The Hocking sentinel. [volume] (Logan, Ohio) 1871-1906, 1902-12-11
ROOSevELTS MESSAGE.
The President Halts, Wabbies, and
Conn nrauliaes

l compromises,
| Urging the need for severe condeIn-
| nation of long public documents. Prcsi-
| lent Roosevelt himself writes mes
sage of imposing length. To say very
little of worth on topics which engage
.he country'> thought. on the subject
Of trusts he seems To- think that there
is more damage To he apprehenjed
| from attempts ut restriction than Tor
| jn uninterrupted continuance of whole"
sale and systematic robbery of the peo-
| pie by the great mOnopolieS. y leader
whose mind is filed with fear lest his
| blows shall hurt the enemy is hardly
| The sort of leader To inspire his follow
| Ing with enthusiasm for the cause cr
tG give hope Ia anybody OF Judgment
| That he will accomplish much.
ON the subject of the tariff the Pres
dent hastens to surrender to the thick
| and-thin protectionists. He denies with
hem that taking of duties which en-
| able the trusts TO charge eXtortionIte
prices i'll walled-in market would
force a reduction of these prices-:ind
| petitOrs of the trusts who would bc in
Iured by tariff revision and reduced
prices. The pillaged consumer appar
entity does not appeal To Mr.. Rouse
velt's sympathies at all.
Yet he favOrs reciprocity treaties as
A means OF lowering the tariff. and
actually recommends the removal OF
he duties on anthracite coal. This is
rank discrimination against the coal
rust, which has as much right TO pro-
lection as any other trust that morcp-
oliZes the necessaries of life. He is
confused and self-contradictory.
Mr.. Roosevelt asks us to believe that
he is determined To curb the trusts.
but not at the awful cost of medliing
seriously with the sacred Dingley tar
iff. which shelters so many of them.
That would be TO alarm and incense
the protected interests which are
sOlidly Republican. He would like re-
.iprocity. but is not strenuous in his de-
sire for it; it is ticklish subject. and
he defers to the wisdom of the leaders
Of the party. And they. in the Senate,
regularly knife all proposed reciproc-
ity treaties.
The two proposals for dealing death
to bad trusts and correcting the Clar-
ing abuses of the tariff which the
President flung from the stump With
such energetic confidence not so long
ago-a constitutional amendment and
a commission-he family refers to. Mr.
Roosevelt has heard from the press Of
the country. His transparent devices
for delaying the day of action have
been seen through.
Doubtless Mr.. Roosevelt views HIM
self In his guise of trust-fighter as Il
brave and gallant figure. To under
stand him and credit him with any sin
certify we have to consider the atmOs-
phere he lives in. In IL land of blind
men One-eyed man is king. So n Re-
publican President who admits that
there are evils in connection with the
trusts and cOnfesses that Ii may he
sxpedient to discuss the advisability
IF remOdeling some of the Dinclev
schedules-in the far future, of course:
say, after the next presidential election
no doubt is regarded by his associ-
ates and himself as daring radical.
Mr. Roosevelt once more gives voice
to Ills familiar scOrn for the weak
ling" and properly. But this long
drawn-Out message Of his is weak.
very weak. He halts. he wabbles. he
compromises, he is as feeble as any
man must be who tries to win for him.
self the support of the country's anti
trust sentiment and ut the same time
to assure the trusts that they are In no
real peril from him or his party-which
hey know quite well already.
Nothing is to be done at this session
except to pass the appropriation bills,
a Congressman told ex-Speaker Reed
IN Washington the opening day.
What" cried the mOcking Reed.
are you going to miss your oppo-tu-
nifty to amend the constitution? Are
you going to miss doing an indetiiEhle
to be done in a way nobody
knows how, and at Il time nobody
knows when? That, as l understand |
it. is the program against the trusts.
And that is the impression which all |
the Presidents speech and his message
can but make upon the minds of inen
who know what must he done in order |
to destroy a monopoly and free the |
American people from trust spoii',tion
and domination.
This latest message assists material !
Iy In giving the nation Mr.. ROoScvelt's |
measure. He isn't large and he doesn't |
American.