The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1912-07-28
SoCLALIsTIC OR ANARoHIsTIc.

The platform which Col, Roosevelt
intends to have his convention at Chi
cago on August 5th indorse, is de-
scribed by himself as Of nature which
will impel the public TO pronounce il
Socialistic or Anarchistic. which can
well be believed because of the in
creasing movement of Col Roosevelt s
mind towards chaotic ideas and i'm
possible propositions.
There is not much given in the dis
patches by way of quotations from the
Colonel's programme as prepared for
the acceptance of his followers at Chi
cago, but what is given out appears
fairly well to meet the Colonel s judg-
ment that the people will consider it
Socialistic or Anarchistic. So far as
the propositions that are stated are
concerned, they appear to be matters
upon which the States would naturally
legislate If any legislation is TO be
had upon them at all. There is little
reason why the United States should
ANS iSi"'C Luz tLti uPou uOulc VI Ia
bor and upon the minimum wage. If
more legislation upon these subjects is
TO be had at all, the States are the
only authority for such legislation, save
only in the small relation which labor
ers for the General Government bear
in any State to the great mass of
labor in that State, this proportion be-
ing very small indeed, and already COW
cred as to federal work, so far as hours
of labor are concerned. On this point
the Colonel's new idea seems TO be very
similar to his proposition before the
Ohio State Constitutional Convention,
where he advocated the recall Of judi
cial decisions. Almost immediately
thereafter, however he saw that as a
National proposition this is absolutely
out OF the question, wholly impractical
BILE, so that he Immediately switched
the application of this "great princi-
ple' to the point of recalling decisions
Of State courts. But recalling decisions
of State courts has no possible place
in National politics. Any State which
wishes to undertake any such a wild
scheme as the recall Of judicial de-
cisions is at liberty to undertake it if
ing whatever to do with the General
Government. And so on the question
Of hours of labor and wages the Fed
eral Government jurisdiction is small
indeed. And here also, in order to OBJ
tain any practical foundation for his
scheme, the Colonel would have to in
vade the functions Of the States and
let the Federal Government alone.
With respect to big corporations,
Col. Roosevelt, as he has intimated be-
fore, is in favor Of ignoring the anti
trust law and letting corporations
alone, allowing them to grow as largo
as they please and have as wide a
scope as their managers desire. He
is opposed to the idea Of forbidding
interlocking directorates, and he is in
favor Of allowing one corporation to
obtain as great An interest in another
corporation as it can, thus massing all
together. The interlocking director
ates would allow of q vast mass of
corporations or trusts being controlled
by the same persons as directors So
that in this proposition, Col Roose.
Welt IS true to his trust supporters, and
he apparently hopes to placate the peo-
pie On this question Of trusts and COM
binations by the extremely small drop
of soothing syrup which is contained
in his proposition for the regulation
of hours of labor and of wages by the
General Government which would
count for SO little, as a matter of fact
These two measures are givon out
in advance by Col. Roosevelt, 1t is
explained, "merely as illustrating the
kind Of legislation which he believes
to be adapted 10 meet existing condi-
tions." We judge. then, from this,
that what Col. Roosevelt really aims
Mt Is to give the trusts all the latitude
they desire, and the laboring interests
of this country and the people gener-
ally gold brick, or lemon. Under
pretense Of getting legislation for mini
mum work at minimum wages, which
for the most part the General Govern
ment has nothing to do with, no would
break down the laws which forbid op-
pressive combinations and restraint of
trade. and the people, especially the
laboring people. would have practically
nothing at all in return. 1t must be
that Col Roosevelt has an extremely
poor opinion of the intelligence of the
American public, or he would not un-