The Grenada sentinel., 1907-07-13
is EXPERT TRIMMER
PRESIDENT AT HOME ON BOTH
SIDES OF A QUESTION.
Caught In Trap Through His Impetu-
osity and Unfairness, He Has
Little Trouble in "Cominq
Up Smiling"

On the subject Of Gov. Hughes
vetoes, the New York Post editorially
says: 'In 1888 Mr.. Cleveland killed
the bill reducing the fare on the ele.
yated roads from ten to five cents.
Public feeling ran nearly as high
against Jay Gould ana Cyrus Field at
that time as it has of late against the
managers of our railroads"
This statement recalls one of the
most remarkable incidents in the
career of President Roosevelt, who
was the author and champion of the
bill referred to, and who thus early
exhibited that mysterious agility
which always enables him to get on
both sides of a question-to dive deep
er, and come out dryer, than any
other political duck that ever quacked.
An account of this affair will be
found in Will M. Clements work.
| Roosevelt, the American" ct page 81,
where it appears that soon after the
beginning of the session of the New
York legislature of 1883, MIR. Roose-
welt, who was then a member of the
| assembly, introduced bill to require
the New York elevated railroad COM
panies to reduce their fares from ten
| ia five cents. Mr.. Roosevelt voted for
this bill, and it passed the legislature,
but was vetoed by Gov. Cleveland on
the ground that it was in violation Of
q contract between the state and the
railroads, expressed in the charter
granted by the state. When the bill
went back to the assembly, it which it
originated, motion was made to re-
consider it and pass it over the gov.
ernor's veto. Mr.. Roosevelt then
doubled on his track, as he has so
often done since. He made speech
in which he lodged the question of
the authorship of the bill, but said:
Il have to say with shame, l did
not act as l think I ought to have
acted. I voted contrary to what I
thought to be honestly right. l have
to confess that weakly yielded, part
ly to a vindictive feeling toward the
Internal thieves who have that rail-
road in charge, and partly to the pop
ular voice of New York"
This speech affords key to the
whole character of the man. Mr..
Roosevelt then, as now, jumps at con-
clusions and his mind is swayed by
his feelings and instead of giving fair
and just consideration to the most
important matters he goes off half
cooked and then repents at leisure for
the mistakes he makes. Mr.. ROOse-
velt had probably been warned by
some member of the judiciary commit
tee that his bill was unconstitutional;
he could have discovered it himself if
he had taken the trouble to even read
the charter of the company he was
bent on amending. But no! Such an
old fogy notion as preventing or de-
feating legislation because it is un-
constitutional has but little weight
with our impetuous and strenuous
president His motto is to "do things"
and create the feeling in the public
mind that those who urge that every
thing be done decently and in order
are opposed to the people.
Often Mr.. Roosevelt gets caught in
the trap of his own creation, as he did
with the bill for rate reduction, and
then has to abjectly crawl into the
hole and pull the hole in after him.
But to use one of his own SMILES
from prize ring slang he comes up
smiling" and se;zes the next oppor-
tunity for appearing as the great re-
former of the age. Chancellor Day, of
laureate sermon, summed up Mr..
Roosevelt's mistakes when he said:
"The constitution is mere elastic
band to hold the states in compact at
the adjusting will of the chief execu-
tive Judges are rebuked; the in
of the courts is trampled
under foot in the name Of the people.
Judges appointed by the president are
sitting upon cases in which he al
ready has passed his opinion. While
judges and juTes are waiting to rem
der decisions, but before they can do |
so, commissioners try the same case
in the absence of the defendants and |
send forth their verdict to the people |
as a prejudgment, and the newspapers
are the court of final resort. Messages |
are sent to congress branding men as
guilty before they are put on trial. |
Other men are published to the coun-
try by executive authority as 'unde-
sirable citizens when they are about |
to be tried for their lives, and when
until now they would have had the
of innocence, whatever
the indictment, until found guilty. The
laws are taken out of the hands Of
and the legislatures and put
into the hands of commissions, sub
ject to executive appointment and
executive pleasure"
The loudly boasted activities of the
in relation to the Har-
riman case are greatly beclouded By
vacillations and delays. If Hartman
we're to set about investigating the
he would hardly hitch