Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1906-07-27
Mr. Taft's DidngsnuOusnsss Exposed
by Judge Parker.

President Roosevelt will summon Secretary
Taft to Oyster Bay and command him TO
prepare another speech and a very different
sort Of one before he resumes his soellbind.
ing operations during the summer. Such
action would smack too much OF ROYALTY 10
find favor in this republic. Moreover, II
would be distinctly unklnd and humiliating
to the Secretary of War. He started on his
oratorical tour In the capacity OF Son Of
Thunder, towering head and shoulders
above other midsummer campaigners. But,
TO quote phrase OF his distinguished chief,
Secretary Taft has not made good" en-.
tirelY. In more than one important partic.
ular he has, metaphorically, fallen by the
waysde.
A more adroit and tactlul speaker, for In.
stance, would not have made assertions
and suggested differences regarding the pros.
ecution Of trusts which would have exposed
him to attack by Judge Parker. la the
campaign of 1904 there was an angry de.
nial by the President and his Cabinet hat
there were laws enough In existence TO
bring 70 justice every trust which ough, 10
have been prosecuted for acts harmful to.he
public. Judge Parker had asserted that
there was no abuse which could not be rem.
! edied bv atatntes them in effect NJ bVihA
common Law aad The reply 10 this
sneerius assertion mat lhere 81 ne.44l s.gl,.,o
la~ % the 1 albed s.as.s. II sfal Il
az bad Sasn q spsitb.Qaag AID .AsesiaAD
f-ise 10 his generation, he VOC not hsy-
touched upon ti,is sCDjsut 10 hia +reensuoro
ajaTt6a. Bot BE- could not r At the emp
tation. In eulogizing Mr.. Koeeveit. TO give
him credit, inferentially, fl certain hos
tility to trusts which hpi not manifested
itself 10 acts as long ago - Mr.. TAFT implied
that II had. Speakingof Mr.. Roosevelt's
first term, Secretary Jaft said:
| For more than thre years and half Mr..
Roosevelt had dismarged the duties OF the
| high office of President. During that three
years and half TO had again and again by
| word and act manifested to the people his
determination d pursue the middle, just
and impartial course by which the rich and
| the poor should enjoy the equal protection
and suffer the equal and just enforcement
OF the laws. He incurred the hostility of
| important financial interests by his action
| 10 directing the prosecution to a successful
issue of the 80 called Northern Securities
suit, which prevented g merger for the pur.
pose of supervising competition of two great
| lines OF railway in violation OF the SO. called
Anti Trust law. Both the Republican plat.
| form and Mr.. Roosevelt pledged the further
enforcement OF the Anti Trust law and the
Interstate Commerce law to prevent dis.
criminstion against the shipping public and
TO prevent oppressive combination and mo.
nopolies in business pursuits.
During this period. however, President
Roosevelt did not incur the hostility OF the
Beef Trust, the Oil Trust the Coal Trust or
the railroads which evaded the Interstate
Commerce act. The Sherman Antitrust
act, under which the Courts declared the
merger of the Northern Pacific and the
Great Northern unlawful, has been on the
Federal statute books more than 10 years.
Why was IL not invoked against the other
and more aggressive trusts In the first ad.
minlstratlon of the Presidents Why were
not those other laws under which the trusts
could have been prosecuted as effectively In
1909 as in 1905 enforced for the protection
OF the public In the first year of the Presi.
dents administration Secretary TAFT offers
no explanation, for the simple reason that
the apathy of the President during bis first,
administration cannot be explained, except
upon the theory either that there was no
desire to modest the trusts or that the law
officers OF the Administration did not know
there was abundant law to correct most
trust abuses.
The statement Of Judge Parker In 1904,
In his letter of acceptance, In substance and
effect that 1--WE have law enough TO stop
every corporate abuse" was ridiculed by his
Republican opponents, but time has proved
that there was law enough to reach the trusts
then II there had been desire to prosecute
them. So when Secretary TAFT procaims
far and wide the achievements of his party
10 curblng the trusts, the question naturally
suggests itself, Why did you delay these re.
forms when you were well equipped Tor
successful prosecution of the trusts four
years agof The Secretary blundered when
he raised this Issue. 1t Is an embarrassing
one, IN view Of the fact that trusts have
heretofore been liberal contributors to cam
paign funds, and in 1904, when there was
Presidential election, they were not mo.
lested. Spellbinders who go into ecstasies
over Mr. Roosevelt's anti trust record should
be careful to recognize that the Presidents
career as "smasher" of "bad trusts" began
very, very recently. -Balto. San