Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1904-09-15
THE PRESIDENTS LETTER.


In two.column editorial OF re.
markable ability The Milwaukee
Journal Analyses and criticises Pres
ident Rooscvelt's letter Of acceptance.
The Journal thus takes the President
TO task for the very narrow partisan
spirit which pervades his latest public
document
"a large part OF the letter Is de-
voted TO proving the utter incapacity
and unftncss Of his opponents To
conduct the administration. " his
words hold, some little over 10 per
cent of his fellow citizens are i'm.
beetles or knaves. And the strange
thing Is that the remainder, the
wholly trustworthy and competent.
belong to one party and that his own.
Not one word OF grace or apprecia-
lion Of his opponents or what they
have done appears IN all the sixty-one
pages OF his copy.
"Is II possible that the chief officer
of the republic means to hold that the
small margin OF one In n hundred IL
all which saves n FREQ country from
wreck and ruinp Is he quite sure
that he ID that Que or stands for him?
II he Is correct, the republic is peril
ously near disruption from the In
capacity OF the people 60 govern
themselves. How comes IL that all
that Is honest, intelligent, reputable
and prudent gets on one side In the
political division OF IL 200, 900 voting
citiZensY Could he find nothing 10
commend In the 1000, 900 others, or
yet In all their history?
"The president makes much OF the
fact that the Democratic party has
from time TO time apparently, or even
actually, changed Its position on
some issues. All parties with prac.
tical sense abandon any issue when
once II Ia past, What would be the
use OF now resolving against the
annexation OF Hawaii, or IL dozen
other acts completed? But when it
comes TO changes OF policy, OF which
the president makes so much capital
IL would become him To show n com
parative table OF the changes In his
party M we'll. Ii there Is any oucs-
tion OF public policy on which the
Republican party has not occupied nj
least two sides, IL has escaped public
attention"
The story OF Mr.. Roosevelts miser-
able surrender to the high tariff
takers is thus briefly and rorclbly
told by Tho Journal:
1t IL on the taritr question that
the president shines brightest as the
great Interchangeable, the benevolent
patron OF labor and the godfather of
farmers. Himself born and nurscd to
Tree trade, writing and speaking free
trade, he took up the work outlined
IN Mcktnloy's last speech He prom
ised reforms He started on circle
OF speech making to present the doc
trine OF tariff reform devised by his
predecessor. lie got rs far as Ind
lana, He was recalled by an in
disposition, physical or political.
He remained In Washington and
never pceped tarill reform. He now
comes out as full Icdgcd protect
ionist and crows on the standpattors'
fence. Vet he talks consistency aud
berates Democracy which has over
and always stood opposed to protec-
ton, FOR Inconsistency In all things.
. Now that public sentiment is
waking up to the enormity of the
protective practices of tho itarty, the
president desires to take 1t out Of
the hands OF congress and leave 1t to
II commission where It can be man
aged, The old promise OF relief Is
sung in the same old tune, whose only
result has been steady increase,
aud cvcry increase for the benefit OF
the favored few who supply the funds.
The standpatters and fat-frycrs own
free trade president.
III there Is u glimmcr of hope for
the moro independent and liberal
minded voters, we have boon unable
To find it. The journal hopes it's
readers will study the document"