The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1902-12-03
TIE PRESIDENTS MESSAGE.

we publish elsewhere To-Day the Iull
text of the message of President Roose-
welt, read in both houses Of Congress
yesterday.
AS literary production it ranks with
the messages of Jefferson, Madison and
whose messages are models of English.
1t reads smoothly and is well calcu-
lated to put to sleep all who do not
fully see and understand the dan
gers to the rights and prosperity of
the masses. To be sure the President
mentions the menace of the trusts and
recommends legislation of an indefinite
kind 1t reads mighty nice and soothing,
but after you have finished that portion
of the message relating to trusts, you
ask yourself: What sort of legislation
against trusts does the President want?'
And as you run over his pleasant phrases
and high sounding platitudes, you are
forced to the conclusion that he wishes
a law that will act toward the trusts
as the old farmer in the blue-back
spelling book first acted toward the boy
he caught in the apple tree. He wants
to pelt the trusts only with tufts Of
earth that will not hurt. He protests
that it would never do to use stones,
though that would surely bring down
the trusts, but the President is con-
sumed with fear that it might kill few
independent concerns which pick up the
crumbs left by the trusts for their parti-
cular benefit, in order to be able to say
that they do not absolutely control the
trade. Mr. Roosevelt devotes ten lines
to cautioning against any drastic meas
ure against the trusts to one line OF
argument in favor of enacting legisla-
ton correcting the evils which he is
forced to admit do exist He does not
condemn trusts per Sc. Although the
statutes all put them in the class OF
porations, beset by some evils which
may be cured by soothing syrup.
When it comes to treat OF the sure
and effective remedy to curtail the ex-
tortion practiced by such giant trusts
or abolition of the tariff bounty they en-
JOY then the President grows pathetic
in his appeals for the little outside frl-
lows (who exist either in his magma
tion or by suffrance of the trusts for
their own ends) and for good wages for
wage-earners. If you go along with the
President, tears will almost come into
your eyes as he tells of the disaster thas
would come to the country II the tariff
duties should be reduced upon articles
almost entirely controlled by the trusts.
But if you stop and think a minute, the
sophistry is so thin that you see beneath
it yelled plea for the trusts upon the
very line they most wish help. They do
not greatly fear civil prosecution, for
they believe that, having secured the ap-
pointment of the leading lawyer of the
steel trust as Attorney General. and
the appointment of many more on the
Federal bench, all civil actions can be
postponed, side-t tracked. declared uncon-
.stitutional, or, by some other hodge
podge, made ineffective. Therefore the
plan Of campaign vaguely outlined
against them by the President does not
cause them to lose much sleep. The
two measures they now dread most are
criminal prosecution and withdrawal Of
the big tariff bounties that enable them
to pay big dividends upon millions Of
dollars of watered stock. 1t IS absurd
to say that reduction of the tariff on
the products of the steel trust. to a
buy the goods manufactured in Pennsyl-
vania as cheaply as the same goods are
sold for in Europe, would disturb bust
ness, reduce wages or injure any legiti-
mate independent manufacturer. The
President, by his expert use OF Eng
lish can often make the worse appear
the better reasoning, but even his
plausible sophistry cannot convince in
telligent men that big protective
bounty ought to be continued to the steel
trust when this bounty enables that
monster trust to compel Americans TO
pay more for what the trusts manufac
ture than they charge Europeans, South
Americans, or the jewellers in the islands
of the sea. Upon this subject the Pres-
dent is more like a pettifogging lawyer
arguing a bad case than statesman
treating of a great question before he
highest legislative tribunal of the world
His whole message from start to finish
is permeated with the studied purpose
to create the impression that those who
advocate real anti trust methods and
withdrawing the tariff bonus from trusts
are seeking ito Strike down wealth with
the result of closing factories and mines,
Of turning wage carriers idle in the
aod LEAVING tha f1 rroar withnJf