Bluefield evening leader. [volume] (Bluefield, W. Va.) 1906-1911, 1908-06-19
SOME OUESTIONS.


fooled again II they elect Taft?
His party's leaders have shown
no capacity to select candidates that
would entitle them to brand any
one as safe" or unsafe" sane
or insane. Roosevelt Is as far from
what the republican convention OF
1904 supposed him to be. as he is
from being a great statesman. Does
any one dream that he would have
been nominated If there had been
an inkling that he was not political
ed with fundamental principles and
living issues, till the wonder is that
it has vigor enough left to hold a
national convention. Is there any
chance to dispute the statement
that the republican party is now
trying to straddle the question of
trusts, currency, railroad rates. la
Dor and tariff? IF the president
has his notions engrafted into the
platform, the leaders know that the
party will be hopelessly defeSted
IF a manly declaration OF opposi-
tion be adopted, then defeat will be
equally as certain. Therefore, there
is nothing to be done except to
'straddle" and trust to good for
tune for one more victory. A party
straddle is no worse than n congress
sional dodge or presidential side
'tep. 1t Is useless for Mr.. Roose-
welt to expect that history will write
him down as serious since he re-
fused to allow the arch-rebater
Paul Morton, to be prosecuted. II
is child 's-play or an insult to ma
tional intelligence to declare for
tariff revision as long as Cannon
has certainty of being speaker.
Just as we'll hope to pass a rate bill
with Hartman as speaker And
how can they have the assurance
TO promise revision when they fail
ed and refused even to follow
Roosevelt and Taft in their demand
20 do so? Is it possible that the
people are so bland and child-like
and so stupidity forgetful OF the past
as to take any promise concerning
The currency?
The congress las becn engaged
in tossing the Fowler, Vreeland and
Aldrich measures from the senate TO
2 he house and back again, till a dis
gusted public and impoverished, dis
tressed people showed such unmis-
taxable signs of vengeance that the
present compromise, intended to
legalize clearing house certificates
N New York was evolved as a tub
10 the whale" It can not be OF any
lirect service to the country at large
or to small cities. To the stock
gamblers it will be useful, but as a
measure to give relief to the col
lapsed business men all over the
country, it is a stone and not bread.
How can labor expect anything from
Taft or Cannon? How can capital
hope to avoid the big stick" with
Taft In charge? There is nothing
possible to be expected from Chi
cago, except a bare. open-faced
straddle upon every vital question,
because underlying all OF it is the
tariff, the lever with which prices
are kept up and the peoples earn
ings taken from them and from the
tariff springs the trusts which set
the price upon everything which
the people sell, including labor II
the people continue to swallow the
lose. who can blame the Republi-
cans for giving IT? Every promise
has been broken and now both capt
al and labor see the fallacy OF the
cry OF prosperity" A manly de-
claration OF principles IS impossible
and Taft hopes TO make the reform
element vote for him because he Is
Cor Roosevelrs policies" and in
luce the reactionaries to put mp the
money on account Of his record be-
tore he came into the cabinet. II
elected who will be decciyed?-
Charleston Gazette.