The Washington times., 1911-11-17
ROOSEVELT ON THE TRUST
PROBLEMS.

Those Roosevelt baiters who for
years have been fond of attributing to
the former President a reckless purpose
to PUN amuck the whole field of indus.
trial policy and national prosperity,
find themselves sadly confounded when
they turn to the vigorous discussion of
national policy toward trusts and com
binations which was presented in The
Times yesterday, from Mr.. Roosevelt 5
Outlook article.
Our blessings brighten as they take
their fight" 1t was easy enough Il
few years ago for people who had as
sumed that the Government had 40
business trying to regulate transpor.
tation of industry to denounce Mr..
Roosevelt because he took the law
of the land seriously, because he per-
ceived clearly that there was absolute
necessity for regulation, and insisted
that no business must be permitted to
prove itself greater than the Govern.
ment. All that looked exceeding radical
to people who had not realized that
Roosevelt was inevitably right. They
did not dream that in a little while
they would be looking back to his pro
gram of reasonable, sane, effective
regulation without destruction. as a
consummation devoutly to be wished
for. Today, these sane acrimonious
critics of five years ago find themselves
forced to concede that the Roosevelt
plan was right, that it was construc,
tive, that it was the one plan winch
contained promise of restoring conf
dence and security to business. Com.
pairing the conditions which Roosevelt's
plan would have produced, with those
which exist today, they appreciate now
how much better off they would be if
they could have curbed their prejudice
broadened their vision, and admitted
the merits of the constructive policy
that now looks so good when it is
contrasted with one of aimless de.
structiveness.
President Roosevelt favored and
urged a program of Federal license OF
incorporation, under which great con.
Germs might have opportunity to know
alb initio whether they were right and
within the law. The Civic Federation
urged it. The conservatively intelli
gent business interests realized that
it was needed. But when the propose
got before the Judiciary Committee OF
the Senate, the committee made a re
port in opposition to any amendment
or supplementing of the antitrust act
and that report made clear to all mel
that for a considerable time, at least
certainly until bitter experience should
more impressively emphasize its need
no change in the antitrust act was tc
be possible.
The experience has been accumu
lating, and in the light it has shed
Roosevelt policies look marvelously
safe, moderate, and sweetly reasonable
to the very people who denounced them
in the time when Roosevelt was fight
ing to make them the law of the land
Mr.. Roosevelt's defense of his course
in the Tennessee Coal and Iron affair
will be the occasion for a good deal o.
controversy. 1t assuredly was a Wig
orous and telling reply to the allega
tions in the Governments petition
that Mr.. Roosevelt had been misled
The former Executive defends himself
his Cabinet advisers, and the represen
tatives of the Steel Corporation whc
came to him with their troubles befor,
taking step about which they desired
reinsurance as to the Administration
opinion. 1t is characteristic of Roose
welt that he is just as willing to de
fend, boldly and unqualifedly, the big
gest corporation in the world as h,
once was to take up the cudgels agains
what was supposed the richest anC
most powerful corporation.