The San Francisco call., 1908-09-28
ROOSEVELT REPLIES
TO BRYAN'S LETTER
Continaed from Page 1. column

ing. This is a record OF actual achieve
ment. and beside 1t mere promises are
empty indeed, and they would not be
MADE now with any possibility OF per
1ormance resulting II IL were not for
the achievement above recited-
DISASTER WAS PREVENTED
You state that the steel company,
with nay express consent. purchased one
OF Its largest rivals and thus obtained
control Of over so Per cent of the total
output This action Of the steel COM
pany (which increased its share of the
Total output by only about 4 per cent.
and In no way altered the standing of
the company under the law may have
been violation OF your plan, the alb
surdity Of which has been exposed by
Governor Hughes But there was no
violation OF the law.
] was cOgnizant Of the entire transac-
ton. r was not entered into by the
steel corporation OF its own desire but
solely at the urgent request OF the
corporation purchased and of the big
banks holding that corporations securi-
.les, IN Oruer 10 enable them TO pre-
vent a crash which would have turned
-I'le panic Of last fall into most wide
spread disaster.
= 4 should indeed have been dereIict
ll my duty II i had not so acted and
-tflclently used all the power of the
government where IL could be legally
enc properly used fas IL was in this
Tasel to see that the panic was kept
within the smallest possible radius and
Inc damage caused as slight as possible.
DISCRIMINATION DENIED
Hoe would better understand the
principle on which / acted if you would
rlo Yourself OF the idea that am
l'4lns 10 discriminate for or against
H. man or corporation because he or
- either. wealthy or not wealthy
regard such discrimination in either di-
recllon as utterly Incompatible with a
spirit OF honesty and fair dealing
base my distinctions Of conduct not
Oh relative wealth When the same
men who were leaders in the steel
c'fporatlon acted in connection with
the Northern Securities suit in a man
ner which regarded as contrary TO the
law by my direction successful suit
was Immediately undertaken against
them. II they violate the law in con-
lecuon with any act Of the steel cor
porarion / VIII Immediately proceed
against them. Until they do violate the
law They viii be treated precisely as
a2E other corporation. great or small.
Whic. obeEs the law is treated.
treat each man ana each corpora
lQn. with view solely TO whether he
o. IT. IS acting rightly on a given occa-
sion. Let me give YOU an example.
aaeF PROCEEDED a-Salnst the corpora
llons OF which Ar r H Hartman is
Lse head on certain points where /
leleNe they have violated the law.
sgt when. ga connection with the
l5 eTeskiRg .s. OF the salton sea dam. one
81 lne hartman corporations repaired
tue dam. / last Winter did everything
d. 10 have congress reimburse Mr.. Harri-
man for 50 much OF the obligation as
States.
7 would hold myself unfit TO be presi-
dent II. because / prosecuted Mr.. Harri-
tlan where / thought he had broken
-She law. i yet hesitated 10 do him
- ussice where I thought the facts re-
q9iired that justice should be done him.
Slsl exactly the same way I have acted
!. = lid shall act as regards the steel
corporation.
CORPORATIONS FOR BRYAN
;: You ask me 10 name a single official
connected with 2 law defying corpora
st30n who has declared or viii declare
Louis paper which reached me at the
same time that the papers containing
- published letter Of yours. / find a
= 4 'tI1lent from Judge Henry s Priest,
&TLorDeE for the Waters Pierce oil com
1lelny,- the western subsidiary or repre-
.se ltafive OF the Standard oil company.
u which ne announces that he is for
: y ryan and states that Wall street be-
ltegeS that Bryan viii be elected.
- m. response 10 the question as TO
whether he could quote any OF the
way ne answered / did not say l
saw any Of the officials Of the Standard
oil company / am giving you what I
found. was the drift Of opinion among
1ven posted :, politicians as wei as
I guess Governor Haskell is all
rlgRt LRey have not proved anythiog
The newspaper clipping goes on 10
say that Judge Priest was one of the
lawyers who fought Attorney General
dadleE IN the states custer suit
against the Waters Pierce and Repub-
lie Oh companies. His legal practice is
ehfehy with the big corporations. and
his firm IS counsel for the United States
llrests IN ST Louis
Judge Priest is credited with origi-
VentioTtsl offease," which he used IN an
argument at the trial OF r. n snyder
the Kansas City millionaire. now dead
sILVERMEN AIDED BRYAN
You say that the trust magnates
know their QWn interests and are sup
porting Judge Taft. Soefar as their in
terests are simply interests Of the buSi-
ness community. and especially of the
wage workers I believe they will sup
port Judge Taft. SO far as they have
special interests which are 10 them
more important than. the general busi-
ness welfare i believe they will sup
base this belief upoii: what happened
in 1896 Your success then would. in
my belief. have been a calamity for
the country from the standpoint of the
welfare of the businessmen, farmers
and working. men, just as in my belief
Your. success NOW would be calamity
u the country both. from the standpoint
81 business. tan6 especially OF the in
terests of the. wage Workere and from
tle standpoint. Of morals.
one Of yQur supporters, the New York
y, orlo- in. February last, printed a list
r.. contributions 10 your campaign fund
y 1886; containing the names of in
cfTldlLals and corporations owning sill
yer mines who made contributions to
the aggregate a mount OF S2Ss.o00. one
or these contributions being Of S159,0Oo
and ancther of $45, 00e etc
SUPPORTERS. SOUGHT PROFITS
Now, all the great financial magnates
Nho then contributed TO your campaign
iund would have preferred business
prosperity To- business .adyersity. other
Things being Equal. hut they would
rather have had the immense profit
that would have accrued TO them from
the Tree coinage Of the 50 cent dollar
than the smaller profit which would
have accrued 10 them merely from the
general industrial prosperity Of the
country Because Of their personal In
terests and against the interests of the
community at large these trust rnag-
mates then supported YOU.
Ny belief is. and the statement of
Judge Priest quoted above. and the at
titude Of many men Of large financial
interest warrant me in expressing the
belief that those trust ma gnates whose
fear Of being prosecuted under the law
By Mr. Taft is greater than their fear
Of general business adVersity under YOU
viii support you and not Mr. Taft