Weekly independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 1887-1914, 1905-06-30
ROOSEVELT LOSING GROUND.


would %=n ;hst TIE Popularity Q:
Roosevelt IS dssoed TO TIE ooouoa
fate.
The articles O.. tie beef ;Gcs: show
thai he hss bssn EoSiuu! re=a u bis
duty toward ths people u lbs: direction,
add roE ooues the Mo-:oe Incident 10
tbs CLIMAX.
The President Raj o2Iei crua M@krs.
Harmon and Judsoa. two attorneys Q:
known reputation sd admitted probIty.
70 Investigate the rebate c1s against the
AtchSoc, Topek. Eod Santa Fe Rail.
road Company. This COMPANY in viola
no. % the lAE. hat grated hundreds
o: thousands a. dollars II rebates TO the
Colorado Fuel and Iron Company.
This fact had been established II an in
vestigaron conducted by the Interstate
Commerce Commission, and Harmon
sud Judson had recommended tia, pro
ceedinEs be had to bring the individual
offenders tn high: ard have them
! punished.
The President declined TO accept their
L14C 11I kANc a. O ESGSDD
tina: there was no testimony connecting
Ripley the President OF the railroad,
Morton, the Vice President, or other
high officials with the scRndalous affair.
Yet Harmon and Judson Lad not men
toned spybo5y-I IL connection with the
matter. They ouIy suggested a means
TO lind ont who had been responsible
Tor the guilty acts. And still the Presi.
dent jumps TO the fore with the declara-
ton that no proceedings should be had
along the lines suggested by his select.
ed counsel because no testimony had
been uncovered TO prove them guilty.
He could have as reasonably said to
Messrs. Harmon and Judsou. Your
object Is TO prove those officials guilty.
Well, you are not going To be permitted
to DO it. for the simple reason That they
have not been proven guilty already
The absurdity OF Mr.. Roosevelt's posi-.
ton Ia 'laughable in its very child.
shness.
And yet when he refused to permit
those attorneys to proceed. be was ac-
qusinted with the following facts;
The Atchison Railroad Company had
been guilty OF law breaking in giving
enormous rebates to the Colorado Fuel
and Iron Company.
The proofs OF this did not disclose the
responsible officials.
The TRANSACTIONS were OK such mag.
nitude that some high officials OF the
company must have been concerned in
them.
The only way OF discovery OF the iden-
tity OF those officials WINS the plan sug.
gested BY Harmon and Judsou.
And ho deliberately refused to let the
investigation proceed along those lipes
even after this pregnant suggestion
from Harmon and Judson.
What VI have said is peculiarly true
ofthe great corporations Of our day. They
cannot be imprisoned and punishment by
line is not only inadequate, but reaches
the real cuIprIts only lightly. IL at all.
Tho eyils with which we are now con.
fronted are corporated in name, but
individual in fact, Guilt is always per.
sonal. SO long as officials. cnn hide be-.
hind their corporations, no remedy can
DO effective. When the government
searches out the guilty men and makes
corporate wrongdoing mean personal
puntshment ind dishouor, tho laws will
DO obeyed. Your opinion always com.
mands great 5sspecty which in by no
means due TO your ofifda alone. md we
appreciate tile deep sense OF official
responsibility which you express. But
the nature and circumstances OF our
appointment impose a certain independ-
ent responsibility upon us which wo feel
would not be met by a proceeding
against the corporation alone
These thinRs arc 40 simple that he
who runs may retd. There is no excuse
for The President. lie Inns been guilty
OF a grave dereliction Of Jnty. And he
has aggravated this derrnctiou by the
n%auscous blast Of shot cir with which
waits Morton into TIE c,lsom OF the
Equitable. II VIVA bRi ,Hough 10 inter.
pose himself in protection between Nor.
ION mud the arm Of tho "a, but TO mud
tho offender TO the skies drtcrward wns
certainly painting the lily.
Tho whole affair smell. 10 high hcav.
en-. Morton In enriched, the Attorney.
General omorgcs with no particular
credit, aud tho President puta himsol
into the peculiar position Of pretending
to believe that the great OWLS Of tho day
can be copod with by po'ty fiuca, which
the trust magnatcs and corporation oil.
cials simply laugh at. DoIinqucn.
school boye used 10 foil their indignant
masters by couccnlinR n frying pan in
tho rccesses Of their trousers. No birch
could ontlast the staying qualities Of tho