The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1912-08-07
COL. RoosEvBLT's SPEECH.

the second day s session of his con.
vention in Chicago by delivering him.
self of his great speech This was
announced by himself to be so startling
thai people would call il Socialistic
and Auarchistic. - II fails. however
TO measure up 10 any extraordinary
degree OF sensatioualism. /, arraigns
the old parties and denounccs them for
failing TO do things which he declares
ought 10 be done, some of which things
are Of common agreement, and some
of which would be Of very doubtful, il
not dangerous. tendency. When he
undertakes TO mako the Federal Gov
ernment interposo in the States TO reg.
ulate the wages of women. TO control
the decision OF State courts by recall,
| to interpose as between workmen and
| their employees so as to give the work
men an opportunity 10 become part
owners of the business. and things like
| that, he urges the intrusion of the Fed
ersl Government in affairs hitherto
held to be clearly matters of State
concern and jurisdiction, in a way that
would soon make the Federal Govern
ment the supreme power and the
States mere provinces. 1t will be I'M.
possible for any one who is really
sound upon the question of popular
rule to follow the Colonel in matters
of this kind, for with the obliteration
Of the Just powers Of the States. a
long step toward autocracy would have
been taken.
On National affairs he is so vague
and unsatisfactory as to be incompre
hensible. II is all we'll enough to speak
about enforcing justice and an equal
show for everybody, but the question
is, how is it to be donel TO gst out
and raise a whoop and yell for Justice,
secure Justice, amounts to nothing, Any
one can decry and assail. but q states
man should be able to point out the
cure for the evils which he barps upon.
In the matter Of trusts, the Colonel
declares for defective and complete
regulation This would mean literally
the fixing of prices as well as the
actual control of the business. But If
the Government is going into paternal-
ism of this sort, we shall have to
change not only our methods but our
system of government, uprooting the
old ideas and substituting those which
are entirely new. The Federal Gov
ernment has no such power over cor
porations or trusts such as Col Roose>
welt speaks for. 1t deals with those
combinations in their interstate rela.
tions, and it requires them to refrain
from restraint Of trade and oppressive
and yindictive suppression of compe-
tltion. Here again the Colonel is
merely mouthy and windy. Nothing is
proposed except IN general terms, and
even so. nothing of value; for so far
as practicable. there is nothing dis
tinctive in Roosevelt IS declaration.
With respect to the tariff Col.
Roosevelt declares for protection, but
as "principle approaching from
standpoint Of the interests of the whole
people and not as bundle Of prefer
ences to be given favorite individ-
uals.' So far as that is concerned. it
is good Republican doctrine, and the
declaration OF the Republican National
Convention four years ago IN favor of
the revision of the tariff downward, as
construed by President Taft in his
campaign speeches at that time, is
practically the same thing as Roosevelt
declares for now. But the standpat
Republicans in the Senate vitiated the
promises of their own party and gave
Roosevelt mis- opportunity now TO de.
clare the same Republican doctrine in
his own way.
The Colonel declares in favor Of the
which we all agree to. He insists upon
his country-hfe commission. which
Is practically harmless vagarv
amounting to nothing.
As 10 Alaska. he is in favor Of keep
ing that a sort OF experimental ground
where the Government has an oppor
tunity "to work out various problems
by actual experiment. The Govern
meut has been working out its CON
servation experiments in Alaska for
the past twenty years. with the result
that the whole region is parslyzel
showing no increase in population, in
industry, or in productiveness in those
twenty years. II is Bourbonish dee
laration. showing that Roosevelt is in
the Bourbon position Of "forgetting
nothing. and learning nothing Even
the twenty years paralysis in Alaska
has taught him nothing with regard to
that region, for be wants the same old
paralysis 10 continue so that the Gov
ernment can work out experiments
there TO the detrimeut of that region
and the oppression and obstruction OF
all who have gone there to live Moth.
ing more disastrous could happen TO
Alaska than 10 have the Roosevelt pol
icies continued therein.
As declaration of public policies,
this speech OF Col Roosevelt s is "as
sounding brass or tinkling cymbal. -
IL carries nothinO nYactical L,ut ie a.,