West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1904-02-18
THE FORAKER BILL.
TO Relieve The Trusts of any Con
troll or Limitation by the Gov
eminent,
And big bid for Campaign Contribu.
tiens From Wall street.

The principal subject OF political
discussion ia the national capitol at
The present time is the so called
Foraker bill, which aims to relieve
the fruits and the mergers of any
control or limitations by the govern
ment, and is everywhere regarded
rs the administrations bid for the
support OF the great corporations in
the coming presidential election.
This bill shows the lack OF sincerity
on the part OF the Republican party
in their. alleged fight against the
trusts as does nothing else that has
come to the surface lately. The
administration has been active in
getting before the people OF the
country and touting itself as an
antitrust administration, telling in
haring headlines in the good Re-
publican papers how the Attorney
General was going to smash the
trusts to smithereens. 1t would like
to get the people TO believe that it
intended to do something for them
In the way of trust busting, but so
far 1t has only worked with its
mouth and has done nothing in the
courts of the country, notwithstand-
ing fact that an appropriation of
half million dollars has been made
for the special purpose of prosecut-
ing the trusts. The fund has not
been used and will not be, for that
purpose. More SMILES, drawn from
the national game of poker, that fit
the political situation, have lately
been coined, most of them by the
redoubtable Mark Hanna, than at
any period in the political history
of the country. The one that fits
the present situation in the politics
of the nation is that the present
play of the Republican party is a
huge "bluff," so far as it intends to
wipe out the criminal trusts of the
country.
Senator Foraker, besides beng
the Ohio manager of the Presidents
campaign for election to succeed
himself, is, with the Hon. Henry
Cabot Lodge, his spokesman in the
Senate of the United States, and no
man who knows how things are
done in Washington considers that
there would be the remotest posi-
bility of Senator Foraker offering
such a bill without the Presidents
direction.
Following, as 1t did. the visit to
Washington of the trust magnates,
whose mergers and combines are
menaced under the Sherman law,
the Northern Securities merger,
now fighting for life in the Supreme
Court, and the coal trust, brought
to bay by the suit started by Will
liam Randolph Hearst before the
Interstate Commerce Commission
the significance of Senator Foraker's
effort becomes manifest.
Not in years has anything hap
pened to bring J. Pierpont Morgan,
II. c. Frick, ]. w. Gates, President
Cassatt of the Pennsylvania Rail-
road and President Stillman, of the
National City Bank, all to Washing
ton together. The presence of
Cassatt and Shllman at the White
House dinner emphasized the view
of the situation that the Foraker
Bill was the administrators tender
in exchange for the help of the
trusts in the next election. Not in
a generation has a bill introduced in
Congress provoked such feeling
of alarm and indignation as this
has done. Coming at time when
the people are marshalling all that
IS left to them of power to check
the power.of the rapacious comb.
nation, and when the worst Of these
are under fire, the proposition to
undo all that has been done for the
protection Of the country against
these predatory organizations, the
Foraker Bill is doubly alarming,
and the fact that II is presented by
the spokesman of the President
intensifes the feeling Of dismay
The comments Of the Democrats
in the Senate and House of Repre-
sentatives indicate how clearly ths
danger is realized and how unanf
nous is the condemnation Of tn,
measure among those on whom vii
fall the burden Of the fight to pre-
vent the enactment Of this measur,
into law. The Foraker PROPOSE
ton is regarded as a throwing aside
on the part Of the Republicans, an,
pretense Of opposing the trusts and
the notification that prospectiv,
contributions Of Wall Street to tn,
Republican campaign fund arr