Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1906-06-25
TlE POINT OF VIEW
OF CHANCELLOR DAY
Letter in New YORK evening Post.


10 is fashionable even among clergy.
men 10 huri bricks at Chancellor Day
OF Syracuse University. In fact a
baccalaureate brick neatly folded in
academic velvet has been quite the
thing. Some one family urged that
the chancellor should be given tho
benefit OF good Intentions, " but that
was at once and vociferously over
ruled. he could have none but the
most sordid intentions. lie had been
severely critical Of President Roose-
welt, and had even hurled the word
Anarchist" at him. That was not
only criminal, but absurd How could
the man who typiies government stand
for the antithesis of government No;
heave a brick at him.
When the chancellor's offence is
analysed, perhaps it will not look so
black. The Presidents methods
clearly upset the chancellor'a equi-
librium. lie found the man who stands
Tor law and order apparently leading
the assault on wealth. lie found the
President apparently preaching coufis-
cation. He had witnessed the Presi-
dent, apparently throwing the cloud Of
his disfavor over the courts of the
country, not merely condemning "A de-
cision here or there, but struggling to
avoid submitting certain grave mat
ters to their decision In any shape,
and most joyous when he succeeded.
lie had seen a great industry knocked
into the dOldrums at one whirl Of the
Presidents club Mr.. Day found him
self asked to pardon all this because
the President was trying to do good.
The chancellor, however, through
the fortunes of his university, had
seen that wealth could be induced to
help many a good cause. That wealth
should be inveighed against even when
| 1t was great wealth seemed to Kim a
sin against the sacred rights Of prop
erty. The greater the wealth the
greater the sin, and any proposal to
take it by force Of statute from the
! individual did not seem to differ much
In his eyes from the contention of the
anarchist that property is robbery. {"
And he said so. He said it with great
earnestness, and probably great heat.
Hence showers Of wrath on his devoted
head-a Vesuvian eruption in fact.
But it left him apparently Of the same
mind, for when the President, leaving
Standard Oil TO one side for the mo-
| ment, began goring the Beef Trust,
the chancellor saw that the whole
meat industry was staggering under
the onslaught; that the Presidents
idea of curing slaughter-house evils
was apparently to kill the packing
| business. To the chancellor's aoa-
demic mind that seemed unnecessary as
we'll as undesirable. Several fee-fo-
fun hints had long before come from
Washington that he was bent on the
destruction of Standard Oil-none of
your fines or even imprisonments, but
the wholesale tearing out Of the COM
pany's vitals. At his nod the Senate
had incorporated an amendment in
the Rate bill whereby the oil PIPE
lines were to be made common car
riers. That would be q sickener
Then, no oil people could, according
TO another hiat, own their own pipe
lines. To the chancellor tho confs
cation idea occurred once more. What
else could it be? If his neighbors in
Syracuse we're one and all 10 insist
that he should cook their dinners on
his stove, and be hanged to hint
would not have seemed more invasive
of his rights. How could DIR. Day
know that the process would be more
ruinous TO the Standard OILS competi-
tors than TO Standard Oilf Into his
innocent academic mind the self-de-
feating quality Of outrageous PROPOSE
tion did not enter. lt was enough fol
him that wild, slashing, threshinq
force was at large upsetting received
standards, and subverting law and the
Constitution. That was the chancel.
lor's mistake. He ought to have
sought counsel of the calm and worldl,
wise before taking President Roosevelt
at the letter Of his word, and banging
at him the term anarchist of the
White House. "
But that was not the chancellor
greatest mistake. Where be was really
to blame was in not knowing hi.
Roosevelt. Bless the chancellor's g deal
old heart, the President could alway.
be relied on to retreat under cover o.
night from any untenable position.
And such falling back never worried
Mr.. Roosevelt The great thing haC
happened. lie had been able to swinl
his club and execute a war r-dance OF
the top of the breastworks before the
enemy could fire a gun, and what mat
tered the rest In the morning tn,
guns would be trained on the Presi
Dental trenches with steely eyes look
ing for head but the Presiden
had gone hours before, laughing ovei
the scare he had Thrown into them.
The Presidents habitual tendency {,
overstate and then back down step b,
step was unknown to Chancellor Day
for the chancellor could not gauge thl
state of mind which would take equa
JOY out Of both processes. The gal
lantry of a bold or bald statemen
would appeal to Mr.. Roosevelt as IL hi
was still charging San Juan hill. Thl