The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1903-04-08
The Tanned President.


i begins to look as II the President
has been famed by sonle body and we
rather suspect chat Senator Mark
Hanna Knows more abont it than lie
will admit. AS the Columbia state
says the roaring lion Of EoYeTuer IS
The meek and peaceful lamb CT April.
What a tranformation in the brief
span of six months The State goes
on to say that the bold. brave talk OF
President Roosevelt last fall caused
the antitrust people to applaud. The
pictorial papers represented the Stren-
uouS chief executive as a Goliath,
brandishing a knntted club. and re-
ducing all unlawful combires to their
proper state. Yet it was noticed that
the trusts were exhibiting no signs OF
mental anguish. Cases or nervous
prostratlon were not repo'te in that
class. and Hanna still smiled cheer. IL
ly-doubtless winked tbs truStfu.. eye.
The great man who fries ol1t tle fat
for the Republican cam mpaign expenses
said nothing in public. He 1T the
president set off his antitrust fire
works, but later, in heart to heat
talks, doubtless revealed the true
situation The presidents speech on
The Trusts Friday at Milwaukee
reveals a thorough knowledge of the
situation from the standpoint II
Hanna and Pierpoint Morgan.
Between almost every Two lines OF
Mr.. Roosevelt's address there is
apology for the trusts or disapproba-
tion of those who are fighting the un-
lawful combines. The attempt is
made to burden all the honest trust
fighters with the indiscriminate
fanatical attacks on capital by social
lists. The president processes abso-
lutte satisfaction with the antitrust
legislation of the last congress, when
it was well known early in the session
that he favored more effective
method Of combating the immense
power Of the monopolies. The presi-
dent quotes at length and with the
highest appreciation, as demonstrat-
ing the important work being accom-
plished, the performances Of the inter-
state commerce commission and Attor-
ney General Knox in preventing u
railroad deal here and equaliZing a
freight rate there. While these re-
strictions on the graft Of certain cor
porations in localities do not touch the
real trust evils affecting every buyer
in the union as well as many Of the
producers, the president has magni-
ted them into accomplishments full
filing the demands of the public. But
ne neglectS to furnish the important
information that the work be praises
was completed or well under way when
he made bis demands last fall for ade-
quate laws to control trusts.
Great stress is laid on the effec-
tireness of the new publicity law,
when the department. Of com merce
is given the means Of enforcing it. 1t
seems that the willy Republicans
authorized an army and commissioned
general but failed to provide the
sinews of war, so even the benefits to
be derived by the public from pub
licity will be indefinitely postponed.
The criminal weakness of this law is
that it leaves it to the discretion of
officials to decide what corporations
are to have their affairs made public.
Even the ingenious Hanna could not
have devised more effective fat fry
ing scheme. 1t is not in the blood or
bone OF Republican officials to kill
the goose that lays the golden eggs,
and a. contribution Of million
or tWo. to the campaign fund will
guarantee the secret conduct OF
any kind of highway robbery. Again
the act declared by President Roose-
velt to be admirable and all-sutficient
applies only to those trusts formed
after said act goes into effect, thus
making immune the tremendous COM
binaUions already operating.
Move cautiously go slowly.
take time. avoid rashness, :: don't
cripple business" are the burdens Of
our erstwhile trust busters" speech.
He strenuously opposes reduction of
the protective tariff on trust products.
That would be killing the patient to
cure the disease, he says. What
sophistry, Ry such reasoning, by such
contentious, the Republican party is
breeding socialists and anarchists as
foul, stagnant water breeds mosqui-
toes. The need Of the oil of Democ-
racy is most urgent. The people de-
mand that the former leaders in the
party which represents the people
cease growing at each other and that
they face the common enemy. There
is timber for a platform in President
ROoSeyelt'S speech. .