Smyrna times., 1908-02-05
ROOSEVELT RAPS
RICH MEMS PLOT
Says Wealthy Criminals COnspire 10
Discredit His Policies.
URGES MORE RIGID LAWS

guage, President Roosevelt in a Spe-
cial message to congress, read before
that body, drives home his charge OF
the existence of a vast conspiracy o.
wealth to discredit the policies of the
administration.
The president again urges federal
control of railroads. the supervision
to be of wider scope than he has here
tOfore advocated. He wants the gov
eminent empowered to make physical
valuation of railroads, to supervise in
some way their financial operations
and to exercise whatever control may
be found necessary over their physi-
cal operation.
Not the least significant Of the
presidents utterances is his warning
of the dire evil to the republic and the
"Vindictive and dreadful reaction
which is to follow if a check is not
placed upon the rich violators of the
law
Mr.. Roosevelt however. makes it
plain that the administrations policies |
are not directed against law-abiding |
corporations, but that it is the desire |
to protect the property of every hon
est man and to prevent wrong-doing.
Certain representatives of preda- |
tory wealth." says the president |
''have banded together to overthrow
and discredit all who honestly admin.
lister the law. to prevent legislation
which would restrain them, to secure
freedom from all restraint which
would permit every unscrupulous
wrongdoer to do what he wished un.
checked, providing he has the money.
In plain words Mr. Roosevelt says
the protestations of the Standard Oil
trust and Santa Fe railroad that nc
rebates were given or accepted are
false. Attacks On the administration
he declares positively, are made espe
cially in the interest of the Standard
Oil trust and of certain notorious
railroad combinations
With regard to the Standard Oil
company, he says:
"The methods by which the Stand
ard Oil people and those engaged in
the other combinations of which
have spoken above have achieved
great fortunes can only be justified
by the advocacy of a system of moral
ity which would also justify every
form of criminality on the part of
labor union, and every form of vic
| lence. corruption and fraud, from muir
der to bribery and ballot-box stuffine
in politics"
He sees in these attacks the terror
which ''our public actions have caused
the corrupt men Of-vast wealth in the
very marrow of their being"
The president charges that a sys
tematic campaign has been conducted
by the forces inimical to the admins.
tration; that periodicals and publica
tions of various sorts have been sub.
sidized to make insidious attacks upon
the governments policies and to give
false impression concerning the law
defying corporations.
In a fOrceful manner Mr.. Roosevelt
disclaims responsibility for the finan
cial depression.
'No gloom" he declares. need be
felt over the panic. There is no nation
so absolutely sure of ultimate success
as ours"
Continuing. Mr.. Roosevelt says:
81 do not for a moment believe thai
the actions of the administration
have brought on business distress. s.
far as this Is due to local and no
woTld-widet causes, it is due to tn,
speculative folly and fragrant dishon
esty of few men of great wealth whC
i m oh 4.
effects Of their wrong-doing by ascrib
ing its results to the actions of thost
who have sought to put a stop to tn,
wrOng-dOing.
"But if it were true that to cut ou
rottenness from the body politi
meant a mOmentary check to our un
healthy seeming prosperity, l shou'
not for one moment hesitate to pu
, the knife to the corruption"
While the president expresses r5
3 gret that stockholders may suffer fror
| unsettled business conditions, he hold
= that they are in a measure respons
| BILE for the conditions by permittin
\ dishonest officers to manage the bus
I ness.
The business" which is hurt b
the movement for honesty, Mr.. Roos'
welt asserts. is the business which 1
q the long run It pays the country t
have hurt.
G The president urges congress to el
. act new laws, and in making this r.
quest says:
New conditions make it necessar
to shackle cunning as in the past "
s have shackled force"
}, The administration purpose, M
:, Roosevelt says, is to make propert
t. holders realize that prosperity has II
Z duties no less than its rights. It is tn
a desire to prevent stock gambling, co
q nering of the market and to abolis
e the bucket shop. He suggests that tn
v might be accomplished by prohibitir
3. the use of the mails, the telegraph an
a. the telephone to men who gamble
10 stock futures.
10 Other legislative measures recor
-