Barbour County index., 1904-10-12
ROOSEVELT AND TRUSTS.


IL. b. Martin, national secretary of
the American Anti Trust League, has
sent letter to President Roosevelt in
which he fatty charges that the chief
executive broke his promise to prose-
cute certain trusts. He also charges
that the department of commerce and
labor has meyer accomplished anything
except to gather and hold secret infor-
nation regarding the working of the
various trusts, and that George B. Cor.
telyou was appointed chairman of the
republican committee so that he could
use this secret information to sandbag
the trusts into making contributions to
the committee. The letter is, in part.
as follows:
'In your letter of acceptance you re-
fer with especial pride to the record of
your administration in the matter of
the enforcement of the antitrust law.
On this point the experience, of the
American Anti Trust League officers in
trying to get your administration to en-
force the law will throw some strong
light.
You Will remember numerous occa.
siOns during the years of 1901 and 1908
and 1904, when |, as the national Sec
retary and +. E Stebbins and others of
counsel for the American Antitrust
League, made repeated and earnest
efforts TO induce yourself and your attor-
ney general, p. G. Knox, to take steps
for the civil and criminal prosecution
of some half dozen Of the oldest, most
powerful and most notorious offenders
against the Antitrust law. And you
will remember that, after we had fur
nIshed. even personally handed to you
at the white house, positive documen-
tary convcting proofs of the guilt of
these offenders that both yourself and
your attorney general made definite
and positive promises that you would
take up these cases. You will also re-
member how both yourself and your
attorney general have braZeniy broken
your words and failed to keep your
promises in those cases.
The one injunction against the
Northern Securities company, which
you and your attorney general did
press through to finish in the supreme
court and Of which you boast so much
was against the newest and youngest
Of all the trusts, one that had as yet
scarcely come into being, and hard ly
had time to do any public harm, even
it SO disposed. Already urging rumors
are atloat to the effect that the hasty
display OF energy by your administra.
ton in the Northern Securities case,
| syndicates seeking a monopoly of the
Pacific railway line than it was to the
people of the United States.
The sudden cessation of all activity
by your administration against the
trusts, at the close of this case, and
the announcement by your attorney
general, Mr.. Knox, that your admins
tratiOn would not run amuck, certain
ly lends some color to these popular
| doubts OF the sincerity of the antitrust
professions of the Roosevelt. ad.
ministration; especially when a few
weeks later it was found that, in set
tling on who should be the senator
from Pennsylvania, the man who actu-
ally in conference decided that Knox
should succeed Quay as the representa-.
tive of the Pennsylvania trusts were
the three big presidents, VIZ: President
Henry G. Frick of the Steel trust,
President George F. Baer of the Coal
Trust and President Theodore RooSe-
velt of the United States.
And what have you done, Mr.. Pres
ident, with the bureau of corporations
since it was organized? You appointed
your private secretary, Mr.. Cortelyou
as head of that department and then,
after he had collected all the data pos
sibe about violations of the law on the
part of the trusts, did you transmit this
data in proper report to congress oil
the people? Oh, no! The bureau OF
corporations, which was intended as a
bureau OF publicity, you have made
|
ferred Mr.. Corteiyou from head of that
department, with all this secret infOr-
nation about the trusts in his posses
sion, to the position OF chairman of thu
republican national committee, where
he can use his information to sandbae
campaign contributions out of tht
trusts for your campaign fund, Mr.
PresidentP'
From the st. Louis Post Dispatch.
, President Roosevelt and his spell
binders should get together and agre,
on spell of eloquence and wisdom be
fore they are turned loose on the pub
3 lie.
In his Saturday night speech Secre
farV Sha w No houo tho