Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909, 1902-11-18
THEIR PURPOSE.

The unprecedented democratic
majority of $4,000 in New York
City at the recent election is due
to the opposition of trusts and
corporations to the course OF
President Roosevelt. Heretofore
tn: Sc combinations have not
greatly feared either of the great
parties, for it mattered little
which party had control of The
government they had always
been able to prevent, to mold OF
to evade any legislation dire cted
against them. The positive,
earnest purpose of the president
cannot be mistaken. Among
his first acts as president was to
set the Interstate Comm. rec Com
mission to work, and to Instruct
the attorney general to enforce
the Sherman Antitrust act.
He has everywhere declared that
the trusts and corporations should
be controlled. To this end he
Will execute the existing laws
and if they are found inadequate
he will call Oh congress to amend
and make them adequate. The
attorney general has expressed
his conviction that under the
constitution as it is congress has
ample power to control the trusts.
A growing party and public SEN
timent is in accord with the pres
ident. The trust managers see
this. They know full well that
all the indications are that the
president will be the republican
candidate in 1904, and will in all
probability be elected. They
sought to show him that they
control New York and that if he
persisted in antagonizing them
he could not be reelected, But
for the remarkably heavy coun .
try vote the democrats, aided by
the trusts, would have carried
the state. The conservative
farmers voted and Odell was re.
elected.
Fear of public ownership as
promulgated by the New York
democracy did not deter the trusts
from supporting the democratic
party. Trust managers under
stood perfectly we'll that thi:
meant nothing. 1t was directed
only against the anthracite Goa
companies, 1t was not the SIN
cere purpose of the democratic
leaders, but simply mere dema.
gogy for the purpose of gaining
votes. 1t frightened nobody, il
enticed nobody. Outside of the
city the state is heavily republi-
can. Republicans do not advo
cate public ownership. The re.
publican purpose is public con
troll, not ownership. This i:
what the people desire, and they
look to the republican party fol
it. The trusts do not fear public
ownership through democratic
success, but do fear control
through republican success,
hence they supported the democ.
racy.
1t is fortunate that the trusts
have shown their attitude so fal
in advance of the presidential cam
paign. 1t will greatly strength
en- the republican party with the
people and correspondingly weak
en- the democracy. Already it
has done this. The trusts see
that they must control other re.
publican states besides New
York to defeat Roosevelt or pre-
vent republican success in 1904.
The elections show them they
cannot do so, and that they can
now hardly hope to control New
York.
1t is a rational assumption that
the election has eliminated the
treatment of trusts from possible
party issues two years hence.
The people are satisfied with re-
publican policies and have conf
dence in republican promises.
There is nothing probable to oc-
cur in these years to dissatisfy
the people nor shake their conf
dence.
Republican policies and pur-
poses cover the whole ground
while unexampled prosperi-
ty testifies to their wisdom. The
democratic search for an issue
must continue under conditions
which become more and more