The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1890-03-28

TRAplS UNIONS AND TRUSTS,

senator E.iu,unds Secs no Practical Differ.
cnce In Them-Ho Snys thu Former nre ns
TyrnnnicnI as the Latter-The Bill Refer
red Back.
WASHINGTON, D. G., March 27.-Dur-
ing the debate on the antitrust bill to-
day in the Senate, Mr.. Edmunds de-
clared himaclfin favor Of doing ytlling
that the constitution permitted Con.
gress to do in suppressing and breaking
up trusts aud monopolies, because in
the long run (however they might re.
duce cost for the time being} all human
experiences have proved them destruc-
tive Of the public welfare. People could
not shut their eyes to the fact that il
capital combined, if great industrial es.
tablishments combined to regulate
wages, the workmes were compelled
also 10 combine to defend themselves.
Even i'll the City OF Washington where
Congress had exclusive Jurisdiction,
lnasons, carpenters, bakers, tailors, print
ers and all trades had their combination
which were armed camps making az.
gressive warfare against the rest OF man.
kind. He had learned OF a case which
occurred here only few months ago,
where skilled printer, citizsn OF the
United States, man Of good character
and with little money (such things
sometimes went together even in tue
Senate OF the United States) applied to
the Public Printer for employment; and
ofkf, o,,.I hn ,ruu tttat tha u1a,, xvho ,,,aa
wanted to I'll d vacancy the Public
Printer was not permitted to employ
him-because he was tod, il he did,
nine-tenths OF the printers employed ia
tho Office would cease work, and the
country would 60 to destruction because
it could not read to-day what had been
said in Congress yesterday. And this
was because tho man did not belong to d
particular combination. II that was not
tyranny, Mr.. Edmunls did not know
what tyranny was.
The tyranny OF Thousand men was
infinitely worse than the tyranny OF one
man, as tho tyranny Of the Commune in
France was worse than that OF the mon.
arch who had been oyerthrown. Taking
tho iron industry as m illustration, Mr..
Edmunds went on to argue thGt II labor
combinations put up the price OF wages
so per cent, the people who owned the
mines and the furnaces and the forges
had the right to combine to protect
.hemselyes 20 as 70 SeS crch prices as
would make up' Tor the Increased Cost Of
| production. iIe was willing td' 90 aass
| far ns C6rc.eas had power to 90 in the
lies that expected 10 'Bs detfiMentaf 70
the country. 90 iar as the CONSTITUTIONAL
question went, he believed the eafety 0i
! the Nation depended more largely on the
preservation OF what was called the
{,gIis ci the States ::hsn on any other
tSing. He, therefore, should DO es'o"
about voting 'for any oct Of Congress
which he thought vent over the bound
ary which Tho Constitution prescribed
Mr.. Wal.hall movod to retsr fhe bill
and amendments to the Judiciary Com
,uittee, with instructions to report back
within twenty days. The motion wa'
agreed to, yeas 81, nays %.
| The Republicans who voted in the Of
irmatiye 'Yere Caueyon, Higgins, Plat
Stanford, stockbridgc, Teller 4nd Vol
colt. h;
The Democrats who voted in the neg
alive were Barry, Cockre!!, Pugh, Tur
! pie, Vance and Voorhees,.