Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1905-08-31

who will look long and wistfully at
the nomination and then turn and
make a few desultory remarks about
sour grapes. am not authorized
to speak for Mr.. Bryan nor auy
other man on God S footstool, except
my humble self. but it's an odds on
bet that Mr.. Bryan will be very
much in the way of one Francis as
will about six million other good,
sure-enough Democrats when the
time comes to place our standard
bearer in the field in the good year
of 1903.
Unless ali signs fail here, in the
political nerve center of the Nation,
Francis would do well to trade his
Presidential aspirations for a yaller
dog and then lose him. He would
be the gamer thereby.
1t strikes me that Teddy the First
must have had his ear to the ground
and heard the rumblings when he
decided to abandon his scheme for an
extra session of Congress. A Re-
publican of national prominence and
national consequence too, who has
just returned from visit to Oyster
Bay, tells me that the President has
finally concluded that he has been
misled in his opinion that there was
great demand for railroad rate
regulation from the people them
selves. Myinformantsays that Roose-
welt has been having some investi-
cations made on the quiet, and he
| finds much to his astonishment that
the agitation which he supposed ex-
listed did not come from the farm.
the store or the factory. Its origin
was in Chicago, which wants to Sc
cure for itself absolute control of
freight shipments southeast and
southwest as well, as east, the latter
being now absolutely in its control.
1t was a deep laid scheme and a
mighty good one on the part of those
Chicago jobbers who were looking
for new markets to make il appear
that the producer and consumer in
stead of the jobber were the real
agitators. To that end they had
their men on the political strikers
who were retained by promises Of
cash or political preferment in case
they would create the impression
that railroad rate regulation was a
popular issue. The Presidents
emissaries have reported to him
that they are satisfied that the api-
tation had no Legitimate birth, like
the demand for tariff revision, which
these political demagogues are try
ing to suppsess, but was an incuba-
tor-like product nursed by the mid
dleman and broker and brought into
the world BY the Chicago iobber
Who was determined 70 grab every
thing in sight The iobber finds
profit infostering this child of purely
artificial creation, and has been
shrewd enough TO get Republican
politicians and perfectly honest men
as well to help the cause along.
Now that Teddy has discovered |
the true inwardness of the thing he |
has dropped the matter like a hot |
potato, particularly as he found that
the scheme to create q great politi-
cal machine, the benefit of which
had been pointed out to him by the
agents OF these same jobbers. did
not meet with the approval of even
the most rabid of the politicians.
These latter fear that the creation of /
a political railroad commission with
its tremendous power to benefit or
crush States or communities at will.
would take from them their present
power and transfer it to the railroads
themselves, who are big enough to
make or unmake politicians at will.
II has been queer business this
Suffering about of the President on
this railroad ratequestion, and there
IS no doubt that today he is less
strong with the people becauseof it
than he was year ago. Roosevelt
himself is conscious of this and is
now putting forward Federal con-
troll OF life insurance companies and
big corporations SIS a means OF help
lng to regain bis personal popularity.
Possibly il may accomplish his nur.