Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1904-10-27
A Great Scandal.


greatest masters of the artef catch
ing 'em coming and going that the
world has ever seen. But in Moth
ing has he shown his capacity in
this line more brilliantly than in
his dealings with the trusts. A
year ago an effort was made to
have it appear that the trusts
would all be fighting him bitterly.
Now we see them supporting him,
and actually contributing money
to his campaign fund. Here GER
tainly is a great revolution in
opinion in trust circles. It is
known that for almost two years
the President has had at his dis
posal thousands of dollars voted
by Congress to be used in enforc-
ing the law against trusts. We
were told that one purpose of
creating the Department of Com
merce and Labor was that we
might get the benefit OF publicity
in the matter of trusts. We have
had no publicity, but on the con-
trary the greatest secrecy. Shortly
after the decision in the Northern
Securities case was rendered Mr..
Roosevelt's Attorney-General told
us that the government was not
going to s'run amuck." 1t has not
done so. Still later Mr.. Knox was
picked out by certain trust mag
mates, among them Cassatt, Frick
and Don Cameron, as the man to
succeed Quay in the Senate. All
this seems to- mark a growing
understanding between Roosevelt
and the trusts.
Finally Mr.. Roosevelts took
Cortelyou from the head of the
great department which was Or
ganized to investigate corpora
tions and trusts, and, over the
protests of the party leaders, made
him chairman Of the National COM
mittee, in which position it is his
duty to demand and receive con-
tributions from the various cor
porations and combines which he
has investigated. AS a cabinet
officer, he acquired information
which would be invaluable to him
as a collector of campaign con-
tributions. And he is using his
information to help him in his
new work. There could hardly
be a worse scandal than this. Yet
this is not all. 1t has been an
nounced that Courelyou, after cleo
ton, is to be appointed Postmaster
General, in which capacity he will
be charged with the duty Of MAX
ing mail contracts with the very
railroads from which he is now
receiving contributions. Would
many railroad presidents, know
ing that Courtelyou has been sec
retary Of the Department Of Com
merce and Labor, and that he was
to be Postmaster General, with
hold a contribution that they were
asked for? And would not every
one who contributed feel that the
administration was under bonds to
treat him and his road "fairly:"
Mr.. Roosevelt's so-called fight
on the trusts has been purely
spectacular. He went just far
enough to win reputation with
the unthinking Of being a heroic
enforcer Of the law against them,
and not so far but that it has been
easy for him to retrace his steps.
And now, as might have been ex-
pected, the trusts and their news
paper organs are all in line for the
great trust buster. We are told
that we must not attack the Presi-
dents character. But perhaps we
may say, without offense, that the
President has many Of the ele-
ments Of a brilliant fakir. This
campaign against the trusts is Of
the fake order. The alleged enc
mics have become friends, and
they will stand or fall together.
But nothing more scandalous since
the days Of the Grant administra :
tion has happened than the trans-
fer Of Courtelyou from the Office oi
|inquisitor into tHusts and their do
ings to the Office ofacollector from