The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1907-08-21
Supcrnuous wealth cnn buy su-
perfuitics only. Money liz not re-
CURED to buy one necessary of the
soul.
THE CHAMPION TRUST BUSTER.

THE CHAMPION TRUST BUSTER.
In his address yesterday at Province
town. Massachusetts,, the President
made 1t clear that he stands pat
on his trust busting" program.
II he has said anything that lie
was supposed to be sorry for. lie
seems to be glad of 1t, and there is |
cold comfort for those who thought
he was about to recnnt his determine
ton to carry out the law for the sup
preston of oppressive combinations,
and the punishment of men who have
violated the law and have taken un-
fair advantage of their competitors by
corrupt bargains with railroads. He
goes SO far as to say in so many words
that the purpose of the administration
Is to stamp out the evil; that we shall
seek to find the most effective device
for this purpose; and that we shall
then use it, whether the device can be
found in existing law or must be sup
piled by legislation" In all this the
SpedhS VI We uOI III ali
editorial sense SO much as the imperial.
A monarch speaks of himself in the
plural. 1t sounds like an echo from
Louis XIV, "L'etat o'est moi"
However meritorious may be the
Presidents purpose, there seems to be
spirit of actual vindictiveness in his
proceedings which is so perceptible as
to leave a very unpleasant impression.
The expressions predatory capitalist"
and rich trust magnate' which the
President uses sound more like the
rant OF dema gogue than the dignified
utterances of the President of the
United States.
The text from which Mr.. Roosevelt
breaches is The Puritan's iron sense
of duty. ard his determination ito
regulate conduct which he considered
in violation of his rights" with in
slant unquestioning promptness and
effectiveness The President says
.this is the spirit which we must
show to-day whenever 1t is neces-
sary." We suppose that there Is
no doubt that the Puritans thought
their rights We're being violated
by the witches. and so they
were put to death At some future
time the Presidents mania to destroy
trusts may be regarded as unreason-
able ass the anti-witch mania. Ger
tainly his crusade against trusts is as
fence as the Puritan crusade against
witches.
The whole temper and tone of the
address show a vindictive spirit and
we greatly regret to see II.
There has been much in President
Roosevelt's purpose to root out the
wrongs of railroad rebates and tbs
merciless use of money, with which
we have had great sympathy. There
Is not an expression which Mr. Roose.
welt has ever made of a high sense Of
duty and of the obligation to us,
wealth as sacred trust rather than al
an exclusive privilege, that we hay,
not approved. We have never been abb.
to tolerate the abuse OF power b,
railroads or trusts, but both railroad
and trusts have a right to live If the,
conduct themselves in spirit of Jus
tice and for legitimate competition
The temper of the Presidents address
is to bring odium upon the mere pos
session OF wealth. 1t Is the assump
ton that while there may be fortune
smassed honestly, so many fortune
have been amassed by special priv
leges, "by. chicanery and wrongdc
ing" that all who have money ma
we'll be supposed to belong to thu
class In this he does a great wron
and one that his exceptions and quail
flying phrases fan to undo.
The result of the Presidents spenc
will be to depress certainly two pc
sons: one Is "the rich trust magnatt
and the other is Mr.. William Jennnt
Bryan. The first is shaken by tn
tornado OF vituperation; the other Ii,
the wind taken out of his sails VIII
Is left for Mr.. Bryan to say that vi