Arizona republican. [volume] (Phoenix, Ariz.) 1890-1930, 1911-08-11
PHOENIX, ARIZONA, AUG. IL, 1911
The Same Roosevelt.


as we were a fortnight ago concern
ing the hole" into which Theodore
Roosevelt was TO be put by the
congressional investigating of his
dealings with the steel trust. The
country was invited to expect revela-
tions which would place the former
president in a discreditable light as
soon as the probe was inserted into
the question of the illegal absorb
ton of the Tennessee Coal & Iron
Co. Mr. Roosevelt did not wait for
q subpoena from the committee. He
jauntily appeared before the invesu-
gators, shook hands all around, asked
permission to testify, and plunged
into a statement of the reasons why
his administration decided to inter
pose no objection to the proposed pur-
chase of the southern steel concern
by the steel trust. His reasons were.
briefly: Cd That it was doubtful, at
I.
strued to be a violation of the anti
trust law; 90 that the panic of 1907
had already reached such proportions
that a countrywide crash was prob
able if the administration did not do
its utmost to support the great banks
which were trying to avert the crash;
90 that Mr.. Roosevelt was led to be-
lieve and he believes yet, that If the
Tennessee Coal & Iron Co. had not
been taken over promptly there would
have been stupendous failures in New
York.
And the history of that time, as
chronicled in the news of the day,
bears out Mr.. Roosevelt's conclusions.
The newspapers of November Z, 1907,
printed the following dispatch from
New York:
THE anxiety over the trust COM
many situation has subsidized. The pur-
chase by the United States Steel Cor
poration of the Tennessee Coal and
directors this afternoon, thus remov-
ing a large amount of securities hav-
ing a comparatively narrow market
from the collateral held by trust COM
panies for loans. Bankers believe the
situation is now under control ana
that steady improvement Will con-
tinue."
From a recital of the facts, Mr..
Roosevelt passed to a discussion OF
his policies generally as a man of
practical sense while he was in the
White House, and to illustrate his at
titude in the matter of the panic, he
made this illuminating statement:
In nv Judgment would have been
derelict in my duties, / would nave
shown myself a timid and unworthy
public officer if in that extraordinary
crisis I had not acted as 1 did act
In every such crisis the temptation
TO indecision, to nonaction, is great,
for excuses can always be found Tor
non-action and action means risk ana
the certainty of blame to the man
who acts. But if the man Is worth
his salt he will do his duty, he Will
give the people the benefit of the
doubt, and act in any way which
their interests demand and which is
not affirmatively prohibited by law,
unheeding the likelihood that he him
self, when the crisis is over and the
danger passed. will be assailed for
what he has done.
IF ! were on a sail boat, 1 should
not ordinarily NEEDLE with any of the
gear; but If a sudden squall struck
us, and the main sheet jammed so that
the boat threatened to capsize,
would unhesitatingly cut the main
sheet, even though / were sure that
the owner, no matter how grateful to
me at the moment for having saved
his life, would a few weeks later,
when he had forgotten his danger and
his fear, decide to sue me for the
value of the cut rope"
Mr.. Roosevelt reveals himself here,
az ALWAYS. impatient il technicalities
interfere with the performance of a
necessary action. But the really IN
PERTAINING feature of the whole incl
dent of the investigation is the ex-
ample thus furnished of the former
presidents style of fighting. He
knew that his enemies in both parties
were hoping that he would evade and
DENY and minimize. Instead, he car
ried the war into Africa, as he al
WAYS does. From him 1t was; Take
that. and that, Biffi Swat Have you
had enough? Good day." And thus
once more we have good flash
light on the reasons why the Ameri-
can people are fond of Theodore
Roosevelt They like a fighter, and
his style of fighting suits them. Com
mon sense, to be sure, upholds what