The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-05-26
ANTITRUST BANQUET.
Big Coliseum Was Crowded With
Friends of Democracy.

Big Coliseum Was Crowded With
Friends of Democracy.
ST. LOUIS, Mo-, May 25.-Promptly at
Gas this evening the band struck up 1.-The
Stars and Stripes Forever and the NAM
moth Democratic antitrust banquet was
on, while the LAS banquetters seated at
| the tables broke into tremendous cheer
rising in body and waving the small
| hand flags that had been provided at
| each cover.
The vast arena of the Coliseum was
| filled with long tables, tastefully decor
| ated with roses, lilies of the valley and
carnations. The table of honor was
placed on a raised platform at the north
/ side of the arena and at 1t were seated
| Hon. w. ]. Bryan, ex-Gov. John P. Alt
| geld, o. H. P. Belmont, w. G. Wetmore,
| Harry B. Hawes, president of the Jeffer-
| son club, under whose auspices the din
| ner was given; Hon. Champ Clark Hon.
other prominent Democrats. The Coli
scum was decorated throughout with
| flags and in the center Of these was
| fixed a large silver shield
The dinner was concluded at s o'clock.
| No speeches were made during the ban
quet. By the time the tables were
| cleared the 5000 seats of the amphi-
theater were filed with spectators repre-
| senting the society of St. Louis, and the
| speaking began. The first speaker of
| the evening was Harry b. Halves, presi-
| dent of the Jefferson club, who de-
| livered the address of welcome.
Mr.. Halves gave but a few words to
imperialism, declaring that 1t and the ac-
QUESTION of foreign territory are foreign
to the policy of the Democracy.
President Halves was followed by
Hon. Champ Clark, of Missouri, who pre-
| sented the state and district banners in
the name of the state committee. Mr..
Clark was greeted with tremendous ova-
ton. He said in part:
In 1900 we will express ''the unyielding
principles of Democracy in this wise:
!. We will not only reafirm, but re-
adopt the Chicago platform of 1896, word
for word, syllable by syllable, abating
neither jot nor title of that second Dec
laration of Independence.
2. We will put into our platform as
strong an antitrust plank as the Ameri-
can language can make-the American
language, mark you, not the English
which will restore to every citizen of this
Republic the inalienable right to earn
his bread in the sweat of his face, which
will guarantee to every laborer the en-
! joyment of all his wages, and which will
once more make possible that competi-
ton which was supposed to be the life
| of trade until the Republican party Gre
ated a countless brood of trusts which
| are sucking the life-blood of the great
| best way for congress to smash the
trusts is to place upon the free list all
| things used or made or sold by the
! trusts. Then let both congress and state
| legislatures make it a penitentiary Of
| fense to form, conduct or be interested
| in trust, and these cancerous. excres-
cenSeS will be Topped from the body poll
| tic.
g. We will declare emphatically and
/ unequivocally in favor of the preserva-
| ton of the Monroe doctrine in all its
vigor and against the criminal idiocy of
corrupting and destroying our institu-
| tions by making American citizens out
| of ten million heather Malays under the
| equator.
T. We will declare in unmistakable Ian
| guage that we will put sudden stop to
the wicked and wanton waste Of the
| peoples money, which, as evidenced by
| the recklessness of the fifty-ffth con-
gress, amounts to practical confiscation
g. We will proclaim our everlasting
hostility to government by the sword
and government by Injunction, both Of
| which are being foisted upon the country
for the benefit and at the behest of the
| trusts and jobbers Of every degree.
| In the impending campaign, he that
| is not for US is against us. There can
be no shuff1ing, no double-dealing, no
riding of two horses, going in opposite
| directions, no foraging between lines.
Trusts and Democracy" occupied Col
| w. c. Wetrnore. of st. Louis, but few
minutes His remarks~w were greeted with
cheers. He was followed by Hon. David
de Almond, of Missouri, who spoke upon
Trust and It's Parents" When Mr..
Hawes arose to introduce Mr. Bryan he
was greeted with cheers and the ap-
plause which greeted Mr.. Bryan was of
| the most f1attering description. The
| cheers drowned the music of the band
| which struck up Hold the Fort" as he
advanced to the rostrum.
MR. BRYAN ON TRUSTS.
In the course of his speech Mr.. Bryan
said:
AN actor who visited Nebraska, re-
that confidence had been restored re-
marked that he had examined Webster s
dictionary to learn what confidence
trust, and then he understood that con-
| f1dence had been really restored. More
| trusts have been formed during the two
last years than existed at the beginning
of the present administration, and the
! nominal capitalization of the trus, g now
In existence approaches, If 1t does not
equal In amount the total supply of
gold and silver. The influence of these
| trusts has become SO enormous that the
| people, without respect to party, are ask
ing themselves how the evil can be rem
| ed1ed. The purpose OF the trusts is to
control the product Of some article of
merchandise and the methods employed
are union of all individual factories un-
ton and the crushing out of new rivals.
| A monopoly, when once complete, not
only dictates terms to those who buy the
| product, but 1t also dictates terms to
those who sell the raw material, and to
| those who furnish the labor. If the trusts
are permitted to continue, we shall find
| an industrial aristocracy growing up in
| the United States which will prove as
| destructive of our ideals as landed
aristocracy would
"The principle Of monopoly Is incompat-
ible with our institutions Mans neces-
sites compel him to become a purchaser
and where there is but one seller the pur.
chaser is completely at the mercy of the
seller Where there is competition he
| tween producers the purchaser is sure to
obtain what he wants at a reasonable
price When competition is eliminated
the price is controlled, not by reason.
but by the greed Of the one who possesses
the monopoly.
1T has been said that the power to
tax is power to destroy. A monopoly
| possesses the power to tax and lew as.
| SeSsments as 1t will upon the purchaser.
and we can no more afford to permit such
power to be exercised by private indi-
| viduals to use the machinery of taxation
| in order to enrich himself at the expense
of his fellows. The government would
be guilty of gross neglect If it permit
ted an individual to secure a monopoly,
Z even without giving assistance but it is
more palpable If by legislative acts it fur
nishes the means by which e monopoly
is secured. The corporation is the means
now employed by those who seek to Sc
| cure a monopoly. Since the corporation
is a condition created by law, the DOW
er that creates it can restrain, prohibit
or annihilate II. =,
| zone of the difficulties which has haar