Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-09-05
CRITICISES PRESIDENT
w. J. BRYAN'S ANALYSIS OF RE-
CENT TRUST SPEECHES.
He Declares Mr.. Roosevelt is Not Sin
cere in His Utterances as
to Combines.

dispatch from Lincoln Neb., says that
w. j. Bryan in his Commoner of today dis
sects the recent trust speeches of President
Roosevelt. Mr.. Bryan says in part:
"A republican must be dull indeed If he
cannot discover from the President
recent speeches that he has come to an
agreement with the trust magnates.
He RooseevlO was suddenly ushered
into the White House and given chance
to :shackle cunning and he has ever
since been apologizing for rather than
denonncing trusts. Take his Providence
speech as an illustration. He spent more of
the time in trying to pacify those who crit
icise the trusts than in pointing out rem
edy. Through it runs the idea that the
enormous fortunes wrung from the people
by monopoly are a natural and necessary
result of good times, result that we cam
not prevent.
THE President fails entirely to distin-
suish between an association of God-made
men. with. bodies to feed, families to pro-
vide for and with consciences to guide
them, and fictitious person called a cor
poration organized for gain, having no
heart to restrain it here and no soul to pun
1sh hereafter.
He fails to discriminate between the
labor organizations which have not yet Sue
ceeded in securing living wages and req SON.
able conditions and the overgrown corpora
lions which declare enormous dividends On
Watered stock and enable the managers to
become multi-millionaires from enforced
contributions collected from the people.
This hiding behind a labor organization is
favorite device of the monopoIist. and the
President betrays his leanings when he
falls into the same habit. careful read
ing Of the Presidents speech will convince
any candid man that the executive is more
alarmed lest the people may injure them
selves morally by hating the trusts too
much than he is lest they be hurt by the
trusts.
Note his solicitude: We are passing
through period of great material prosper
ity, and such period of great ma terial
prosperity Is as sure as adversely itself TO
bring mutterings of discomfort Again: II
In a spirit Of sullen envy they tthe people)
insist upon putting down those who have
profited most by the years of fairness. they
win bury themselves in the crash of COM
mon disaster
mo trust magnate could have made a
more abject and servile plea for lawless
wealth and heartless greed.
when we see great corporations violat-
ing the laws of the land and riding rough
shod over the rights of the people, instead
OF applying remedy. we must constantly
restrain our indignation for fear the dark
and evil vices of envy and hatred will eat
into our natures
Instead of trying to catch the horse
thief he lectures the man who lost his
morse: and does he think the horse-ra sing
industry would be jeopardized by complete
determination of the horsethief?
He insists that it is highly undesirable
to attempt too much or to begin by Strin-
gent legislation. Those who are looking for
strenuosity In dealing with the trust evil
Will not find it In the Presidents speech 1t
Is weak and puerile. Instead Of a warrior
leading his men up San Juan Hill we see
the politician anxious for a denomination
and afraid either to ignore the subject or
to deal with it firmly and aggressively.
The only definite suggestion he makes
is IN regard to publicity, and even this must
be northumberland. Publicity as an aid 10
other remedies would be useful. but publici-
ty alone would be of no benefit. To expect
any real relief to come from mere publicity
Is as absurd as it would be to propose the
repeal of laws against larceny and the SUD-
stitution Of law simply requiring the thief
to file schedule of the things stolen and
then keep them.
President Roosevelt has progressed far
enough in his campaign to show that he
appreciates the seriousness of the trust Is
sue. and his discussion of the subject gives
evidence of a complete change in his
method of treatment since his elevation to
the presidency.
1T was quite certain from his Minneapo-
us speech, delivered just before President
Mckinley's assassination, that he expected
the administration to have a protrust can
dldate and that he expected to make his
nght against the trusts and appeal to the
antl-monopoy sentiment in his party