The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-11-12

it to control the vote Of the big cities
which is naturally inclined toward one
of the various forms of socialism.
Then Mr.. Hearst, no longer demo,
crat, but still as ambitious as ever, VIII
appear on the scene, and the platform
that he will dictate will make the regu-
lar democratic platform seem conserva-
tive to the last degree. He will be
nominated for the presidency On that
platform, and will make campaign
which will produce all of the alarm that
was produced by the Bryan campaign
in 1896. -.
The republicans meanwhile will be
compelled to nominate some man Of the
strength Of Root or "a Taft, and the
result of the election will be highly I'M
certain, until after the votes have been
counted. =.
-, e The, Rate Reform Fight. .f ,.ji
The public ownership propaganda, it
should be kept well in mind, lpromises
to be greatly stimulated: by the forth
coming contest in congress between the
president and the railroads for decent
treatment of the small shippers.
Hearst made grist &of everything
which came to his New York mill this
year. The opposition to Jerome on the
part of the regular party bosses, the
insurance Investigations, the disgrace
Of men who for years had been out.
wardly at least models. of public and
private virtue and propriety-all these
things were used in his campaign for
mayor with telling effect. =. H., ,
Similarly, in a presidential struggle,
the public ownership party would use
the effort of the railroads to defeat the
purpose of the president as an argument
| in favor of the public: ownership theory.
And the defeat of the presidents plan
in congress the coming winter would do
more to forward public ownership as a
dangerous national issue than anything
that Hearst and all his friends com
| bined could say or write, just as the
| situations [ have mentioned were OF
| more advantage to the Hearst candl-
| dacy for mayor than anything he or his
friends said or did. .-a..- --
Vested Interests Blind.
! Vested interests are proverbially
| blind. They brought on revolution in
France, needlessly and wilfully,. with
open eyes. They did the same thing in
| England in the seventeenth century,
and they produced the American revo-
! luton. They may be so blind to the
make it out of the question for any fair
compromise to be made.
| Such a compromise would mean, IN
one Of it's phases, an acqulescence In the
president IS rate-making policy, and q
| determination to work with the govern
ment for the uprooting of corruption III
high places. Another of its forms
would be the surrender Of such inter
ests as the packing house interests OF
! Chicago, and their announcement thai
hereafter they intend to obey the law.
UndoubtedF, the result Of the cam
paigns this year will be the stength
ening of the president s position, but
it is still too early to predict that h
| is to have a complete victory. In hi
4 public addresses during the past tw,
years he has pointed out to the vestet
7, interests that they would have to- tax
what he was offering them, or tax
J something much more radical and dis
tasteful. Undoubtedly, he was lookin;
: forward to some such condition as ha
been outlined tentatively herein; an,
Of which the result at the polls on Tues
day may in a certain sense beithe fore
runner.
Roosevelt an optimist.
The president is an optimist, how
ever. He doesn It believe that anythln
approaching revolution will be under
!, taken by the American people, and j
this belief he is Joined by most men
but he does believe that there is to b
, general movement of the masses o
the people against buttressed and insc
/ lent wealth, unless that wealth shall 0
, its own accord assume a more just al
titude toward the people; and that tina
movement, while not threatening tn
ii foundations of the government, ma
!, threaten capital itself, and, anon
: other things, bring on financial an
industrial panic such as the world ha
/ seldom witnessed.
II He occupies a middle position b.
tween these two forces. and it is hi
high purpose to bring them together
some common ground where each ma
be made to admit that there is som
: ground for right in the position of til
! other He holds that his railroad-rat
: policy is not radical, but that he stand
. midway between the railroads and tn
: people, where both sides can meet.
2 this meeting does not take place. it
t his opinion that the railroads will r.
3 greet it.
I The corporate interests of the coul
| try may yet come to the realizatlo
4 that he is the best friend they eve