The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1904-09-13
mR. RooseveLr.s LgrrsR.

HE MANAGERS or the Republican
L campaign VIII hardly care TO use
E President Roosevelt's letter of accept
( ance as an argument in favor of his
4 election. Unless the president himself
E insists on keeping it before the public
f the Republicans will try to forget it
as promptly as possible The letter is
entirely unworthy Of "a man as frank
and manly and sincere as President
E RooseveIt's admirers would have US
4 believe him TO be.
The whole document is full Of twist
ing and subterfuge and evasion! Take,
I for example. the presidents desperate
effort to explain away the deficit in the
treasury. deficit that is surprising
some honest Republicans who have
been telling us about the wonderful
surplus created by wise Republican
management. Mr.. Roosevelt says the
deficit is Imaginary" and on the heels
I of that statement he proceeds 10 tell
us how this imaginary trouble was
caused
He says It is the outcome of the pay
ment of $50, 600, 0e0 for the French Pan
anna Canal company's property and the
right of way through The artificial re-
for that payment there would have
been no deficit, says the president.
We are willing. for the sake of argu-
1nent, to concede the truth of his state
ment. But the money was spent and
the deficit is real, not imaginary" A
man who overdraws his bank account
IN order to purchase u suit OF clothes
might properly say that his account
would not have been Ovefdrawn if he
hadn't bought the clothes, but his
Z banker requires him to settle, just the
same. The banker doesn't see any
thing imaginary about that over
draft
The prime reason why the expenses
OF the government have increased of
recent years" says the president, "is
10 be found in the fact that the people,
after mature thought. have deemed it
wise to have certain new forms Of work
for the public undertaken by the pub
lie"
This is as If Mr. Roosevelt had said,
Il am the people" The public was not
consulted in the matter of the Panama
canal Mr.. Roosevelt recognized the
republic of Panama long before a great
majority Of the American people had
any notion that such a republic exist
ed. BY a stroke of his pen. without
consulting the American people any
more than il they had not existed, Mr..
Roosevelt added millions of dollars TO
our pension expenditures. The people
had nothing whatever to do with it.
The president, by inference, at least,
charges the national irrigation law
with part Of the responsibility for the
deficit He wants to know IL the Dem
ocrats would put a stop to national aid
for irrigation2 Inasmuch as the Dem
ocrats of the house were directly and
entirely responsible for the passage of
the national irrigation act, it is hardly
necessary 10 say they will continue to
aid the work. But Mr.. Roosevelt very
wei knows that national irrigation in
wolves the government in no permanent
expenditure.
The law distinctly provides that ev-
cry dollar spent for national irriga-
ton enterprises shall be returned to
the government treasury by the pur-
chasers of the land benefited. There is
a provision in the law which says that
no enterprise shall be undertaken that
IS not certain 10 bring back into the
treasury in the sale Of land all the
money the enterprise cost. Mr.. ROOse-
velts discussion of irrigation in con-
nection with the deficit is merely an
other bubble and we will not be so
disrespectful as to charge him with
the Incredible ignorance that must be
his IL he is IN earnest in this matter.
The message throughout is a paean
OF congratulatiOn TO the country for its
great wisdom in electing Mr. Roosevelt
TO the vice presidencr in 1900. Never.
according to the letter, have the af-
fairs Of the nation been so capably ad-
ministered, never was there a man so
thoroughly equipped to be president OF
the United States as T. Roosevelt
The Democrats win miss an oppor-
tunity if they fail 10 make campaign
document out Of the Roosevelt plea for
election