The Chanute times. [volume] (Chanute, Kan.) 1897-1913, 1902-08-08
CONGRESS WILL ACT
DISAPPOINTMENT IN STORE FOR
THE DEMOCRATS.
Their Claim That President Roose-
veIt's Monopoly Issue Is Bluff Is
Absurd-voice of the People viii
Be Needed by Congress.

The Democrats who content them
Belves with the stand regarding Pres
ident Roosevelt's monopoly issue that
such legislation as he asks for will not
and cannot be enacted in the next
(short) session of Congress are stalk
ing their all on one throw. They
scott at the Presidents call to the
country. deriding him for making
bluff for fall campaign purposes.
They accuse him of presenting an is
sue which cannot, they declare, be
acted on by Congress in December,
but with which he and his party hope
to carry the congressional elections OF
next November. The elections carried,
they assert, the trust issue Will be for
gotten or neglected.
Let them recall that this issue is
going before the voters of the United
States next November. 1t will be
passed on then by the popular cleo
torate. And there never yet has been
an issue passed on by the American
people that an American Congress,
following that decision, ignored or
dared to ignore. The Democrats pooh
pooh the Presidents issue and the Ad-
ministration's desire. How little Con-
gress cares for the Presidents plans
or the Administration programmes,
they declare, is shown by the way in
which Congress treated the Presi-
dents Cuban Reciprocity" measure.
They pretend to believe that Con-
gress would treat the Presidents mo-
nopoly measure in the same fashion.
But the Reciprocity measure was
not passed on by the country at the
polls. II it had been there would have
been no shadow of doubt as to it's en-
actment; there would have been no
pause in the work of speeding 1t to
the estate of law. 1t was because 1t
had not been passed on, because there
were some Representatives and Sen
ators who did not know what their
constituents wanted, that no power,
the Administration the Dowagers'
or that of any one else, could force 1t
through Congress.
But it will be known what the
l voters want done with the question
| of monopolistic combinations. They
will declare themselves in the cam
paign-the President, wise in his eX
perience, has made provision for that
and confirm their declaration with
their official decision at the ballot
box. And whatever they decide, thai
thing will Congress do just as sure
as there is such a thing as Congress
of the United States. No sane man
Republican or Democrat and nj
thoughtful citizen, interested in the
trusts or disinterested, who have stud
led the course of events in the indus
trial world for the last two years car
have the faintest, most lingering doub
what it is that the voters of the Uni
ted States will decide that they wisf
done-with the industrial combina
tions-that their power to suppress
competition, control markets ant
raise prices at their own sweet will
shall be so governed by statutes ant
regulated by the enforcement of thos'
statutes that the public shall be pro
tected in all it's rights, along with TIT
legal and r,ghtful protection that shall
be extended OF every interest and with
held from none. And since that will
be the decision of the voters in thu
November election, Congress will no
fail to write their verdict into TIT
laws of the United States!