The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-09-15
FIRST GUN Is FIRED
IOWA GUBERNATORIAL CAMPAIGN
OPENED BY THE DEMOCRATIC
NOMINEE
TRUSTS AND IMPERIALISM
MIR. White Devotes the Greater Part
of His Remarks to Those Topics,
Referring to the Money Question
Briefly, just Before CIosing-Im-
perialtsm a New Menace to Amer
lean Liberty.

DAVENPORT. To-. Sept. 1.-THE Iowa
gubernatorial campaign was opened to-
night with a meeting in this city address
ed by Fred White, Democratic nominee
His speech was confined largely to a
condemnation Of trusts and Imperialism.
leaving the subject of finances almost I'M
touched. He said in part:
'The rapid multiplication of trusts.
which. II not speedily arrested. must end
in radically revolutionizing our state of
society by eliminating all competitive in
dustries and individualisrn, and substitu-
serfdom. Is a truth. becoming every day
so self-evident that it,efs forcing itself
even into unwilling minds. This truth
mas stimulated inquiry and discussion;
apprehension. and these in turn are cui-
minating in protests and murmurings
among the voters. This has so frightened
the Republican politicians that heSe in
Iowa they are pretending to resort to
the heroic remedy of imploring the bless
ings of the natural laws of the world.
Inc Republican party thus puts Itself
upon record as praying for delfyerar1ce
from the destructive Consequences of its
own acts by invoking the beneicient ac-
ton Of the very law-the law of nature
which for over thirty years this party
has boastfully and systematically vio-
lated
The trust evil. as any other evil, is
durable only when the active causes that
produce it are eradicated. You can as
easily conquer intemperance by continu-
ing the drink habit, as easily. subdue the
flame by feeding 1t OIL as to crush out
the trusts by yEleaving untouched the act
nation. Three potential causes exist, un-
der the joint operation Of which the
trust evil so Justify flourishes. One is q
natural cause. has always existed, and
w IL n
with. The other two are purely artificial
causes, and are far easier of solution The
natural cause is mans everlasting, un-
reasoning avariceousness. The two artifi-
cial are. first. the protective tariff and
second: railroad discrimination. 1t Is
self-evident that If mans greed be given
full latitude that some. trusts could ex-
ist even if we had no tariff or railroad
discrimination.
IF I had the power I should promptly
remove the two artificial causes by re.
pealing. first, the trust fostering part cf
the tariff; and. second. by bringing about
government ownership of railroads This
latter 1 should certainly not do from
choice, but from actual necessity If I
could be convinced that it was possible
to enact and inforce laws that would so
regulate railways as to Serve and pre-
serve the public interest; that would do
Justice not only to the railroads. but
then 1 would certainly be one of the last
to seek to disturb private and corporate
ownership. for I verify believe in the JEFF
fersonian doctrines that the spirit of pri-
vate enterprise should Sbe given the wild
est field consistent with the public good.
But all our experience for twenty-five
years has been so invariably disappoint-
ing in trying to regulate these public car
riers that all earnest students of this
question are concluding that government
ownership is the only yssofution of the rail-
way problem.
ISSUE OF IMPERIALISM.
"In the Incredibly short time of a few
months a new political issue has been
formulated and thrust upon US; which
so far as the Democratic party is con-
cerned is not of our seeking. From the
very beginning we have earnestly
sought to avert it. The question bluntly
S ated is this Shall we as a nation con-
tinue in the future asxin the past to fol-
low Washington's advice, Avoid all for
eiign entangling alliancffs;;' shall we en-
ploy our energies in the promotion of
the good of our own people; shall we
continue to cling to- the policy which
for century and quarter has guided
our feet and under which, in spite CT
maladministration, we have developed
into the foremost people upon this
planet; shall we hold fast to that which
or shall we deliberately put out the
light that. has guided our feet-purposely
take hazardous leap into the dark, re-
verse the traditions, reWrite the history
treaties and foreign alliances and reck-
lessly, plunge into the jungle?
"All at once, with, scarcely time to
think. this issue. of Imperialism, which
from the very nature of the case, in view
Of the momentous consequences which
must Immediately and necessarily begin
to follow, has become so transcendentally
important that We are safe in saying it
sweeps temporarily aside all other ques-
tions. If We cannot now settle it. we are
sure to find a solution for the money
question in the near fu ure. If we can
not at once suppress the trusts, we are
certain to reach the point when the peo-
pie will be anxious to unite in the patri-
otic duty of unhorsing their oppressors
If we cannot now have justice done us
by railway managers, our patience and
fortitude will oualifK us to await the not
distant day of souT deliverance. All
other questions cam wai.S but the issue
Of impel ialism. must be Settied at once
The nature of theS question Is such it
cannot be postponed
IF any man wants To- endorse the Nc
Kinley policy of .oriminaI aggression he
can SO declare by vo; ing "a Republican
ticket, for that party IS It's select and
special champion. Whoever. wants an
end put to the continuance of this crime