The Washington times., 1911-03-27
CALLS FITZGERALD
FRIEND OF TRUSTS
League Writes Protest
Against His Elevation to
Craftsmanship.

The fight against Representative John
]. Fitzgerald. of New York. as chair
man OF the House Committee on APP
preparations. will not be suspended,
notwithstanding the fact that he al
ready has been selected for that posi-
ton by the Democratic members of the
Ways and Means Committee.
An active campaign has been launched
against Mr.. Fitzgerald by the American
Antitrust League. The executive COM
mittee of the league has written a letter
Of protest to the Ways and Means Com
mittee, giving Fitzgerald's record in the
House on many important matters, and
asserting that on that record he stands
convicted of being a ''Cannon-Trust-
System" man. The leagues letter of
protest is as follows:
we respectfully represent that it
sufficiently appears from his align
ments, associations, and official conduct
Mr.. Fitzgerald is the representative, not
Of the people, but of the Cannon-Trust
SYSTEM, and not fit man for the place.
We point to his late action in the House
when the effort was made to overthrow
the Cannon rules.
Stood BY Cannon.
IL lIiC u uIAdl bOul IlC SlDOu ny OdI-
non and the system, against the action
Of the progressive and patriotic men,
bers of both political parties, and
against the interests of the people.
when the Stanley resolution to in
vestigate the Steel trust was before the
Committee on Rules. accompanied as II
was by a documentary evidence making
out a clear prima facia case. and an
effort was made by patriotic members
OF both parties to have the resolution
reported out of committee, Mr.. Fitz-
gerald not only did not favor the reso-
luton. but refused even promise tina {
he would vote 10 report the resolution
and In various other ways manifested
his opposition to the same.
Mr.. Fitzgerald was hostile to that
part Of the navy bill passed by the last
Congress which prohibited tine purChas-
ing Of armOr or structural iron from
anv steel or armor trust. and declared
that said amendment was bad amend
ment and ought never to have been
adopted.
''Wnen the Postoffice appropriation
hill of the F'ifty-ninth Congress was up,
the Moon amenlmenI to kill the special
facilities subsidy to the railroad trust
was lost for the want of only one vote,
and that vote was the vote of Mr.. FitZ-
gerald, which was cast for the subsidy.
For Aldrich.
Tho James amendment to the AIdrich
bill in that same Congress, requiring the
trust banks TO pay interest on Govern
nent deposits, received the support Of
his colleagues, but did not receive the
vote Of Mr.. Fitzgerald. although TIE
records show that his vote is recorded
in favor of the AldriCh hill Tightening
the grin of the system upon the coun-
tTy's currency.
We call attention TO the fact that Mr..
Fitzgerald owes his present standing on
the Committee on Appropriations to
Speaker Cannon. We respectfully rep
resent that it is already announced that
Mr.. Cannon will he the ranking Re
publican member of the new Committee
on Appropriations. What danger may
not, then, arise from a continual ton of
the Fitzgerald-Cannon alliance? What
progressive legislation may not be held
up by starvation? What important
legislation may not be killed for the
lack of the necessary appropriation?
We therefore insist that the appoint
ment of Mt Fitzgerald to this I'm
portant place would be unfit and highly
improper: that il would not only put the
seal of Endorsement and appreciation on
one who has betrayed the interests OF
the people into the hands of the trusts,
but arm him with still greater power to
repeat the betrayal.
The seniority argument would afford
poor excuse for such action, all the less
when II Is remembered that MT FitZ-
gerald owes his seniority TO Speaker
Cannon"