The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1908-10-15
BUTLER IN
MARYLAND
Rryan Does Not Attack President
R00sevelt's Administration.
REMARKABLE PO-
LITICAL SITUATION

Bryan's Paramount Issue Is, "Shall
the People Ruler" But His Party
In North Carolina Has Split Upon
the Fundamental Principle OF Lo-
cal Self-Goyernment Bryan's
Trusts Remedy Should be Label
ed "a Sure Panic Breeder
Cleveland's Administration Did
Not Prosecute the Trusts, But Per-
secuted Labor Unions.
We publish below some extracts
from a report of a speech delivered
by former Senator Marion Butler at
Rockville, Md, on Thursday night
of last week. Congressman Pearre,
of the Sixth Maryland District, Sc
cured the consent of Mr.. Butler to
speak at several points in his dis
trict, among them being Rockville.
In part, Mr.. Butler said:
I'VE have before us to-day a most
remarkable political situation. The
! administration of President Roose-
welt has been so wonderfully popular
and successful that the Democratic
| candidate for President dares not at
| tack it, but, on the other hand, asks
to be elected President on the
ground that he approves of the great
reform policies of the Republican ad-
ministration, and that If he were
| President he would accomplish even
more than has President Roosevelt.
Mr.. Bryan even goes further and
claims that Mr.. Roosevelt borrowed
his ideas and reform measures from
| him. In reply, I call attention to
the fact that not a single one of the
great reform measures Of the pres
| ent administration were ever advo-
Gated by Mr.. Bryan as his leading
| and paramount issues. Has the
| President followed Mr.. Bryan's para
mount issues of 1896? Has he fol-
| lowed his paramount issues of 1900?
J In this connection, it is we'll to know
1>that Mr. Bryan has shifted and had
| new paramount issue in every
| campaign, and that to-day he is re-
pudiating every paramount issue
that he stood for in the past.
MFR. Bryan's paramount issue in
this campaign is Shall the people
rule?" He could not go down to my
| State in North Carolina and advo-
cate that doctrine, for there his par
| ty has violated, spit upon, and de-
serted the great fundamental prin-
cip1e of local self-government. In
| was once strong Democratic coun-
| ty, as soon as it became a Republi-
can county, the Democratic Legisla-
ture attempted to punish the people
of that county who dared to rule
| themselves by appointing Democra-
| tic commissioners to rule over them
| who had been repudiated by the
| people at the polls by over six hun
dred majority. The only way that
| the people can rule is by electing
| officers and representatives who ex-
ecute their will as expressed at the
| ballot box. If the people are not
now ruling during the administra-
tion of President Roosevelt, pray
when did they ever rule in the his
tory of this country? Did the peo-
pie rule when Mr.. Cleveland was
President and when Mr.. Bryan was
| in Congress? No. They were so
dissatisfied at the failure of that
President and of that Congress that
| they repudiated them with a tremen-
dous majority at the next election.
Now let us look for a moment
at the things in respect to which
Mr. Bryan claims that he would go
further than the present administra-
ton has gone. He says that he
would more effectively regulate the
trust evil and prosecute the viOlators
| of the law under the trust act. What
has been the record of Mr.. Bryan's
party on that question? Mr.. Olney,
| who was Attorney-General under Mr..
Cleveland (and Mr.. Olney is now
supporting Mr.. Bryan for President)
declared that the Sherman antitrust
law, which was enacted by a Repub-
lican Congress, was ineffective, and
gave this as his reason for not pros
| ecuting the trust law-breakers. But
| did either he or President Cleveland
urge a Democratic Senate or Demo
cratic House to amend that law or
| make it stronger? But Mr.. Olney
did finally decide that under the law
he could prosecute labor unions,
and the only suits which he brought
under that law were against organ
lied labor.
Only four prosecutions were at
tempted under that law by the Dem
ocratic administration, and they were
y of such little Importance that there
is not voter to-day who can re-
member what they were. One OF
those cases (the Addistone Pipe Line
lcase) was successful because it came
before Judge William H. Taft while
on the bench, and he upheld the
validity and force of the law and ap-
piled it so as to secure conviction
. What has been the record of the
pre- ,ent administration? 1t has
/ strengthened and supplemented that
law and has indicted one hundred