Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1904-03-30
FROM WASHINGTON
snecial Correspondence ofthe COURIER.
Washington. Mar. 20.

ators to fight the appropriation
asked for by Secretary Cortelyou.
of the Department of Commerce
and Labor. They say that he does
not hesitate to ask for money
galore. but that he does nothing
and SO far has apparently made
no attempt to do anything to OBJ
tain facts concerning the operation
of the trusts in this country with
the view TO the widest publicity
and the passage of legislation to
curb them when found 10 be i'm the
criminal class and out of the reach
of the Legislation now ON the statute
books. For that very reason there
may be spirited debate in the
Senate OH further large appropria-
tons for Mr.. Cortelyou's depart
ment. There is also talk of the
resignation of Mr.. Cortelyou.
In this connection there is much
talk here anent the interview with
the Acknowledgement of the L. ).
Immediately following the North
ern Securities merger decision 10y
the Supreme Court. There is an
unwritten law here that the Presi-
dent and the Cabinet officials can
not he interviewed. and no matter
what they might say TO any news
paper man here they would not be
quoted in the papers without their
full and free consent. So, the con
clusiOn is irresistible that the Attor-
ney-General sent for the represen-
tative of the Associated Press in
order to say what he was quoted
as saying the very next morning
after the merger decision was rem
dered. That interview was clearly
sop to the trusts. I'm order
to allay the ranking feelings of
the trusts over the merger decision,
he gave il out in clear and unmis-
taxable terms that this was to be
the last fight of the administration
against the trusts and they might
rest easy the balance of the year.
or, for that matter the remainder
of the time that Roosevelt occupies
the White House or that Knox is
the Attorney-General. In the
language of the Acknowledgement,
the administration does not intend
TO run amuck' with the business
interests of the country. If that
does not mean in substane what
said above then / do not know
the meaning of the language of the
average national politician and my
work has been in vain. | have
maintained all along that this is
exactly what the people of the
country might expect from the ad-
miniStration. 1t has been endeav-
oring with might and main To get
the people to believe that it was
agin' the trusts, but the decis-
ion of the Supreme Court, 10y a
bare majority vote against the
merger, was as much surprise to
the Attorney-General aS it was to
the criminal combine involved in
the decision, hence he made haste
to get to the trusts of the country
with a disclaimer that they intended
to pursue the matter further. 1t
Is very unlikely. then, that the
resolution recently introduced by
the Hon. William Randolph Hearst
citing the existence of criminal
trusts all over the country and
their expressions of the people
and asking that committee of the
House of Representatives be APP
pointed by the Speaker to investi-
gate the matter of these trusts
with power to send for persons
and papers and administer oaths
and report as soon as practicable,
Will ever be passed by RepubIi-
can House of Representatives.
Mr., Hearst probably knew it
would not pass when he introduced
1t, but he also knew that if it did
not 1t would put the Republicans
IN hole on the trust question
where the public could go up and
view their real attitude on this
matter. 1t is every day becoming
more apparent that the trust ques-
ton, as MIR. Hearst said it would
be, will be the burning issue of the
campaign.
Plans for the minting exhibit at
the st. Louis Exposition were dis
cussed here yesterday by Chief
Clerk Hills, of the Treasury De-
partment, and Superintendent
(hnu1Is IL