The anti-monopolist. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1874-1878, 1874-07-30
THE ADDRESS OF THE REPUBLI.
CAN NATIONAL COMMITTEES.

CAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE.
This very important manifesto is now
being published by all the Republican
papers from Maine to California. 1t is
put forth at this time to arrest, if pos
sible, the tide of public opinion which
now sets so strongly against the Re
publican party; and it is, in effect, the
platform on which the leaders propose
to conduct the coming campaign. IT.
utterances, therefore, are of the frs
Importance, and its admissions Of thu
greatest significance.
A great deal Of it is historical, ant
ante-dates all modern history. 1t ii
practically an effort to show that tn,
Democratic party is responsible for al
the evils that have ever afflicted tn,
human family; and inferentially, tina
Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed
because they voted the Democratic tick
ct; that the angels who visited Lot were
federal mail agents in disguise; that Lot
was straight-haired republican; and
that his wife was little better than ar
Anti-Monopolist, and hence was salteC
down as warning to all postcrity.
But when it leaves the realms Of his
tory and descends to a consideration Of
of the practical questions Of the day, We
begin to catch glimpses Of the real
dmimats which governs it.
For instonce we are told:
'Various expedients have been sug.
gested for lessening the cost of transpor.
tation. In some Of the States it has
been proposed to place railway fares and
freights under the control of the State
The objections to that e.rpsdies,t are
so serious that 1t should not be en-
braced, ia better one can be found"
The national republican party there
fore takes ground that railroad fares
and freights should not be placed nnder
the control of the States. The object
ions to such a policy are serious. st
should not be embraced
And here we have an important
utterance:
''The State is but the aggregate Of
the people in the State"
What does this mean? 1t simply means
that the State is nothing. The State is
not sovereignty under the constitu-
ton; one of the bulwarks Of liberty be-
hind which the people can entrench
themselves in the hour of peril 6 it is
merely the aggregate of the people of the
State" Hence, we must not try to
protect ourselves by State legislation
we must ask the paternal government
at Washington to protect us. And
hence will follow Capitalization and
absolutism; and hence long life to the
republican party and death to republi-
can institutions.
And then the address proceeds:
cit is manifest that if the company he
allowed to fix the price they may demand
too much. Vendors OF all commodities are
contrary, if the people or their agents fix the
price they may set It too low. Purchasers
are very apt to want commodities as cheap
as they can be had. 1t is not probable that
either party to the transaction would always
hit upon the exact equivalent. The conse-
quences of a mistake would probably he
found most injurious if made BY the people
Ii the company makes the mistake, and
charges too much, no one is obliged to en-
plOy it. The producer does his own carry
ing before the railway is built. So, every
company is compelled by laws of trade, even
if municipal law is silent, to carry products
cheaper than the producer can carry them,
or they will not have them to carry"
Let our readers carefully scan the
language here used.
IF the people" that is the State
fixed the rates, s'the consequences of a
mistake would probably be most in
FURIOUS
But if the company fixed the rates it
would be all right. Why! Because il
the company charges too much no one
is obliged to pay it,
That is to say, if the people of Mower
county thought the rates of trans
portation of their wheat on the Mime
sofa Southern and the Milwaukee & St.
Paul railroads were too high, they
could haul their wheat in wagons one
or two hundred miles to a market, OF
let it rot in their granarieS. For says
the Republican national address:
1.-The producer does his own carrying
before the railway is built. He has a
perfect right to do so after it is built. .
But suppose all the roads between
New York City and Mower
county put up their rates
so as to swallow the whole
value of the wheat-what then? Why
says the address, the people of New
York, Ohio, Indiana. Illinois, Wiscon
sin and Minnesota have perfect right
to haul their wheat to New York /,
ma CONS" "They have perfect right
to do SOL" Of course they have.