The Meeker herald., 1912-06-08
Democrat. And "Harve.ter"

ter" later on, In case the Republicans
should nominate Mr.. Roosevelt at
Chicago. Thus far the case has been
threshed out only as it bears upon
personal records Of Messrs. Taft and
Roosevelt. But there Is another point
Of view. The Democrats are yet to
have their turn In making political
capital out of the case. They have
been highly attentive and interested
observers Of the controversy between
the Republican president and the
Republican ex-president. who have
been so fiercely struggling for the
party leadership. Nothing has es-
capped them. And they will be heard
from with deadly effect in case the
third term candidate should succeed
In forcing his nomination.
Mr.. Roosevelt's only retort to Mr..
Taft, that the former secretary OF
war acquiesced as a member Of the
Roosevelt cabinet In the decision not
to prosecute the, harvester trust,
could have no possible revelance OF
effect II Mr.. Roosevelt were fighting
the Democrats on this issue. Mr.. Taft
could meet Democratic attack sue
cessfully because. rs matter Of plain
fact, he never did acquiesce In
Roosevelt's course while president.
and because, as president himself,
Mr.. Taft has actually prosecuted the
trusts. But Mr.. Roosevelt, should he
come under the fire of the Democrats
as the Republican candidate, would
be pitifully vulnerable. In so far as
the trust question would figure In .
Roosevelt campaign, the issue would
center upon Mr.. Roosevelt's lenient
treatment Of the steel and harvester
trusts, to both Of which he gave i'm
munity from prosecution. The two
trusts have been closely related and,
as Herbert Knox Smith admitted In
his celebrated private memorandum
for Mr.. Roosevelt's exclusive and
personal observation" an attack on
the harvester corporation meant an
attack also on the Morgan interests
as a whole.
1t would not concern the Democrats
In the least whether Mr.. Taft &C.
quiesced in the Roosevelt policy to-
ward the Morgan interests. What
they would be able to show concern
tiuyfhs Roussvsit pslicy- would COM
stitute . most damning Indictment
Of Roosevelt's favoritism, regardless
Of his plain duty to execute the laws
Of the land. The attention of Repub-
iicans, especially progressive Repub-
licans now supporting the third term
aspirant, should be directed immedi-
ately to the line of attack which the
Democrats would follow. The debates
In the two branches of congress on
this subject during the past month
have passed unnoticed by the public
owing to the uproar outside. But the
reader of those debates may perceive
at once from the speeches of Demo-
cratic senators and representatives
with what terrible destructive effect
the Democrats in the campaign still
to come could use all this ammuni-
ton against the colonel's candidacy.
The record is already complete
enough for the Democrats to prove:
l. That Mr.. Roosevelt's attorney
general, Mr.. Bonaparte, wanted to
prosecute the harvester trust on the
strength Of the exhaustive investiga-
tion conducted by Mr.. Townsend of
his department..
2. That, upon personal Intervention
Of Gerge w. Perkins of the harvester
trust, President Roosevelt ordered
Mr.. Bonaparte to postpone the suit
indefinitely, or until an investigation
by the bureau of corporations In an
other department had been completed.
8. That this decision not to prose-
cute WAS reached after the COM
missioner of corporations had written
to the president that the harvester
trust was q ''good" trust, that it
ought not to be prosecuted because it
came within Mr.. Roosevelt's defini-
tion Of a "good" trust, that the
supreme courts views of trusts were
IAN economic absurdity" anyhow,
and Perkins had threatened that, in
case the suit was brought, the Nor
gan interests would reverse their
friendly attitude and fight the ad-
ministration.
4. That the excuse for indefinitely
postponing the prosecution, to-wit, in
order that the bureau Of corporations
might complete its own investigation
of the trust, was q transparent piece
OF humbug, because the bureau had
no heart or belief in a prosecution
policy, as is proved by the Smith
memorandum; because, also, the