The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1888-09-08
BLAINE'S BURCHARDIsM.

BLAINES BURCHARDiSM.
When MIR. Blaine, two weeks ago, In hl'
speech at Portland, Maine, defended trust.
by declaring they were "private affair:
with which neither the president or con
gress has any right TO meddle," Mr.. Quay
the head of the Republican National Com
mittee, was outsp ken In his disgust, and
declared that Mr. Blaine was In fair way
10 make himself Harrison's Burchard. This
seems to have scared Blaine, and a week
later at Dover, Me-, he undertook 10 modi
fly and take of the ugly edge of his Port
land defense of trusts. His anxiety on the
subject was shown by the fact that he had
carefully written out what he had to say
about trusts and read II from the manu-.
script which he then handed over 70 the
reporters. In this he said " Trusts have no
place In national campaign. There is
not one among them all that derives It's
being, owes its organization, or came up
under the patronage of the national govern
ment Every one derives whatever sane,
ton of law II possesses from state govern.
ment-generally one state, but sometimes
sometimes several. The president there
fore certainly should have known, when
he srraigned trusts in his message to con.
gresS, that congress could not dissolve them
when their charters we're from state legis.
latures or their organizations under state
law"
This apology Is worse than the offense,
though 1t is perfectly characteristic OF Mr.
Blaine, as 1t is saturated with falsehood
from beginning to end. Neither the presi
dent, or any of the newspapers In the dis.
cussion of the evil of trusts, ever pretended
that they derive any sanction of law"
from the national government, nor Is there
a trust In existence that derived its char
ter from a state legislature" or is organ.
lied under state law" The trusts objected
TO, and to which only the President re-
ferred in his message, are such as the great
cotton trust, the India rubber trust, steel
nail trust, &c, &c, voluntary combinations
among manufacturers to y" strangle compe>
tition," regulate the supply and keep up
price to the highest point at which their
tariff protection allows them to be fixed. |
Nor does the President, or any other man
If common sense, hint that either by con
,ressioDal or state interference with their
charters, these trusts can be weakened or
dissolved for there are no such trusts Ia |
existence.
The way the President would go at the
trusts he reprehends Is this The fact that
.hese trusts are organized to keep up pri.
,es to the tariff point is proof that some
,ne is willing to accept lower prices for
sueh commodity, and thar sncn prices !
would he remunerative In every such
case, therefore, the President very sensibly !
suggests the trust would be broken up and
the public generally benefited by reduc-
ton of the tariff.
This can only be done by national"
the subject has therefore a
most fitting place in national campeign;"
and Blaines pretense of their state or local
character Is as shallow rs ii is false. In
this pretence Blaine not only insults com.
mon Intelligence. but he insults such ennis
nent leaders of his own party as Senators
Sherman and Cul!om, both of whom, no
doubt largely to take off the curse" of
his Burchardism, have introduced bills In
the U. s. Senate proposing the severest
kind of national" Legislation for the sup
preston Of trusts. Mr.. Cullom's bill pro-
viding for the seizure and forfeiture Of
all shares of stock and all property used In
furtherance of the purposes of q trust"
The truth probably is, that Mr.. Blaine
cares neither whether he helps or hurts
Harrison In his cham pionship of trusts. He
Is impelled In his defence by the same
motives that control his championship of
the robber tariff, having money interests
In both.