Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1903-10-08
TRUSTSARE IN CONTROL
Bureau Of Corporations to Stave
OF Evil Day For Them.
NOTHING DOING FOB TWO YEARS.

Cndes the Presidents Direction
"Tactful" Cortelyou Will Be "or-
gaining" Until After Election of
19O4-Then That Wonderful "Pub-
licity" May Have an Inning.
II President Roosevelt Is reelected
next year 1t will be simply and 1lely
because majority Of the voters sin
cerely believe that he is helping them
to fight their battle with the trusts
So odious have the hundreds of pro
tected trusts become, both In the eyes
Of consumers and investors. that no
man who openly favors them can hope
to be elected to any kind of public Of
zee. 1t is not strange, then. that Presi
dent Roosevelt is seeking TO have the
public believe that ne is an enemy Of
all bad trusts assuming that there are
some good ones.
But what did the president ever do to
really injure great corporations: Al
though he began political life as
strenuous free trader. yet he recently.
under pressure from the Protective
Tariff league. joined the stand patters.
and thus stands opposed to the most
certain way of curbing the trusts and
giving relief TO the people-by reducing
the tariff duties. AS governor OF New
York, he called an extra session Of the
legislature TO pass amendments to the
Ford bill to tax the franchises Of the
public service corporations. The
amendments were prepared by the cor
poration attorneys. and were intended
to make the act unconstitutional. The
courts have not yet after four years Of
lost time, fully decided the case. 1t
was the presidents voice that killed
the Littlefleld antitrust bill in the last
congress and caused the passage Of the
sham antitrust bills. the Elkins anti
rebate bill and the department Of CON-
merce bill. with its bureau OF corpora
t1ons to give publicity to trusts.
The facts that are slowly coming to
itSht in regard to this new bureau
should open the eyes Of the voters to
The real position Of the president on the
trust question. In discussing the
present Statistical outlook In Wash
ingtcn." the correspondent Of the New
Yotk Journal Of Commerce and Com
mercial Bulletin said on July p OF this
Dew bureau:
The work now laid out for this
bureau Ia Of really thorough type.
and If II Is pursued with vigor on the
lines now suggested there will be a
good deal Of complaint in the near
future when the methods now cortem-
plated are actually applied. Pressure
Of the most strenuous sort will I'M
doubtedly be brought to bear at the
White House. Just how soon the de-
partment will really begin to show It's
hand in the matter OF trust investiga-
ton cannot be certainly predicted, but
those who are in position TO know say
1t will not be until after the next presi-
Dental election. AS a matter Of fact, q
good deal of time is needed for the or
ganization of the work and for laying
out special lines Of investiga ton. All
this will consume many months, and
Secretary Cortelyou IS too tactful
man to weaken his strategic position
by opening fire in presidential cam
paign If there should be any danger Of
hurting his party thereby. 1t will
therefore be good while before there
are any definite results Of the inquiries
Of the bureau Of corporations"
Is there anything in this statement
to brighten the trusts: Is it not clear
that this new bureau will give the
trusts two years more leeway-two
years more license 10 squeeze the peo-
PIE and extract money from their
pcckets-two years at S1.p0O,oOo.O 900 q
year: And what then: Publicity.
That's all, and more than all. for it is
entirely optional with the president
whether any Of the facts gathered by
this bureau are ever published or not.
But the facts, when published. are in
tended 10 serve only as q basis for
"conservative' antitrust legisla ton
some time in the dim and distant
future.
Is President Roosevelt fighting the
trusts: He is their best friend. He,
es no other living man, knows how
70 tickle them and at the same time
make the multitude, who secs his fierce
face and vigorous gestures, believe that
he is uaU.ng the life out Of them.
The trusts have great need OF just such
a man at this juncture 10 save them
from the wrath Of al outraged people.
1t IS part Of their game that Wall