691. Campaign of 1904.—Although the first session of the Fifty-eighth Congress was not devoid of interest or unproductive of important legislation, public attention was mainly centered throughout 1904, so far as concerned politics, upon the selection of Presidential candidates and upon the subsequent campaign. Although President Roosevelt had alienated some of the important Republican politicians and had caused himself to be dreaded by many financiers, capitalists, and business men, opposition to his nomination could not be concentrated, and the death of Senator Hanna, of Ohio, left him without a possible rival. His personal popularity throughout the entire country, the general prosperity of the people, and the inability of the Democrats to find any large, striking issue upon which to appeal to the voters, rendered the candidacy of the President very strong. On June 23 he was therefore nominated unanimously by the Republican Convention, which met at Chicago, and Senator Charles W. Fairbanks of Indiana was unanimously nominated for Vice President. The Democratic Convention met at St. Louis, and on July 9 nominated for President, on the first ballot, Judge Alton B. Parker of New York. Ex-Senator Henry G. Davis, an octogenarian of West Virginia, was nominated for Vice President. The nomination of Judge Parker,[[311]] whose only serious competitor was Mr. William R. Hearst, the millionaire proprietor of several newspapers, meant that Mr. Bryan and the more radical members of the party had retired into the background in order to give the more conservative Democrats of the East and South a chance to show what they could do toward reorganizing the party and leading it to victory. The latter made it clear that they accepted the gold standard, but in the campaign that followed they received but lukewarm support from the more radical elements of the party, and Mr. Roosevelt was elected in November by the largest popular majority in our history. In the Electoral College he had three hundred and thirty-nine votes, including those of West Virginia and Missouri, against Judge Parker’s one hundred and forty; in other words, the Democrats had lost every section save the South, and had not entirely maintained themselves there. Fewer ballots, however, had been cast than was the case in 1900, a proof of apathy on the part of many citizens. In fact, the campaign of 1904 was a remarkably dull one, the only excitement occurring toward the close when charges were made regarding the raising of campaign funds. Immediately after his election, Mr. Roosevelt announced that he would not accept a renomination for President. As might have been expected from the general satisfaction of the country with Mr. Roosevelt’s administration, both houses of Congress remained strongly Republican.
692. Events of 1905: The Treaty of Portsmouth.—Early in the year the administration endeavored to effect a treaty with the disorganized republic of San Domingo by which the United States should take charge of the Dominican custom-houses and apply a considerable portion of the revenues thereof to the payment of the debts of the small republic. Much opposition was manifested in the Senate, and the calling of an extra session of that body did not secure the passage of the treaty.[[312]] About the same time there was friction with Venezuela, owing to the sequestration of the lands of the American Asphalt Company. In Congress, the main subject of discussion was the regulation of railroad rates, but nothing was accomplished in the matter. In the sphere of State legislation and administration, interest was chiefly centered in the investigation into the affairs of some of the larger life insurance companies and in the attacks made upon monopolies. In the course of the inquiries conducted by the New York investigating commission it was shown, not only that there was gross waste in the management of the business of the chief insurance companies, but that they spent money to influence legislation, and made large contributions to the national parties for campaign purposes.[[313]] In the war against the trusts, the special objects of attack were the Standard Oil Company and the so-called Beef Trust. In municipal politics the most interesting situation was created by the fight between Mayor Weaver of Philadelphia and the ring of Republican politicians in that city over what was generally regarded as a corrupt lease of the city gas plant. The lease was defeated, and some rather spasmodic victories were won for the cause of reform. In New York City Mayor McClellan was reëlected by a small plurality over W. R. Hearst, the Municipal Ownership candidate, who claimed that extensive frauds by Tammany deprived him of victory. On the whole, however, the most striking event of the year was the signing of the Treaty of Peace between Russia and Japan, which took place on September 5, at the Navy Yard at Portsmouth, New Hampshire. President Roosevelt, believing that the time had come for the bloody war between the two powers to cease, and feeling assured of the support of other governments, sent notes to the respective heads of the two warring powers, urging that they should open negotiations with each other. His suggestions bore fruit at once; the envoys were introduced to one another by the President, whose interest in the success of the negotiations undoubtedly contributed to the final accommodation; the treaty was signed and ratified; and the world was at peace. No other event connected with his administrations has reflected more credit upon the President or has given clearer proof of the growth of American prestige throughout the world.[[314]]
693. Legislation of 1906.—The first session of the Fifty-ninth Congress was marked by great opposition to the President and his policies from members of his own party. This opposition was specially bitter over the railroad rate act, which finally, however, became a law. Questions of personal veracity were raised, and Congress failed to pass such excellent bills as that designed to relieve the inhabitants of the Philippines from heavy tariff duties on articles imported into the United States. But the President retained the confidence of the people, and secured some important legislation—in particular, the meat inspection law, which was passed in consequence of disclosures made in a popular novel concerning the bad conditions prevailing in the Chicago meat-packing establishments. A “Pure Food Law,” looking to the protection of the consumers of foods, drugs, and liquors, was also passed, as well as a bill providing for the admission of Oklahoma and Indian Territory as one state under the former name, and for the joint admission of Arizona and New Mexico on the condition that each territory should vote separately in favor of such joint admission.[[315]] Other meritorious legislation was also enacted—for example, a stricter naturalization law.
694. The San Francisco Earthquake.—The most terrible catastrophe of recent years, save the Sicilian and Calabrian earthquake of 1908, took place on April 18, 1906, when a destructive earthquake occurred in California, which inflicted great damage to property and cost hundreds of lives. The chief loss fell upon San Francisco, where the earthquake was followed by a fire which could not be put out for several days. About 200,000 persons were left homeless. The magnitude of the disaster deeply impressed the rest of the country and the world, with the result that assistance was conveyed to the stricken region with great promptness and on a large scale. This sympathy was succeeded by widespread admiration for the courage and energy with which the citizens of San Francisco at once set to work to construct upon the ruins of the old a new city which in solidity and beauty should measurably realize their ideals. Unfortunately, their efforts were soon impeded by labor troubles, and the city was disgraced by grave municipal scandals.
695. Intervention in Cuba.—In August, 1906, a revolution broke out in Cuba against the Palma government, and in September President Palma requested the United States to intervene. Sincerely wishing the little republic to preserve its autonomy, President Roosevelt hesitated to send forces, but after an investigation conducted by Secretary Taft and acting Secretary of State Bacon, and after the resignation of the Cuban President and Vice President, it became clear that there was such friction between the political factions of the island that peace could be secured only through the exercise of force by the United States. Late in September, Secretary Taft issued a proclamation which placed Cuba temporarily under American control and an adequate force was landed. The action was favorably received by Cubans of all shades of opinion, and the island has since remained quiet under the provisional governorship of Charles E. Magoon. Many of the richer planters, and not a few citizens of this country, favor the annexation of Cuba to the United States; but the movement in this direction can scarcely as yet be said to be strong, and it is clear that hitherto the policy of the greater toward the weaker republic has been generous and unselfish, save in the matter of tariff reductions. (See §§ [687], [689].)
696. Race Troubles: Atlanta and Brownsville Riots.—During recent years, friction between whites and blacks seems to have been growing more intense, not only in the South, but in the North and West, and lynchings and riots have been disgracefully frequent, the latest instance of lawlessness on a large scale having occurred at Springfield, Illinois, in August, 1908. There has also been much race friction between Americans and Japanese on the Pacific Coast. In Georgia and in Texas, two particularly regrettable outbursts occurred in 1906. In September, the usual occasion of such riots, combined with the bad effects of a violent political campaign, lashed many of the inhabitants of Atlanta into a fury, which spent itself on the negroes wherever they could be found, regardless of their innocence or criminality. Several persons were killed, and the militia had to be called out. Later, the better elements of the city, white and black, endeavored to develop kinder feelings between the races and greater respect for the law. The month before there had been a shooting affray at Brownsville, Texas, between negro soldiers stationed at the fort there and the inhabitants of the town. In answer to protests made to him, and on the failure of all his efforts to discover the guilty soldiers, President Roosevelt, in November, ordered that the entire body of negro troops involved in suspicion should be dismissed from the service in disgrace. This action was both applauded and condemned. It led to inconclusive investigations and to much discontent among the negroes and their friends.
697. Elections of 1906.—The election in November resulted in a victory for the Republicans, but their majority in Congress was materially reduced. Several State elections attracted attention, but public interest was mainly centered upon the contest for the governorship of New York between the Republican candidate, Mr. Charles E. Hughes, who had won a national reputation by his skillful conduct of the investigation of the great insurance companies (see § [692]), and the Democratic candidate, Mr. W. R. Hearst, who had been a competitor of Judge Parker’s for the Presidential nomination (see § [691]), and had so nearly defeated Mr. McClellan for the mayoralty of New York City (see § [692]). Mr. Hearst was also the candidate of the Independence League, which was generally understood to be a party mainly controlled by him. His securing the Democratic nomination alienated many Democrats, and led to his defeat, but that the election was a personal triumph for Mr. Hughes was shown by the election of the Democratic State ticket to all the offices except the governorship. Mr. Hearst subsequently withdrew from the Democratic party and carried the Independence League into national politics.
698. The Panic of 1907.—Although numerous matters, foreign and domestic,[[316]] made the twelvemonth that followed the elections of 1906 interesting to the contemporary observer of public affairs, it seems clear that to the future student one event of the year will overshadow all others—the financial crisis of the autumn. It began in October with the failure of a New York trust company, and for some weeks the stringency of the money market was acute, particularly in the business centers of the East. Many private fortunes, especially of those engaged in any form of speculation, were impaired, and industry was greatly checked, with the result that thousands of men were thrown out of employment and that immigration from Europe showed a decided falling off. In some quarters there was a disposition to attribute the panic to the President’s policy of subjecting the methods of the railroads and trusts to strict examination, and of insisting that they should comply in every respect with the statutes which had been enacted to control their activities; but more impartial students regarded the catastrophe as the natural consequence of the strain to which capital had been subjected for some years during a period of speculation and industrial inflation. Credit had been strained in America and abroad, and defects in the system of currency had created among business men a feeling of insecurity and uncertainty which was probably more accentuated by the talk than by the actions of the Executive. His speeches, perhaps, had something to do with occasioning the crisis, but it was an inevitable event and, on the whole, a salutary one. It taught the public that no country, however rich and energetic, can defy with impunity the principles of honest and conservative financiering, that all sections and nations are so closely bound that one cannot suffer without affecting the rest, and that the part an administration can take, whether in precipitating or in alleviating such a crisis, is unimportant in comparison with the actions of financiers, investors, and business men in the aggregate.
699. Events and Legislation of 1908.—One of the most spectacular events of the year was the cruise of the Atlantic fleet in the Pacific Ocean. The voyage was made via Cape Horn, and the fleet was received with great enthusiasm, not only by the people of the Pacific Coast, but also in New Zealand, Australia, and Japan. As a display of naval power and efficiency, the cruise was a success, and its political effects seem to have justified its inception, especially as the welcome given our sailors in Japan did much to show that there was no immediate cause for friction with that country. Less spectacular, but not less important, was the ratification of numerous arbitration treaties, including one with Japan, and of eleven Hague conventions relating to the conduct of war. A conference of the governors of the States met at Washington in May, on the call of President Roosevelt, and discussed the best methods of conserving the natural resources, the forests and waterways of the country. It was generally regarded as a forward step, and it led to the appointment of a national commission charged with this important matter. There was a remarkable wave of activity among the advocates of legislation against the sale of intoxicating liquors, leading, especially in the South, to the adoption of prohibition and local option laws. The first session of the Sixtieth Congress passed laws in the interest of government employees injured in the performance of duty, and similar measures, and, finally, after much debate and filibustering, a compromise Currency Bill, known as the Vreeland-Aldrich Bill. One of the provisions of this was the establishment of a commission of senators and representatives to consider the monetary system and the banking laws of the country. The Ways and Means Committee of the House was authorized to hold recess sittings and to hear testimony with regard to the need of revising the tariff. Late in the year, Mr. Andrew Carnegie, the famous millionaire steel manufacturer, created a sensation by declaring before the committee his belief that the industry in which he was an expert needed no protection whatsoever.
