The advocate. [volume] (Charleston, W. Va.) 1901-1913, 1912-10-31


! + practically tthe first prohsi{S StsGmttiT3h tmttiT33hiS
under tho sherman law during his d
dmiHistrah hont against MIR. Morpan's
NotherR Securities Company which +
sought the consolidation OF the Gre
at Nothetn, the Nothern Pacific and
! the burlington railroads; MIR. Roo
sevelt also brought during the last
years of his administration the sui
against MIR. Morgan's New York.
New haven & Hartford Railroad an
"a steamship trust which Mr.-Wicl-
ersham promptly dismissed during
he first month Of MIR. Taft's admin
1strattOn. .''-IGxtract from the follow
ing article by MIR. Connolly.
r.sG>.a BY O, r. CONNOLLY -
Author OF 'tBig Business and the
I'd Bench" etc. ..,s
Out OF all the things that 'Theo-
dore Roosevelt did during his seven
years In the White House, his poll
tical opponents have picked out the
one charge, as the only one they can
make stick, that Roosevelt allowed
tho Steel Trust, in defiance Of the
law, to. acquire the Tennessee Coal
and Iron Company. We come now
to the question, was Roosevelt 4 a
tool of the Steel Trust in this?
Was he deceived? Or did he act
the part Of a patriot or a pigmy?
Let us forget on the one side that he
has been charged with partiality
to Mr.. Morgan, and let us forget al
80 that In the face of this charge Mr..
Roosevelt brought practically, the
hrst. prosecution under the Sherman
law during his administration.
against Mr.. Morgan's Northern Se-
curities Company. which sought
the consolidation Of, the Great
Nothern, the Northern Pacific and
the Burlington railroads; and let lis
also forget that he brought during
the last years of his administration
the suit against Mr.. Morgan's New
Yor, New Haven & Hartford Rail-
road and steamship trust, which Mr.
'Wtckersham promptly dismissed
during the first month Of Mr.. Taft's
administration. ! say, let us for
get these things because we want
to" consider this transaction solely
and dispassionately on It's merits. =.
There was a panic. in Wall Street.
Banks were suspended. Long lines
of excited citizens stretched up and
down the streets In the banking dis
trict. Wall Street was = a powder
magazine. Every bank that failed
added to the flame Of public excite
ment. Throughout the country at
large, bankers were so panicstr1cken
that they refused to pay out, cash.
They gave you cashiers certificates
saying you had so much money in
the bank, and on that you traded
, for the necessities Of life with such
merchants as were willing to accept
it. No one had any cash, and, no
-nne-Mas- willing to -hny anything but
the actual necessities of life
- 1t makes no difference now who.
or what started that panic-the un-
disputed fact was that it was upon
US, threatening wide havoc and des-
truction d..
Two Wall Street banks owned the
stock Of the Tennessee Coal and
Iron Company. They were on the
brink of dissolution. There is no
question about that. 1t Is admitted.
The Steel Trust wanted that stock.
No one else did. No one else was
willing to buy. Agents Of the Steel
Trust went to Mr.. Roosevelt, laid
the facts before him; told him, as he
knew, that it was violation Of the
law, but under the circumstances
would he consent? 1t makes no
difference now what their motive
was--their plea was unanswerable,
and Mr.. Roosevelt answered it. He
said that under the circumstances,
If the sale would help stay the fright
and panic Of the people, and prevent
the further destruction of property
and values, he, would not object, If
his Attorney-general did not.
Was 1t the act Of faithless SER
want? When San Francisco was
burning down, the first thing the
firemen did was to get together all
the dynamite in San Francisco and
telegraph to nearby cities for more.
They blew up the buildings in the
path Of the flames which had not yet
caught fire. Why? Because they
wanted to stop the teed of the flames
and save that part of the city that
lay beyond. We're they patriots or
criminals, And yet the very act
they did during the fire, for which
they were praised, done when there
was no fire, would have branded
them as criminals and made them
liabl: to a term In the penitentiary
Mr.. Roosevelt did what any man
Of saneness and sense would have
done Under the circumstances. No
one at, the time thought of eriticis-
ing him for 1t. 1t was only four
years later, when the panic bad been
forgotten, and he was again can
didate for office, that the transac1
ton was brought out from the clos
et, dressed in new habilamants and
made to do service as q political ar
giement. The flame and fire, the
smoke and CRIME of the time, we're
gone-~and here stood deed that
convicted Roosevelt Of Inconsistency
and insincerity. Apply the light Of