The free lance. (Fredericksburg, Va.) 1885-1926, 1907-12-24
BLAMES ROOSEVELT
Foraker LaysCause ofFinancial
Depression to President.
STARTED BY RATE BILL
Ohio Senator penounees the Regula'
ton Of Railroads As An Absurd At
tempt to Do the Imposslble-He Is
For Ship Subsidy.

For Ship Subsidy.
Cleveland, Dec. Ex-senator Joseph
B. Foraker, an avowed presidential
candidate. was the star attraction at
ship subsidy banquet given here, and
while he did little talking in favor
of a merchant marine, he devoted his
oratorical efforts principally to furi-
Gus and sensational arraignment OF
the Roosevelt policies, to which he
ascribes. the present financial trou-
bles.
The senator did not mention the
president by name. but made his In
ference so plain that mistake as to
his meaning was impossible.
I'VE are passing through strange
experiences" he declared. THE plain
est common-sense propositions with
respect to great business transactions
are whistled down the wind II they
do not happen to suit the excited fancy
of a lot of self-constituted representa-
tiyes of an alleged moral regeneration
of the business world. All this is I'M
natural. unwarranted and injurious.
and we are now paying the penalty.
The most stupendous prosperity the
world has ever witnessed has been
checked and chilled.
ut will be months. probably longer
before we recover, and we will never
recover unless we regain confidence
in the integrity of each other, once
more regard success in business as
honorable. and content ourselves with
sane regulations that will punish the
wrongdoers without bringing whole
sale disaster to the innocent
at is not foreign to the discussion
of our merchant marine and its res
toration to prosperity to thus consider
the prosperity Of the nation. Tney
should be inseparable. To restore con
fdeuce and recover the ground we
have been losing we must understand
and remedy the causes OF our trouble.
II is not due to a scarcity Of currency
for we nave more money and better
money today than ever before. 1t is
not due to over-speculation, nor to In
fated prices, for there has not been
anything unreasonably extravagant In
either respect It is not due to con-
spiracy of rich men to bankrupt them
selves and the whole country for po-
litical purposes. Many things have
contributed. but It was inevitable that
sooner or later We should have some
such experience as we are now hay
ing Wien we provided by law that the
/ revenues Of more than 100000 miles
of railroads, representing more than
$4,000. OOO, 900 of securities, should be
turned over to a rate-making commits
sion of seven men, sitting in Wash
ington. The work assigned to them
was an impossibility Of such magpi'
tude as to make the proposition an
absurdity.
"The application Of our interstate
commerce laws to our foreign CON-
merce is a handicap of the most seri'
GUS character, not only to our indus
tries at home, but to this great indus
try of the sea. The law should be
amended in this respect This is gen
orally recognized and admitted. and
vet public sentiment is in such state
that there is general hesitation TO
act"
1t is impossible, he said, for our
agents to successfully compete with
agents of foreign nations when our
rates for shipments are fixed and pub
lished ell over the world and cannot
be changed except upon thirty days
notice.
Il continue to believe that the sur
est and best way to restore our mer-
chant marine is by return to DIS
eliminating duties, and | continue TO
believe that when we shall have done
this. our flag will again soon be flying
over all the oceans. We should take
that step at once, but that seems TO
be for the present impossible. In the
meanwhile there is no chance for any
kind of help except only that which
is in the nature of bounties or suosi-
dies. 1t is that or nothing, and that Is
/ far better than nothing"
Senator Gallinger, of New Hamp-
shire. spoke strongly in favor OF a
ship subsidy based on the plan OF the
hill he has in congress.