The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1902-09-05
OUR WASHINGTON LETTER.
WASHINGTON, D. c., September LIST.

| WASHINGTON, -. u, september ISL.
Mr.. ED1ToR:-President Roosevelt s
sermonizing is causing much amusement
to the democratic leaders IN Washington
They say that it will do little harm and
probably much good, that men who may
| never have been to church will receive
large installments of moral and ethical
instruction from the vigorous young man
who happens to occupy the presidential
chair. Another beauty of these little
homilies, as pointed out by the democrats,
is that they are so non -committal. The
people, with a certain natural curiosity,
desire to learn something of the Presi-
dents views in regard to the trusts, the
tariff, the Philippines, etc, but, in the
large mai ority of instances that curiosity
is not gratifed, and, instead, Mr.. Roose-
yelt's audiences receive neatly formed
little curtain lectures on their duty to
their wives and children. Some Of the
more orthodox may criticise the fact that
the President fails to cite his text before
beginning his little sermonettes, but then
it must be remembered that he has to
please all hearers, even those who reject
the Scriptures and to whom a biblical
text might prove offensive. Generally
speaking, say the gentlemen referred to,
the Presidents little lectures will make
excellent subjects for printing in the
children's Sunday School papers, and will
doubtless win the party the support OF the
hard worked editors of those edifying
little sheets.
The sublime equanimity with which Mr.
Roosevelt sees fit to ignore the appeals
made to him by the starving miners of the
anthracite regions is appalling. The
leaders of his party are known to oppose
his interference in the role of an arbitra-
tor, for they regard it as impossible to
take any steps looking to an ending OF
the strike without mourning the displeas-
ure Of the operators and the great capt.
talists whose pocketbooks are involved.
1t is well recognized that the position OF
the ceal operators is based on their deter
minaton to accomplish the final defeat Of
all attempts at organization on the part OF
their employees. Under these circum-
stances anything in the form OF arbitra-
ton would defeat their ends and leave
them in the same position they were in
before the strike commenced. OF course,
the fact that hundreds Of miners families
are suffering and that many lives will be
lost counts as nothing by comparison with
the risk of FORGETTING the support Of the
coal barons and the railway presidents for
the republican party. Under the circum-
stances, say leading democrats, Mr.. Roose
velt's words about men that "do things
must come back to him with unpleasant
significance in these days of his own mas
terly inactivity.
Representative Hepburn, of Iowa, was
IN Washington recently and reiterated
his firm conviction that the attorney
general would find, on close investigation
that the Panama Canal Company had no
title that would warrant the payment by
this government of $4,000, 900 for their
rights and plant Mr. Hepburn says that
he has investigated the subject too care
fully to be mistaken and that the trip of
tie attorney general to France will prove
fruitless.
The democrats at headquarters are OBJ
serving with qualification the extraordi-
nary resemblance of the platform adopted
by the Idaho republicans to the one
adopted by the Illinois democrats. What
the Idaho republicans can hope to gain
by demanding from their own party a
revision of the tariff so as to abrosate the
special protection afforded the trusts it
is difficult to see. Past experience should
have taught them that such reform can
be looked for only from the democratic
party; however, the Idaho platform coin
cides with the definition of the Iowa
platform given by Secretary Wilson has
refrained from expressing any more
views on the tariff question since he gave
out his first interview and it is more than
probable that he received peremptory in
structions from the republican leaders to
be more guarded in his published state
ments.