A Fitting Rebuke

A FITTING REBUKE.

When President Roosevelt was in St. Louis he and former President Cleveland made important addresses. The former president spoke on the presidential office and its incumbent and among other things said:

"The presidential office is the only one which the people still hold as their own. The senators regard only the interest of their states. The representatives are absorbed in their districts. The president, and the president alone, represents the American citizen, no matter how humble or in how remote a corner of the globe. Let us not forget that we owe something to this servant of ours. If any discredit fall upon him his discredit is ours. With American fair play let us, gentlemen, give him the benefit of the doubt so long as we know that, however wrong he may be, he believes that he is right."

Mr. Cleveland spoke from his large experience and of course knows the heavy burden a president Is obliged to bear many times because of having his motives impugned and suspicion cast upon his almost every action. There is no one who has held any public position of any considerable importance but who knows something of the burden of having at times one's most earnest and most conscientious act impugned and misinterpreted. Yet it is impossible probably for the occupant of the presidential office to escape much unjust criticism. One reason, no doubt, for much of the criticism and the impugning of motives is due to the known rottenness of political matters generally and the fact that many of our public men consider it entirely proper to do things as politicians which they would scorn to do as private individuals. There is so much corruption in public matters generally that it is extremely difficult to distinguish between that which is genuinely patriotic action and that which is purely selfish and brought about by influences which do not make for the best interests of the people generally. But there is unquestionably a lesson in the words of the ex-president for us all to learn and there should be less disposition to impugn motives than is daily manifested.

When the President arrives in California on his huge swing around the circle and delivers his speech at the University of California, he will have an inspiration to tell the truth about the trusts of the country. He will speak in a building donated to the University of California by a man who has consistently and persistently fought the trusts and monopolies of the country for the past eight years with both courage and intelligence, viz., William Randolph Hearst. Mr. Hearst presented to the University an auditorium. It is a copy of an old Greek theatre and is a magnificent gift. When Mr. Roosevelt makes his speech there he will speak in this auditorium-in effect from William R. Hearst's rostrum. It should be at once an incentive and an inspiration to tell the truth about the trusts, combines, monopolies and tariff barons who are waxing fat on the substance of the common people of the nation, and tell it a la Hearst as he tells it in hit papers.

The trust idea has finally reached various religious bodies and efforts are being made to unite all protestant denominations into a big religious trust. A meeting was held in Pittsburg, Pa., April 22 and 23, in which was represented the Congregational, United Brethren, Methodist, Protestant and American Christian denominations. The first three agreed to enter into a trust organization. It is expected that other denominations will enter the combine.