The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-11-18
LOGICAL. AT LEAST.

One OF the biggest humbugs lugged into
service by the demagogues of the late cam
palgn was the bogy Of Trusts and Monop-
olles. Trusts have come naturally and nee
essar1ly with the evolution Of civilization to
whose advancement they contribute directly
by the concentration of capital and energy
and hence their more effective use for the
welfare OF society. They have lowered prices
and simultaneously improved the supply of
products and the method of their distribution.
New York Sun.
the recent campaign is that the New
York Sun has at last got openly and
aVowedly where it has really been for
years while masquerading as a Demo-
cratic paper. Ever since the tariff
became an issue, one of the an
noyances Democrats have been SUBJ
jected to was to see the Sun quoted by
Republican papers as that stalwart
Democratic journal" When Mr.. Dana
left the Republican party years ago
he brought with him the virus Of pro-
lection with which he was infected as
a Whig. When the tariff became
again an issue this virus broke out
and has made the Sun the opponent
of both the cause of reform and it's ad-
vocates.
1t now takes, in the above para
graph, the logical position of any
protectionist. If competition is so bad
thing that it must be excluded when
it comes from foreign lands, it follows,
with incontrovertible logic to it's bene-
ficiaries, that it Is equally a bad thing
when it appears within the charmed
domestic circle. Barred by the federal
constitution from suppressing competf-
ton by state barriers, the trust, reach
ing over state lines and controlling
the industry Of it's particular produc-
ton follows naturally and logically.
1t is the supplement of protection.
guarding the interior against COM
petition as the tariff guards the
ports and borders. He who iustifies
protection is driven by his sincerity Of
conviction to justify trusts. Mr.. Dana
is simply more conscientious and hon
est than his fellow Republicans who
affect a virtuOus indignation for the
product of their policy. Mr.. Blaine
felt the force Of this logic when. in
1888, he said that trusts are largely
private affairs with which neither the
president nor congress has any COM
Germ" While the country was sus-
tanning a protective policy the mass of
the voters had not been educated I'm
to it's logic and still retained a stupid
prejudice against these combinations
to restrict competition and preserve
harmony of prices. A consciousness of
this feeling has prevented other Re-
publicans from being as outspoken as
was Mr. Blaine and is Mr.. Dana, and
it was attempted to at once conciliate
prejudices and not impede the devel-
opment Of the trusts, by the passage
of the antitrust futility by congress
and the adoption of glittering gener-
alities in party platforms
If protection is to be the established
and enduring policy Of the country,
then let us accept its logic, and, instead
Of opposing trusts, denouncing them as
unmitigated evils, let US all join Mr..
Dana in praise Of their economic value,
and hail the development of each new
one as another indication Of our re-
markable progress in civilization If,
as in the case Of the nail trust, those
who have to use nails find the price
advanced from below dollar to $3.50
a key, let them, instead of complain
ing, thank their stars that they are
favored with citizenship in this great,
free republic. If they see the trust
selling nails to foreigners for $140 a
key, let them commiserate the poor
foreigner on being obliged to get
Cheap" and, therefore, nasty nails,
as both Mr.. Mckinley and ex-Presi-
dent Harrison insist all cheap things
are. This Will involve the abandon