Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1908-01-09
CLEAR, CRISP AND CLEAN
THE PEOPLE KNOW

WILLIAM WILLETT, JR., a dilet-
w tante representative in congress
from New York city, took the
floor the other day to attack President
Roosevelt. upon whom he placed all the
blame for the recent financial furry
According TO the Associated Press story
of the episode Nh Willett charged the
president with not being a sensible man
and with having turned on the gas and
not the light, and with going up and
down the country condemning and
striking with the big stick the heads
of great industrial interests. The pres
ident has gone forth day after day to
the people, and the people of the world,
and declared to them that the men who
hold the reins of our great industrial
institutions are dishonest and are not
worthy of our confidence.
We do not want our chief executive
. going up and down the country con-
demning and striking with the big stick
everything that sticks its head up
What was wanted. he said. was a man
10 perform his duties with dignity and
power and with the influence OF all sane
men behind him.
cit has been said our president is
sincere he continued. He may be so,
but we want good sense in the president
along with his sincerity
HE declared that the president was
not a sensible man and concluded: 1T
is because of what charge him WITH
with all the powers of my mind and
l.~5.- &c -, y,vofoupd cou,,ictinv and
because of his lack of sense and lack
of due appreciation of the true condition
of our nation. that we have this panic
today"
Senator Perkins through His press
bureau, Representative Willett on the
floor of congress and others by the hun
dreds may continue their efforts to
compel the president to shoulder the
responsibility for the financial disturb
ance, but the people have learned
where the blame properly is to be as
signed. In his speech before the execu-
tive committee of the Lincoln Roose-
Welt League of Republican Clubs at the
Westminster hotel in this city yester-
day. Francis ]. Heney, who stopped
over for a part of the day on his way
from Tucson to San Francisco, helped
to clear up all possible misconceptions
in this regard which might have existed
in the minds of the hundred or more
representative men who listened to
him. Mr.. Heney said that during his
sojourn in the east he made diligent
inquiries into business conditions and
the causes of the recent panicky feel
ing. He said that he was reliably in
formed that J. p. Morgan, into whose
hands was intrusted the settlement of
the difficulties which beset the moneyed
interests of the east, stipulated that
before he undertook the task he must
have the consent of those in trouble
that he should be permitted to be abso-
lutte master of the situation. After hav-
ing been given to understand that he
would be allowed a free hand. the first
order he gave was that the banks must
stop lending money intended to be
used in gambling on stock margins!
And the banks gave their consent.
If any better evidence is needed that
. the bankers themselves, with one Of
the greatest of financiers at their head,
realized what the chief cause of the
furry had been it surely has not been
forthcoming. Mr.. Morgan's order in
dicates very clearly that he compre-
hended what the foundation OF the I'M
easiness in the financial world had BEEN
SO eminent an authority as ffe prac-
tically admits. by issuing such an order
or making snoh demand. that the
stock gambling operations which the
handlers of money in large amounts
had made possible was chiefly respon-
sible for the conditions. But in the
face OF the declarations of this high
authority on finance we may expect in
confidence to hear repetitions OF the
absurd charges brought by men like
Representative WilIett Senator Perkins
and the other Roosevelt haters. But
the masses of the people understand
and this is sufficient.