Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1906-10-11
ROOSEVELT, FIJI MAN.

Who is this man who thus ex-
alteth himself and is thus exalted-this
man, who. booted and spurred, rides
the Republican party as he would a
Jade until its withers are CALLED? Vain,
peacockish. pedantic, he swelIs and struts
WIN a coxcomb air as if he might awe
the world. Spectacular, theatrical, he
nnd a n the ne limelight, puffed with vanity,
egotism. They call him the iron man
of the White House" But he is not
iron; He is only what Bismarck said
t6a ro I1arls oS was "a pine lath painted
slVe, facilitating, uncertain. He is lack
ing in definite conviction, fxedness of
purpose, and steadfast resolution: and
ne Is deficient in that fine quality OF
what the exigency, when duty calls. /
give you one example, might give
manyNmany, of different kindsSto con-
urn my estimate of the man. We are
canal across the Isthmus of Panama. II
Is the most gigantic work of its kind
e emtbo uhdertak 1 by any, people, The law
9Pres1ifazihg the canal imposed upon the
Every w necessary to the organi-
zatlon and prosecution of the work was
conferred f1a upon him. Over everything
the engineering force, the operating force.
TIE furnishing of supplies-over every,
tnlhs ne was to exercise a controlling
supervision. Vast supplies, such as ships,
lmpieinents, and structural material,
be purchased. The President proclaimed
with resounding emphasis tha he would
not permit any plundering of the treas
uTy. me people applauded. He de-
clared, what was true, that Panama was
outside OF our tariff wall and that he was
az liberty. to buy wherever he pleased.
w une people applauded. He said, what
put his duty to buy supplies wherever he
Goula puy Inc cheapest, and he announced
ms determination to go into the open
markets. markets. Of the world, The people APP
only in public statements to the press.
put he repeated them in official messages
10 the Congress. Then a merry war en-
sued: speaker Cannon, Senator AldriSh,
llk, oily evangels of standpatism, gath
cred about the President to make earnest
protest All the subsidized press, espe-
etai Y the publications on the payroll
opened their batteries on the White
House. The big guns doomed, the little
guns popped, and fusilade after fusilade
cajoled, importuned, threatened. He Was
old that If he went abroad to buy he
would violate a fundamental Republican
policy. But he swore by all the gods at
permit the treasury to be plundered, He
was told that II he persisted he would
split his party in twain. He answered
fnat ne mad q solemn duty, to perform,
no right to shrink. He was told that to
compel the private citizen to submit to
the extortions of the trusts and at the
same time to exempt the government
from them, would be an act which would
place the party, in an ugly predicament.
tie answered that Panama was beyond
the tariff. wall. and that there was no
reason why the trusts should not sell
to the government as cheaply as they
sold abroad. And so the war ran on.
augmenting in intensity, through the
torrid summer months. In the meantime
i became necessary to buy two ships
for use in transporting men and supplies
to and from the isthmus. An agent
had been sent abroad to look for foreign
s ssn Pr Inspect and price them. Two
psacity, We're offered for $3.50, 900. Nego-
tiations were under way for their pur-
chase. While these negotiations were
pending the war against foreign pur-
chases under any circumstances was
raging around the President. At last he
weakened, hesltated, and then finally
surrendered. His deep solicitude for the