Gilpin observer., 1916-01-06
WALL STREET AND POLITICS

Our esteemed friend the Wall
Street Journal is Indignant because
newspapers like The World" should
draw "the usual Inference from the
$4,000, 100000 dinner that Judge
Gary gave to Col. Roosevelt.
1t complains that ''to tag any pres
/ idential possibility with that Ques-
tion-beggirg epithet Wall Street
would be to damage his chances COM
pletely," and adds that ''Wall Street
| is in fact disfranchised" and that "its
, opinion is only consulted to be flout-
ed"
Assuming that this is an accurate
! description of the temper of the
country toward Wall Street in politics
! did it ever occur to our neighbor to
i inquire into the reasons for this
widespread and well-established sus-
picion?
/ Can it point to single disinterest-
men who represent "the overwhelm-
ing majority of the commerce, manu-
! facture and banking of the country?'
Can it point to single unse!fish ac-
ticn? Can it poirt to sirgle in
stance in which these men have put
the general welfa-e OF the country
above the dollar? Can it name sim
gle piece of leg station to restrain
corporation abuses that they have
not fought to the last ditch?
!, Sir George Otto Trevelyan in his
history of the American Revolution
said that George III, never could
forgive a politician for taking the
right course unless it was from a
wrong motive" Wall Street is
George III, translated in terms oi
dollars and cents. 1t may forgive G
politician who from sordid and sinist
er motives opposes Wall Street'si in
terests. That is a game it can under
stand. But it ne; er forgives poll
tic.an who opposes its money inter
ests to promote the public interests
1t is tolerant of the RoCsevelts be
cause it can do business with the
Roosevelts. 1t is never tolerant Of
the Wilson's, be"ause the Wilson's
will not do busin SIS with it.
II Wall Street is disfranchtsed, II
has disfranchised itself. A commu
nifty CT interests that never fight:
in the opcn, that always intrigue!
and bargains in the dark and is for
ever consr.ring to defeat the will O
the people after that will has beer
expressed at the polls. cannot expec
to command large measure Of pub
lie confidence.
what can Wall Streets money d.
Street Journal by way of protes
, against this general distrust. 1t cal
do little now, because the American
people have put Wall Streets mon
, ey out of politics. They have forbid
. den national banks to contribute Il
campaign funds. They have forbidde
railroads to contribute. They hay
. forbidden other corporations to con
tribute. They have provided for
, sworn publicity which enables then
to know both before and after elsc
ton who contributed and how much
But IL our neighbor wishes to know
what Wall Streets money could ono
do in politics. we refer 1T to the let
ter that Z. H. Hartman wrote I,
Sidney Webster IN relation to th'
$250,000 that he raised in 1904 afte
, his visit to Mr. Roosevelt at tn
White House.
Mr.. Hartman explained in this let
ter that the money he raised "enab
led the New York State COMMITTEES
to continue its work, with the resul
) that at least $4,000 voters were turn
ed in the city CT New York alone
making q difference of 100000 votei
, in the general result"
That is the kind of work that Wal
Streets money did in American poll
tics from tire days of Dorsey with hi
blunt references to soap to tht
days Of Roosevelt with his adroit sug
gestions to Hartman. Having beer
/ deprived Of this weapon, the men wht
formerly used 1t row employ less
crude means, but their attitude TO
ward popular government has no
changed. Wall st eet still believe!
in the doctrine that money should
the true emblem OF the republic. Sc