The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1907-07-02
THE REyULsIoN FROM FEEDER
AIIsT.

The recent speech ar Yale ~ Pres
Dental Candidate Philander 9 Knox
while primarily % political signlh-
canoe indicates a broader revulsion %
popular opinion. Mr. Knox is engaged
in the task thai a few months ago
seemed hopeless: the stemming - the
tide Tor the nomination by the Re
pubIicans. either Of the President for
q third term or Of the Presidents
choice. since then the Presidents
choice has been tacitly announced -
be Taft always provided that II IL
not 70 be the President. and this de-
termination has been accurately IN
derstood az meaning that tbs Presl-
dent is determined that the nominee
Of the convention shall be 2 man
whose mind has already been made up
in complete accord with what The
President hae already thought out IN
short. according 70 the Roosevelt pro-
the mind o. the next candi-
date is to shadow forth the Roosevelt
intelligence ana the Roosevelt policy,
past. present and uture SO far as y
ia POSSIBLE to meet contingency with
preparation. In this way it is definite
IL determined by the Administration
that there shall he a third term: n
The selection Of Taft had as its con-
trolling influence his utter capacity
for compIacency and acQuiescence-
Taft Is scarcely more than Man Friday
and MS role is adantability With mi
tiative among the dangerous virtues.
Against this program the Knox
boom" loomed at first modestlv, later
and now with growing popularity. Inc
speech al Yale was directed 70 the spot
in the Administration propaganda that
has made Roosevelt theoretically I'M
possible 10 Democrats in spite Of ms
much-vaunted stealing or a~ppropria-
ton of Democratic issues: his contempt
Of the Constitution and the audaclous
declaration that the law Of the land
should he evaded for the purpose or
meeting new eKigency. Under Roose-
velt's theory the Constitu-
ton is not only to be stretched, but to
be RELOCATED to purely ornamental
uses. Campbells question, What is the
Constitution between frienGs?' has
heen seriously enlarged to read What
is law when it stands in the way OF
ambition? - Mr.. Knox. in his first op-
portunity to get before the general
public, replies to this heresy with an
able speech in defense of the rights
of the states under the Constitution
to regulate their own affairs and to
legislate against corporations for their
own protection. The wide comment
and approval that the declaration has
occasi0ned shows that it was timely
and shows further that there is a
strong and thoughtful undercurrent
of opinion among Republicans who
are not inclined to be b~row-beaten into
silence by the Roosevelt demonstra-
tons. 1t may we'll be that, when the
test comes, it will be found that, in
his mistaken zeal to go beyond even
the Federalist outposts of Hamilton,
the President has m~isconstrued the
temper as we'll as the real conservatism
of the people who. while awakened
to the buses of corporate power, are
not ready to take the graver step Of
surrendering their Democracy for the
illusion of their correction through the
establishment of a practical mon
archy.
While, in the particular instance,
the division is one etWee wings of
the Republican party, the situation is
encouraging in this: that it indicates
A condition which seems to be causing
the array of corporate interests in a
position in which they may be recog-
nized and intelligentlY fought. 1t is a
peculiar and vet a logical alignment.
In the beginning. as usual, the rep
resentatives of predatory wealth mis-
understood and miscalculated the force
of popular indignation. They fought
the President in his campaign for
regulation, and as a consequence added
TO his popularity. The President won.
and the railroads and trusts have been
thinking hard. AS a result, although
they repented at one time Of their ex-
penses incurred in aiding the Presi-
dents election, they are now IN per-
feet accord With his principle of in
crease of Federal power at the ex-
pense of the States to legislate for
themselves. They have seen the li1ni-
tations OF his attacks upon the trusts
ttiAN ~ III ~ : OIIS10 VI
government correction of abuses COM
pared with action by the several States.
AS a result. the President is still in
control of the great corporations as
his allies, but he is in danger of losing
the BODY of thoughtful and honest
folks who are looking for a remedy
instead of a spectacle; and for a pro-
gressive advance in government TO
meet conditions along constitutional
lines instead of a revolution that
promises to perpetuate the very condi-
tons that it is proposed To remedy.
The sudden shift of the railroads from
the position of advocaues of States
rights to that of the extreme Federal
ism was a phenomenon the meaninC
of which has not been lost upon the
intelligence os the country
Is LAW ABIDING.
Much was said by irresponsible par
ties during and after the Legislature