The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-07-10

their hold upon the government until they
 now menace popular institutions.
 The question is whether this government
 shall be restored to the control of the
 people and be administered in the interest of all or whether 1t shall remain an in
 strument in the hands of the few for ieyyIng tribute upon all the rest. In his special message to Congress last winter President Roosevelt declared, sub-
 stantially, that certain wealthy men who
 have become enormously rich by oppress-
 ing the wage earner, defrauding the pub
 lie and practicing all forms of iniquity,
 have banded together, and by the unlim-
 ited use of money endeavor to secure freedom from restraint and to overthrow
 and discredit all who honestly administer
 the law
 That the methods by which these men have acquired their great fortunes can
 only be justified by a system of morality that would permit every form of criminal ity. every form of violence, corruption and fraud.
 For many years, and especially during the last 12 years, these very men have | been in control of the republican party; | they have financed every campaign of | that party for a quarter of a century. | These eXploiters of the people, whom the ] President has so scathingly denounced,
 have given their enthusiastic support 10 1 the republican candidates and policies. | They laid their hands upon the trust l funds of insurance companies and other
 corporations and turned the plunder over to the republican committee. The money | thus f1lched from the innocent and help 1 less, to purchase republican victory, has 1 not been repaid.
 1 And where do We find these men today | Where are the swollen fortunes" of which we have heard so much? Just | where we would expect to find them supporting the republican ticket and fur 1 nishing the sinews of war for the repub- 1 lican committed as usual
 The platform adopted by the late con- | vention shows what the republican party l in truth represents. Although controlled 1 by the friends of Roosevelt and Taft, in | framing the platform every genuine re- | form which Roosevelt has advocated was
 scorned and trampled beneath the iron | heel of the predatory masters of the re- l publican party. The Wisconsin delegation l which favored placing a few reform i blanks in the platform was denounced | with sneers as being socialistic and demo- | cratic, and the convention by a vote of 1 eight to one repudated the reforms that l the present administration claims to | favor.
 l The mask of hypocrisy and deception | has been torn from the face of those
 who pretend to favor the policies of the | President and we now know why the
 system admires Taft, tolerates Roose- : welt and hates the senator from Wiscon- en. When compelled to choose between an appeal to the manhood and conscience 1 of the people In defense of it's platform | and candidates. on the one hand, and the
 millions that the Special interests" may | be depended upon to contribute, on the 1 other, the republican party rejected the | people and continued its alliance with l mammon.
 If the charges made by the president 1 are true-and they are true-we are in- l deed face to face with situation ar | grave as any in our history. How shall 1t be met? The good sense, patriotism | and united action of the people alone can I remedy present evils.
 l To wage a successful fight we must l have a leader. The republican party, dominated by the seekers of special priv leges, cannot furnish him. Republicans | who really desire refofm are poweress;
 the efforts of the president have been fu-
 tile.
 The democratic party must furnish the
 leader which present conditions demand,