The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1902-10-01
ROOSEVELT KNOWS BETTER.
His Plan for Dealing With the
Trusts is Impractical. He Talks
Merely to Fool the Public.

Senator Money, OF Mississippi, has
dissected President Roosevelt's plan OF
dealing with the trusts and shows con-
clusiyely that the Presidents sugges-
tion is impracticable and impossible OF
being put into operation. Senator
Money says, in part:
The President sent message to Con-
gress last December, suggesting rem
edy for the trusts, which was to give
publicity to their doings and bring
everything to the public view. His
suggestion was embodied in an amend
ment to the Census Bill, offered by
Senator Dubois, and every Republican
voted against it, thus declaring that
they we're not in accord with the Pres
ident on the subject. The President
sent in no message recommending
a constitutional amendment for the
control of the trusts. Ii he had done
SO, it is question whether it would
not have met the fate of his suggestion
of .'more light" but he had patron
effort on his part probably would have
carried Dubois amendment to the
Census Bill Or the Presidents recently
proposed amendment to the Constltu-
tion. He attempted nothing while
Congress was in session.
He now proposes constitutional
amendment, which seems to be the
only remedy present to his mind.
Nobody knows better than the Presi-
dent the exceeding difficulty Of passing
an amendment to the Constitution.
Even those amendments which settled
the status of the freed negro as citi-
zen, civilly and politically, were only
made amendments by dragooning
Southern States into their support by
the threat of depriving them of their
Federal relation, and in the State OF
Indiana by a certificate that two
thirds of the Senate had voted affrma-,
tivelN when, in fact, two-thirds were
not present. That question was immi-
nent and overwhelming and some set
Element was vitally necessary, and yet,
after the heat of the four years con-
hict, and the enormous sympathy
developed for the negro in the North,
and the necessity for fixing his status.
which was obvious to everybody, there
was really no fair adoption of the
Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amend
ments.
AS student and writer of history,
the President is acquainted with these
facts and it will be singular if be is
not aware Of the difficulty of the con-
stitutional amendment that he speaks
OF. It sounds very well to the people.
Words are cheap, but performance is
difficult. Even If the required two
thirds vote of each House could be
obtained, and the President should
give his signature, then three-fourths
of the States must ratify the amend
ment. and to say that one-fourth Of
the Republican States, at least, are not
absolutely dominated by the trusts and
their politicians would be to absurd
and would torture credulity. One who
fears the power Of the trusts and who
recognizes the terrible menace to free
institutions can take little comfort
from any utterance of Presidenht
Roosevelt On this subject, and, giving
| him credit for some knowledge, it is
difficult to give him credit for sincerity.
If he is sincere, then he is repudiated
by his party, and no hope of reform
in this particular can be expected by
the pubic from the Republican party
and its President.