Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1907-02-15
BELIEVES FE Is N THO RIGHT
Confident His Policies viii Prevail,
He VIII not Alter Demands on
coneress-PersonaI lnteres.s, How.
ever, Have Never Made Mr.. Roosc.
welt Hesitate to Recommend Leuis.
iation.

So''iilsoSsSl vi IIle Olclsl-
lions of Edward II. Hartman In
connection with the Union Pacific
southern Pacific ana ether rail
roads.
There lns been no chango in
i,Nsadent Roosevelts attitude re.
sarding corporations or railroads
and there is not likely to he any
Reports that have been sent 10
Wall street almost every other day
about probable change In the
administration policy have been
ssnt for stock jobbing purposes.
AT no stage of his career has the
PRESIDENT been more impressed with
the wisdom OF his policies and the
justice that can be done to the
great American public by their adop.
ton by Congress and abe States.
lie Is thoroughly convinced they
are going to prevail and he will
LOW lie Is not engaged In any
EFFORT to destroy any legitimate
vested interest.
Ready for Comparison.
On the other hand, MIR. Roosevelrs
friends say he world like to have
his efforts IN the direction of reg.
ulating corporations compared with
few OF the things that iaSe
happened recently in some of the
great corporations. He puts Mr..
Hartman and his great transcon.
tneltal combination aside because
that &. under investigation by the
government
James j. HILL, OF the Great North
ern road, has alleged the President
was trying TO stine great interests
and khackle the operation of trans.
portation expansion. MIR. Roosevelt
happens to know considerable about
the territory through which Mr..
EiiTs railrca1 runs and the earn.
.ngs IL makes. He has expressed
dissatisfaction over THE policy which
resulted in the recent heavy issue
of stock. If an extra Issue of stock
was to increase terminal facilities
and the handling of increased traf-
fic, the Presidents friends say, he
would not criticise 1t. But what
they ask, is the increased capital
Cor? And they point out that the
stock of the Great Northern suffered
a drop amounting at on time to 1877
Il share.
president Roosevelts friends say
he has nothing TO do with the de.
probation of this, stock. On the
contrary. every step te has made in
the way Of regulating railroad prop
critics and railroad rate has been
IN the direction OF keeping these
properties stable and at n legiti-
mate earning capacity. Not thing
the President has done has infrlng.
ed on the earning capacity of these
railroads, and the only thing that
has been done to decrease their
value has been the amount of wa
ter poured into the stocks by. the
men in charge OF the properties
tainted with the fact that he Is
owner of certain bonds Off the
Minneapolis, st. Paul and Manitoba
Railroad, which were presented to
him by an uncle as far back a
1881. He has been represented
In one instance as posing before the
country as sacrificing his own In.
terests, No matter what might hap
Pen. and I've has also been repre-
scented as hesitating about going
on with his railroad campaign be-
cause 1t might injure the property
in which he was a 1bondholder.
President Roosevelt Is a stockihoM
Ell In perhaps dozen railroads
He owns stock in tia Union Pa
cific, but Inc has never hei3itated be
cause CT his interests in any ra&l.
road. In one recent newspaper ar
t.cle the President was represented
as liable to be influenced by the
lc9l of dividends AMI as spurning
the loss of dividends and appearing
as a popular hero.
Careless Of Material Wealth.
Those whb know Mr. Roosevelt
very well have discovered that the
theme of which is particularly fond
Is his carelessness as to material
wealth and his great desire to leave
a, great name for his family. He
is not wealthy man. The state
of his finance requires him to be
very prudent. He does not care for
great wealth. No one has been
able to tempt him to invest money
to bring quick and unusual divl-
dends
Those who have talked with Mr..
Roosevelt lately are convinced that
instead of altering his attitude with
reference to great corporations and
modern finance he is mode determ-
ened than ever to press Ids Ideas
Of government control. He will not
go back. He Will not hesitate. He
has lost no occasion to tell any
great capitalist he has met that If
his ideas were not adopted tie
corporations would later be sub
jected to muchi more radical treat
ment at the hands OF the national