Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1904-03-31
COMMUNICATED.
WASHINGTON. March %. 1904.

wAsHIEoToE. March %. 1904.
There is a disposition here on the
part of many Democratic senator's to
fight the appropriation asked for
by Secretary Cortelyou of the De-
partment 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 APP
parently made no attempt to doany-
thing TO obtain facts concerning the
operations of the trusts in thiscoun
try with the view to the widest pub
licity and the passage of Legislation
TO curb them when found to be in
the criminal classs and out of the
reach Of the Legislation now on the
statute books. For that very rea-
son there may be a spirited debate
in the Senate on further large ap-
preparations for Mr.. Cortelyou's
department. There is also talk OF
the resignation of Mr.. Cortelyou.
In this connection there is much
talk here anent the interview with
the Attorney General OF the u. S. i'm
mediately following the Northern
Securities merger decision by the
Supreme Court. There is an un-
written law here that the President
and the Cabinet officials cannot be
interviewed, and no matter what
they might say to any newspaper
man here they would not be quoted
in the papers without their full and
free consent. So that conclusion is
irresistible that the Attorney-Ge
eral sent for the, representative of
the Associated Press in order to
say what he was quoted as saying
the very next morning after the
merger decision was rendered.
That interview was clearly sop"
TO the trusts. In order TO allay the
ranking feelings of the trusts over
the merger decision, he gave it out
in clear and unmistakable terms that
this was to be the last fight of the
administration against the trusts
and they might rest easy the bal
ance OF the year, or, for that matter
the reminder of the time that Roose-
Welt occupies the White House or
that Knox is the Attorney General.
In the language of the Attorney Gen
eral, the administration docs not
intend to run amuck" with the bust
ness interests of the country. IL
that does not mean in substance
what | said above then l do not
know the meaning of the language of
the average national politician and
my work here has been in vain. ii
have maintained all along that this
is exactly what the people of the
country might expect from this ad.
ministrasion. 1t has been endea-
voring with might and main to get
the people to believe that il was
"agin" the trusts, but the decision
OF the Supreme Court, by q bare
majority vote against the merger.
was as much surprise to the At
torney 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. It is
very unlikely, then, that the reso-
luton recently introduced by the
Hon William Randolph Hearst citing
the existence of criminal trusts all
over the country and their oppres-
sions of the people and asking that
committee of the House Represen-
tatives be appointed by the Speaker
to investigate the matter of these
trusts with power to send for per.
sons and papers, administer oaths
and report as soon as practicable.
Will ever be passed by a Republican
House of Representatives. Mr..
Hearst probably knew it would not
pass when he introduced it, but he
also knew that if it did not it would
put the Republicans in hole on the
trust question where the public
could 60 up and view their real
attitude on this matter. 1t is every
day becoming more apparent that
the trust question, as Mr.. Hearst
said it would be, will be the burn
ing issue of the campaign.
Plans for the minting exhibit at
the st. Louis Exposition were dis