regulating the price of fuel
at all times.
Regarding the power Of congress to
] regulate the trusts. the president Is
/ evidently in an uncertain mind and
makes no specific recommendations or
/ suggestions. He, however. acknowl-
/ edges that i may be necessary to amend
the constitution to give more power
| TO congress.
! It is safe TO say that the present con-
/ gress will pass no legislation hat will
/ iniuriously effect the trusts or relieve
/ the people from the eXorbitantly high
/ prices of the necessaries Of life that
the prot tive tariff now allows the
+ trusts T. impose An attempt will be
made in the next congress to amend
/ the antitrust law and some change or
! addition NAV be accomplished. in view
/ of the approaching presidential cleo
ton, but that any legislation that will
regulate the trusts in the public inter
/ est. or prevent them from extorfing all
the present laws viii allow. is hardly
possible. unless the whole power Of
the administration should. by some
miracle. be thrown on the side Of the
people. and this President Roosevelt
evidently does not intend TO counter
auce
Thus the issues are ioined between
the democrats and the party in power
and the financial battle viii 10 fought
IN the national campaign Of 1904. Nho
can doubt the result? On the one side
will be the great mass of consumers
who find their incomes squardered to
fill the pockets of the trust magnates.
On the other side is the republican
machine with lis Wall street allies.
The machine is discredited in some
states even by the voters OF the party
il represents and would be discarded
by the voters everywhere. if the con-
tributions and official patronage were
not so largely used to maintainit. Yet
in spite of lukewarm president and a
trust controlled congress reform is
certain and the longer il is postponed
the more radical will be the remedy.
Coal on the Free List.