Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1906-02-22
I~NTRENCHED MONOPOLY
Fighting Against Reform Legis-
lation In Congress.
ITS METHOD Is ONE OF STEALTH

ITS METHOD Is ONE OF STEALTH
Controls a Majority of the
an Members of House and Senate,
Majority Leaders Oppose Democrat
&c Measures Which the President
Stands For.
The ~intrenched ~monopolists are fight
ing reform legislation in congress in
an underhand manner, and the great
question with them is if they can keep
control Of a majority of the Republican
members. There is no doubt that the
railroads and their allies, the Wall
street bankers, the trusts and COM
bines, control a majority Of the Repub-
dcan members of both the house and
senate and that without the votes of
the Democratic members President
Roosevelt would be helpless to obtain
from congress the railroad rate legis-
lation he has declared for. Through
a source SO close to the president that
Its authority cannot be doubted" says
the Washington Post, ut is learned
that the administration is convinced
that interests in congress hostile to
railroad rate legislation are creating
a fog OF opposition to the Roosevelt
foreign policies under which to dis
guise their organized plans to defeat
the reforms to which President Roose-
welt stands committed before the
world.
From the administration viewpoint
these antagonistic interests are seek
ing to show that the presidents for
eign policies, particularly with refer
ence to Latin-America, prove him to
be ambitious to drag the United States
into world politics with a reckless dis
regard of George Washington's admo-
milton against foreign entanglements,'
to the end that the name Of Theodore
Roosevelt may live in the history of
his country as one of the few presi-
dents who did things
I'm support Of this contention friends
of the president point to the threaten
ing row thus early in the record of the
%Fifty-ninth congress over his course in
these various aff~airs-Santo Domingo,
Panama, Venezuela, Morocco, China.
PRESUMABLY it Is the theory Of the
opposition to the presidents programme
for railroad reform-granting, Of course,
that the. administrations diagnosis Of
the hidden causes of the opposition is
correct-that if it cal be shown that
he has erred in his foreign policies he
| will, to a greater or less extent, be
discredited before the country and that
with this accomplished the opposition
will be emboldened to fight his other
proposals vigorously and openly with
out hazarding the risk of arousing the
implacable wrath Of their constituent
cies."
That is the question which faces the
Republican leaders and which it is
difficult for the corporations and com
bines to overcome by their usual un-
derhand methods. They fear "hazard-
ing the risk Of arousing the im%placable
wrath of their constituencies" They
have just had an object lesson at the
fall elections Of how the people de-
throne bosses and defeat political rings
when aroused against underhand meth
DDS, corruption and grating, and there
will be a reckoning in store for Re-
publican congressman unless they
forthwith vote the legislation the peo-
pie demand.
The Democrats in congress are reso-
lutely standing by the people on all the
great reform issues, and they will reap
the harvest as they did in the elections
last fall, when the people are called up
on to decide who shall represent them.