The Rathdrum tribune. (Rathdrum, Idaho) 1903-1963, 1907-08-30
Two GREAT SPEECHES
Politicians Discuss Results Of ROOSe.
welt and Taft Addresses.
TAFT DECLARES HIMSELF
his Friends and Enemies Now
Know Where He Stands.

Political interest Ia Washington
has been keenly aroused during the
past week by the delivery of two
notable speeches, one by the President
al the laying of the cornerstone of
the monument to the landing of the
Pilgrims on Cape Cod, the other by
secretary Taft at Columbus, speech
10 which the Secretary outlined fully
MS attitude on the three great
political questions of the day, the
trusts, the railroads aud the tariff.
The manipulators of stocks and
bonds 10 Wall Street, who had hoped
to lind comfort and reinsurance 10
the Presidents speech, were dis
appointed. Mr.. Roosevelt asserted
with all the vehemence Of which he
Is master that he should continue,
during the remaining eighteen
months he will remain in office, to
prosecute the violators of the law
wherever he found them, rich or poor,
influential or the reverse. He stated
emphalically that the policy of the
administration was not tainted with
vindictiveness, nor by d desire to
''pursue" corporations, except in SO
far as was made necessary by the
wilful violation Of the law by cor.
poration managers.
One Of the most striking of the
Presidents utterances, and it is one
which no previous public man has
had the courage to make, though
many have believed with Mr.. Roose-
velt, was that it was entirely proba-
BILE that some of the great .tinterests"
such for instance as the Standard Oil,
the Hartman crowd, etc., were
deliberately contributing to the
decentralization of the stock market
and the depression of the value of
securities with the hope of frighten.
ing the people into reversing the
policy of the present administration
and compelling the government to
ignore, If not to condOne, the illegal
acts of trust and railroad officials for
fear any other course would result in
unwarranted hardship to innocent
holders of their securities. This
scheme is one that has been tried
more than once. 1t Is always
attempted with more or less success
whenever the tariff is revised, and
the big "interests" attempted it last
March, soon after Congress adjourned,
at which time, it will be remembered,
J. Pierpont Morgan came to Wash
ington and appealed to the President
to make some public statement, and
finally to call meeting Of the larger
railway presidents with view to
"reassuring the market. The Presi.
dent refused to accede to either of
Mr.. Morgan's requests. although he
said he would talk with any railway
president who called upon him
individually, and there followed a
sharp falling off in Wall Street prices,
although it is matter Of history
that the manipulation was unsuccess.
full in thai the public ''stayed out of
the market" and the big operators
were left to make their profits out of
each other.
Opinion regarding Secretary Taft's
speech is considerably divided, al
though there are number of points
on which all Washington politicians
are agreed. 1t is almost unanimously
conceded, for instance, that Mr. Taft
has cleared the atmosphere and by
his candid and manly profession OF
faith has removed all doubt as to
who is the logical candidate of the
Repu blican party, provided a contin
nation of the Roosevelt policies Is
desired. Mr.. Taft is so thoroughly
in sympathy with all that the P:esi'
dent has done and desires to do that
there can be DO other candidate
selected If the party wants a per
petuation of the policies OF this
administration. There are number
of politicians, however, who assert
their conviction that the party hal
had enough OF "Rooseveltism" arc
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