The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1902-09-27
THE ROUGH RIDER suRRENDERs.

No more will the President thunder
against the trusts. He has surrendered,
horse, foot and dragon, to the bosses of
the Republican party who demanded
cessation of trust agitation as the price
of a second term in the White House.
They were not afraid of any of the
sugar coated remedies he advocated or
the impracticable plans he presented.
They were afraid that his talking about
the people into taking strenuous action
against them. They saw that his patent
publicity" plan was in the nature of the
kind words of the farmer addressed to
the boy in the apple tree. They recog-
nized his constitutional amendment sug-
gestion was as impotent to injure them
as the tufts of grass thrown at the boy
to dislodge him. They understood, as
well as everybody else, that Mr.. Roose-
Welt would not throw the rock of taking
away tariff duties-the sure way to dis
lodge most of them-and they saw that
his civil action against the beef trust
did not amount to anything. They did
or plan. They knew that they had moth
ing to fear from him, his speeches or
his plans. But they recognize the deep
hostility of the people to trust exactions.
They feared that his talk would encourage
more determined men to organize the
ANTI trust sentiment he was creating into
some shape that would take away their
tariff bonus or execute the penal statutes
against them. They demanded of Mr..
Roosevelt that he cease agitation, quit
talking except in the most general way
about trusts, and not add any fuel to
the antitrust fire that threatens them.
They did not decide to put the screws on
him until the sensational withdrawal OF
Speaker Henderson disclosed the tre-
mendous antitrust sentiment among Re-
publicans in rock ribbed Republican Iowa.
That discovery showed the trusts that IL
the antitrust advocates were able to
reckon the President among their num-
ber the waves of indignation against
them would grow into a tidal wave that
would sweep them out of existence.
When the trusts reached this conclusion,
through leading Republicans, they issued
their ultimatum: Mr.. Roosevelt must
quit his antitrust agitation or he would
be denied a denomination. This will, of
course, be denied, but future events will
show that the compact has been made,
that the Rough Rider has surrendered to
stronger foe, and that his widely ad-
vertised strenuous opposition to trusts
will gradually melt away until the Han
ma programme, There are no trusts"
will be the programme of this admins
tration. If any doubts that this is
this time on by the Roosevelt admins
tration, they need only to possess their
souls in patience to see that the Rough
Rider has made his last charge against
the trusts. He will have their support
for denomination and reelection, and will
not take his Northwestern tour. AS long
as he talked against trusts in Boston
and New England, the trusts didn't care.
They own that country. They are afraid
of any agitation in the Northwest, and
they have stopped that, so far as the
President is concerned. 1t is understood
that the President was forced to make
choice between abandoning his tour in
the Northwest and an endorsement by
the Republican Convention of New York
for denomination. He decided in favor
of securing an endorsement.
The lesson taught by the surrender Of
the Rough Rider is one that must make
every patriot sad. Mr.. Roosevelt is a
man of undoubted courage. He fears no
foe in the shape of man. When he came
into the presidency he doubtless hoped to
curb the power of the trusts and made
several charges against their ramparts.
He has found that they cannot be routed
except by drastic measures. These. his
party, belonging to the trusts, will not
adopt The defeat of Cuban reciprocity
at the dictation of the Sugar Trust,
taught the lesson that the trusts control
Congress. Since then he has seen that
in his party they are l-powerful-that
they have the power to kill and make
alive-and the strenuous fighter found
himself in this position: He either had
to quit agitating or surrender another
term in the White House. When the
presidential bee gets into any mans
bonnet it often buzzes loud enough to
drown the voice of duty if duty means
surrendering the presidency. Mr. Roose-
welt wants to stay in. Power is sweeter to