Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1902-07-22
President RooseveIt's Anti Trust Atti-
tude.

The Democrats go step too 1af
when some of their papers in partisan
zeal declare that President Roosevelt
is insincere in his hostile attitude
toward great combinations of capital
and in his desire to have law
framed that will effectively curb them
when they get oppressive or danger
Gus. Whatever faults Theodore Roose-
welt may have, hypocracy is not one OF
them The country well knows that
he is sincerity itself, and that there
was never a man in public life who
spoke his real convictions and inten-
tons more freely and frankly than he
does. Those who have opposed him in
local, state or national politics.. in
civil or military life, have learned
that he means just what he says and
is never in any sense a ''bluffer." He
does not believe in any grand octopus
hunt, or in fighting the trusts on the
Donnybrook fair principle, but he
recognizes that more national legisla-
ton is needed to meet the new in
dustrial conditions, and proposes to
have an antitrust law passed at the
next session of Congress which shall
public and the rights of the corpora
tons.
His determination to do this and the
Willingness of the Republican party to
stand behind him in the work, make
the Democrats very weary, for 1t
blunts the edge of the only weapon
upon which they really dared to count
in the coming campaign. They are
afraid to mention Is to l above a whis-
per and have learned that imperial
ISM is a boomerang with barbs in
it, They hoped to be allowed
monopoly of antitrust agitation, but
that privilege is denied them with
much emphasis. The Republican
party can show that from the
beginning of the contest against the
unlawful combinations it has main
tanned a consistent and commendable
attitude. Not only was the Sherman
anti trust law the product of Republic
can legislative effort, but all the
work that has been done in the last ten
terms of that law is to be credited to
the Republican party. The Democrats
fought the Sherman law from it's in
ception, and among other things the
leaders of that party in Congress de-
clared that the proposition to curb
trusts engaged in interstate COM
merce would be a violation of the
rights of the states.
So it is not strange that the activity
of President Roosevelt's administra-
ton in moving to curb the combina-
tons in restraint of trade has become
a most persistent thorn in the Demo-
cratic nesn AS Senator Dubois of
Idaho remarked in an interview re-
Gently, 1.-THE trust issue is q worked
over lead, as President Roosevelt has
taken possession of it, and any effort
of the Democrats to gain anything
from that issue must fail" All the
cases which have been brought to sue
cessful issue in the courts under the
operations of the Sherman law, nota-
bly, the big railroad cases and the
Addystone pipe case, were prosecuted
by Republican authorities. During Mr..
Cleveland's administration nothing
was done by the Democratic party 10
curb trusts, and the whole stock Of
that party now is to rail at the tariff
law and assert that only by abolishins
the protective system can trusts be
abated. 1t can add the greatest blum
der of all to its series of mistakes by
attacking the sincerity of President
Roosevelt. The Republican party will
particularly welcome a campaign in
volving that issue.