The San Francisco call., 1899-05-26
LOVE FEAST OF
THE DEMOCRATS
Big AS5emblage at the
ST. Louis Banquet.
BRIGHT SCENE IN COLISEUM
BRYAN OF NEBRASKA THE
PRINCIPAL SPEAKER.
BRIGHT SCENE IN COLISEUM
Tells Of the Formation of Vast
Trusts During the Past Two
Years to Throttle All
Competition.
Special Dispatch to The Call.

ST. LOUIS, May 25.-Promptly at 6:45
o'clock this evening the caterers bell
rang, the band struck up the Stars
and Stripes Forever" an army Of wait
ers laden with viands appeared and
the mammoth Democratic antitrust
banquet was on, while the 1445 banquet
ers seated at the tables broke into a
tremendous cheer, rising in a body and
waving the small hand flags which had
been provided at each cover.
The vast arena of the Coliseum was
filled with long tables tastefully dec
Grated with roses, lilies of the valley
and carnations. The table of honor was
placed on raised platform at the
north side of the arena and at it were
seated Hon. w. J. Bryan, Ex-Governor
John P. Altgeld, o. III. P. Belmont. NJ.
c. Wetmore, Harry B. Hawes, presi-
dent of the jefferson Club. under whose
auspices the dinner was given: Hon.
Champ Clark, Hon. David A. de Ar
mond and a number of other prominent
Democrats.
The tables were decorated through
| out with flags and in the center of each
was fixed a large silver shield.
The dinner was concluded at o'clock
No speeches were made during the ban
quet. 1t was strictly. a love feast. By
the time the tables were cleared the
5000 seats of the amphitheater were filled
with spectators representing the society
of st. Louis and the speaking began.
| The first speaker of the evening was
Harry 3. Hawes, president of the JEFF
ferson Club, who delivered the address
of welcome.
President Hawes was followed by
Hon. Champ Clark of Missouri, who
presented the State and district ban
ners in the name of the State Commit
tee. Mr.. Clark was greeted with tre-
mendous ovation.
Trusts and Democracy occupied
Colonel NJ. c. Wetmore of ST. Louis but
a few minutes. His remarks were
greeted with cheers.
He was followed by Hon. David
DeArmond of Missouri, who spoke upon
The Trust and Its Parents" The
parents of the trust, according to the
speaker. are the protective tariff ia
vored by the Republicans and the par
tiality which he claimed that party has
ever shown to corporation interests.
When Mr.. Hawes arose to introduce
Mr.. Bryan he was greeted with ap
plause, and the applause which met Mr..
Bryan was of the most fiattering de-
scription. The cheers drowned the
music of the band, which struck up
Hold the Fort" as he advanced to the
front of the rostrum. Mr.. Bryan said,
in part:
An actor who visited Nebraska recently.
on learning from a Republican that con-
ndence had been restored, remarked that
he examined Webster's dictionary to learn
fidence defined as trust and then he
understood that confidence had been real
ly restored. More trusts have been
formed during the past two years than
existed hpPinninp ba
administration, and the nominal capital
ization of the trusts now in existence ap-
the worlds total supply in gold and sill
Yer. The influence of these trusts has
become so enormous that the people with
out respect to party are asking them
selves how the evil can be remedied
The purpose of the trusts is to control
the product of some article of merchan-
disc, and the methods employed are-first,
the union of all individual factories un-
der one management or in one corpora
ton, and, second, the crushing of new
rivals. A monopoly when once complete
not only dictates terms to those who buy
the product but it 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 a landed aris-
tocracy would.
The principle of monopoly is incompati-
bic with our institutions. Mans necessi-
ties 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 be-
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 q power to destroy. A monop-
oily possesses the power to tax; it can
levy such assessments as 1t will upon the
purchaser, and we can no more afford to
permit such a power to be exercised by
private individuals than we could afford
to authorize a private individual to use
the machinery Of taxation in order to en-
rich himself at the expense of his fellows:
The Government would be guilty Of
gross neglect If 1t permitted an individual
to, secure monopoly, even WITHOUT leg
isaYe Is bN put 1t is II s
the means by which monopoly is Sc
cured. The corporation is the. means
now employed by those who seek to Sc
is fictitious person, created by law the
power that creates can regulate, restrain
ent 0l Is innotent to d preVent e ' the organ-
zation of trusts is to say it has called
into existence fictitious person and that
the fictitious person created has become
greater than the creator.
One of the difficulties which has been
encountered in opposing trusts is that the
trust hides behind the Federal constItu-
ton when attacked by State legislation
and shields itself behind it's State charter
when attacked by the Federal Courts. No
remedy will be complete that is not CO.
extensive with the Federal Government.
If the extinguishment Of the trusts Is left
to State legislation the public at large will
he victmized as long as a single State will
furnish a robbers roost where the spoils
collected in other States can be divided.
Just now people are startled by the
principle of monopoly as it manifests it
self in the industrial trust and well may
they be startled. The principle, however.
Is the same as that winch manifests itself
III the effort of the national bankers to Sc
cure a monopoly Of the issue of paper
money.
ALL EFFORTS TO FLOAT
THE PARIS FAILURES