The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1912-12-09
TAFT and
I. R. BOTH
ATTACKED
Works, Progressive In Senate,
Criticised Them
Says Beth Men Deserved the
Defeat They Met
Blames Roosevelt for AffiIia-
ton With Perkins

Washington, Dec. 9.--In a speech
today In tn", senate upun his rcsolu-
tion for a constitutional amendment
that would provide Il single six year
presidential tvrTn, Senator Works of
California, :tlent!tled since his entry
into the senate with the progressive
republican faction, made a strong
criticism of. Theodore Roosevelt and
the progressive party for their aff1lia-
ton with George w. Perkins and
other representatives of large cor
porations. O...t
Senator Works declared both Roos-
evelt and Taft deserved defeat. He.
asserted that Roosevelt, when presl-
dent, had withheld action against the
harvester trust with the natural re-
suit that Mr., Perkins had been one
of the chief Roosevelt hackers in the
fight this year for the progressive
nomination.; and, with equal en-
phasis he declared that President Taft
had lost the respect and good will of
many good people by going upon the
stump against Colonel Roosevelt. The
attack upon Roosevelt came in con-
nection with Senator Works asser-
tion that the. presidents office had
been used to prevent adverse action
against corporations, "
2 = We are not without evidence of
the ,effect of such action on succeeding
elections" said Senator Works. "The
great harvester trust, one of the worst
and most oppressive of it's kind, was
signally favored by Mr.. Roosevelt
when president, in this respect. It
Was not e. prosecuted for violation of
the Sherman antitrust law because
Roosevelt ordered otherwise. That
was the natural result? When Roose-
yelt again became a candidate George
SAT IA nm, -
porter and chief financial hacker.
Perkins was largely interested in the
harvester trust. Perkins knew by ac-
tual demonstration that his company
would be safe from Just prosecution
II Roosevelt were elected, unless he
should change his mind. And he
would much less likely change his
views If the harvester trust or its
stockholders should lend him their
Il am not saying that Mr.. Roose-
Welt acted out of improper motives
IN dealing with the harvester trust
or the steel trust. He may have been
perfectly satisfied that the course
taken by him was the proper and just
course. call attention to these in
stances of presidential favor and
what followed them, as illustrating
the power that exists in the hands
OF president in his first term, to
secure his election to a second term .
Facts brought out in the senatorial
investigation of campaign expendt-
lures were cited by Senator Works TO
snow the extent to which trusts and
their millionaire stockholders" had
contributed to campaign contributions.
he declared that privilege seeking
corporations support the public off,
clal who Will grant them PRIVILEGES -
1.-The jnVnEfIp.atiOFa nf y.oy ,{rr,,
tributins, lately had, has expressed
some OF the darkest pages of the poll
teal history of the country" he con-
tlnued. 1T has revealed the unpleas-
ant fact that the money used for
campaign purposes, both by republi-
cans and democrats in past years was
supplied almost wholly by men in
terested in the large corporations
that were amenable to punishment
under the antitrust law.
The new progressive party was
tainted in the very beginning by put
ting itself in the hands of the same
interests. 1t was managed and A.
nanced by promoters, corruptionists
and trust magnates. In all these cases
money was contributed to secure the
election of a man who, if elected,
would be entrusted with the power
OF determining conclusively whether
or not they should be prosecuted.
mo matter whether it was so uu-
derstood or not it was nothing more
or less than buying immunity from
such prosecution. They very natural
ly reasoned that the man who accepted
aheir money to secure his election
would not use the power their money
had given him to punish them for
making that money unlawfully."
Senator Works referred to the So
called Hartman contribution in the
campaign fund of 1904, a fund which
Hartman said Roosevelt had asked
him to raise but which Colonel Roose-
welt has testified was raised on Mr..
Harriman's own initiative.
1T is not very material which was
right and which was wrong said
Senator Works. Hartman received
his reward whether the money was
raised for that purpose or not. Suits
by the government were at that very
time pending against some of his COM
panies and after his contribution they
were dismissed. His roads were
otherwise favored by the president
that his money helped to elect
A single presidential term, Senator
Works declared, would prevent the use
of patronage and the power of Office
in the way 1T is now used and would
the opportunity a president
now has to grant favors or infiict
punishment upon campaign friends
or enemies.
He urged that campaign contribu-
tions be made only by the state or
nation, declaring that large compaign
funds, however raised are a dangerous
menace to the free institutions of the
country"
"The advocacy by the incumbent of
his own reelection in the late cam
paign led to the most shameful cam
paign of crimination and recrimina-
tion between the president and ex-
president that this country has ever
Senator Works continued.
Both of those candidates were over
defeated. They both de-
served defeat for this reason If for no
other. The conduct of Roosevelt was
particularly reprehensible. His vicious
assaults on the president made it i'm
for the latter, in his estima-
ton and that of his friends, to meet
on the stump the charges made against
him.
1T was fatal mistake 1t lost him
the respect and good will of many
people. He put himself on a level
with his detractor and thus lowered
his dignity and that OF his office to no
purpose. How much better 1t would
have been for the country If both OF
them had been ineligible to re-elec-
tion.'