The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1908-09-28
ROOSEVELT THUNDERS FORTH
IN ANSWER TO BRYAN'S SHOT
CONTINUED FROM PAGE IL


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had not efficiently used all the power of
the government, where it could be legal
ly and properly used (aS 1t was In this
ease), to see that the panic was kept
within the smallest possible radius and
the damage caused as slight as possible.
You would better understand the prin-
eiple on which l acted if you would rid
yourself of the idea that l am trying to
discriminate for or against any man or
corporation because he or it is either
wealthy or not wealthy. | regard such
discrimination in either direction as ut
terly Incompatible with a spirit of honesty
and fair dealing. l base my distinctions
on conduct, not on relative wealth. When
the same men who were leaders in the
Steel corporation acted in connection with
the Northern Securities company in a
manner which l regarded as contrary to
the law, by my direction a successful suit
was Immediately undertaken against
them. If they violate the law in connec-
ton with any act of the Steel corpora
ton I will Immediately proceed against
them. Until they do violate the law they
will be treated precisely as any other
corporation, great or smaK which obeys
| the law is treated.
Treating All Rightly.
ST treat each man and each corporation
| Will Il view SOFTLY 10 whether ne OF II IS
acting rightly on a given occasion. Let
me give you an example. | have proceeS-
| ed against the corporations of which Mr..
E. II. Hartman is the head on certain
points on which I believe they have vio-
lated the law. But, when in connection
with the breaking of the Salton Sea dam,
one of the Hartman corporations re-
paired the dam, I last winter did every
thing I could to have Congress reimburse
Mr.. Hartman for SO much of the obliga-
ton as I felt ought to come upon the
United States. | would hold myself unfit
to be President if I prosecuted Mr.. Har-
riman where I thought he had broken
| the law and yet hesitated to do him JUS
| tiee where | thought the facts required
! that justice should be done him. In ex-
seetly the same way 1 have acted and
| shall act regards the Steel corporation.
| you ask me to name a single official
connected with a law-defying corpora
ton who has declared or will declare
that he is supporting you. In a ST.
Louis paper, which reaches me at the
time that the papers containing this pub
| lished letter of yours, 1 find statement
| from Judge Henry s. Priest attorney for
the Waters-Pierce Oil company, the west
ern subsidiary or representative of the
| Standard Oil company, in which he an
nounces that he is for Bryan and states
that Wall street believes that Bryan will
be elected. In response to the question
as to whether he could quote any of
the Standard Oil magnates as feeling that
way he answered.:
| I did not say saw any of tha
| officials of the Standard Oil company. L
am giving you what 1 found was the
| drift of opinion among well-posted poll
ticians as well as bankers. 1 guess Gov
ernor Haskell is all right. They have
not proved anything on him, have they?'
Judge Priests Position.
1.-THE newspaper clipping goes on to
say that Judge Priest was one of the
lawyers who fought Attorney General
| Hadley in the states custer suit against
the Waters-Pierce and Republic Oil COM
panies. His legal practice is chiefly with
the big corporations, and his firm is coun-
sci for the United Railways company
and the North American interests in st.
| Louis
You say that the trust magnates know
| their own interests and are supporting
| Judge Taft. So far as their interests are
| simply the Interests of the business COM
| munity, and especially of the wage-work-
! ers, l believe they will support Judge
| Taft. So far as they have special in
terests which are to them more import
ant than the general business welfare,
| DeueVe lney Will support you. l base this
belief upon what happened in 1896 Your
| success then would, In my belief, have
| been calamity for the country from the
standpoint of the welfare of the business
man, farmers, and workingmen, just as.
| In my belief, your success now would
| be calamity to the country both from
the standpoint of business land especial
| ly of the interests of the wage-earner),
and from the standpoint of morals.
my belief is, and the attitude of many
men of large financial interests warrant
! me in expressing the belief that these
trust magnates whose fear of being prose
| cuted under the law by Mr. Taft is great
er than their fear Of general business adj
versity under you, will support you, and
not Mr.. Taft.
Champaign Publicity.
81 now come to what you have to
say as to contributions, and here you
| furnish your own answer. You state
that 1t appears from the published
| statement of the contributions to Mr..
| Hughes campaign for governor two
| years ago that various men of wealth,
| some of them connected with big cor
| porations whom you name, to the num-
| Der of nine, contributed from $4,000
to $500 apiece You ask would the fact
| that these gentlemen contributed to
his campaign fund strengthen or weak
| en- his testimony against the reasona-
bleness of our antitrust remedy and
later you continue by asking are you
| willing to say that any public interest
| was served in 1904 by cQncealing until
| after election the contributions made
to the republican campaign committee