The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-09-04
ROOSEVELT WORSE
 SCARE THAN EVER Wall Street Alarmed By Recep-
 tion in West SEE TROUBLE AHEAD Moderate Improvement Noted in some Lines of Business Notably in
 the Iron and Steel
 Trade
BY w. G. NICHOLAS

speech at OSaWatOmle. It nau peeH working up to this condition of mind for several days but didn't exactly know what ailed 1t. The stock mar ket began to lapse into dullness about the time the ex-President started on his speech making tour and it went progressed along his itinerary. By the time he reach ed Osawatomie on his return to Oyster Bay the market was in a condition of almost complete pa ralysis. Nobody wanted to do thing or make a move The pretense was stoutly maintained that politics had nothing to do with the dullness or with explosion occurred this pretence was abandoned and the truth was confessed. The interests are about as much afraid of Roosevelt now as they were In the height of his power when he held pos session of the big stick with the of ficial authority and the will to use 1t.
 The entire background of the mar ket situation Is darkened by the shad- ow of Colonel Roosevelt and his admit ted programme of enlisting under his banner of a new nationalism' all the elements of radicalism and discontent and arraying the conglomerate mass in opposition to everything that stands for conservatism, At the outset and untli the very last minute there was Roosevelt speeches and denunciations and to take the stand that he was a back number and as powerless for harm as MT. Bryan They contended stoutly in private that if he under took the role of hrebrand and dis turber the attempt would react on him and leave him without reputation CT following. The character of his re- captions throughout the west leaves them no legs to stand on in the po- sition they are trying to take tha he has lost his popularity. The press dispatches and private advices show that he still has the western crowd with him in bulk and that his person. ality still holds its magnetic power over the multitudes. The question now is, will this popularity stand the test of time and of the newspaper broad sides which are already pouring into him. On that point there is decidet disagreement of opinion, but behind It all there is the deepseated fear that Roosevelt may "come back" In the fullest and broadest acceptation of the term Ills talk of increasing central ization of auth ority is accepted as proof of his personal ambition to even tually re-enter the White House, next time with a sceptre of power equal to that of any of the dictators of his- tory.
 It Is this sense of fear which Is already beginning to find reflection in the stock market. It makes people afraid to go ahead-afraid not only to translate their capital into securities but to want to convert a part at least of their holdings into accessible cash where it can be dragged out under any emergencies which may arise. There Is no doubt as to what will become of MT. Roosevelt in any popular election if the result could be decided by the vote of the east. There would not be illuCll tSll Ol iiili lO MOlly anu us tress "the interests" The fear Is, how ever, that he will be able to hold and swing the votes of the middle west west and possibly the south, and by means thereof overwhelm the eastern and middle eastern states whose elec- toral votes are in 8 minority. Mir Roosevelt is recognized and branded n MT fp htt hn art-a tJrra element which centers in and about Wall street as dangerous and ma ligned Influence, as a very ugly and very distinct quantity which will have to be reckoned with.
 There has not been a time in years when politics was a subject of more se- rious study and discussion in Wall street than 1t is at this writing. There seems to have been sudden and rude realiza- tion that the interests that are represent ed in the great financial center of the metropolis are more seriously threatened now than at any previous time since sen timent begun to organize for the regula- tion and ultimate control of corporations It took 25 years for this sentiment to get strong enough to enforce it's purposes by act of Congress and court decisions of the concrete type, but for the last three or four years progress toward the specialization and operation of this great force has been rapid, and there Is no con- cealment of the fact from the keen in- telligence of the men who are in charge of the larger business affairs of the coun- try. AS long as careful and conserva- lively minded men like MT. Taft and his immediate associates were at the helm of state and in official command, a degree of safety was felt, sense that although the movement might not be in favor of "the interests" collisions and trouble would be avoided, but now with the pos sibiity of radical leadership being again resumed by man who is rightfuly or wrongfully given credit as chief disturber and chief agitator and chief promoter of incendiary thought the situation takes on a different complexion. The men of Wall street and of high politics who would like to ignore MT. Roosevelt and what he stands for. find their position un- tenable. They find themselves forced against their will to recognize him as a power and a factor. Their hope is now his language will compel his open. repud- iation by the thoughtful people of the land and that they will so emphasize their position in the matter that there can be no doubt as to the outcome.
 Pending that verdict and decision, there seems to be u growing disposition to stand from under. The powers of the financial and industrial world may combine from time to time to support the market, and to import confidence to the situation, but from present appearances there will be no heart in the enterprise. The seeds of dstrust and the loss of confidence were definitely sown on the John Brown bat tlefield where the martyr to black slavery made his historic stand for human libertv