The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-09-17


over you and thank God that you still
have some life left?S Is that the only
remedy?
81 do not believe it necessary for Us
to sit down quietly and permit a great
aggregation of wealth to strangle every
competitor. l do not believe that it is
in accord with our dignity as a people
or in accordance with the rights of the
people, to say because a great corpora
ton is organized that therefore il
should be permitted to go into the field
of new corporation, undersell it until
it bankrupts it, raising the money by
higher prices somewhere else. l do
not think it is necessary for us to do
that. / have only suggested a plan.
1t may not be the best plan.
Anxious For Anything.
'If you have anything better, pro-
pose it. If there is any amendment that
you can think of that will improve it,
suggest it. l am anxious to accept
anything.
Let me suggest one other thing that
believe will be step in the right di-
rection. The great trouble has been
that while our platforms denounce cor
porations, corporations control the cleo
tons and place under obligation to
them the men who are elected to en-
force the law. (Applause.)
Let me propose a remedy-not a.
remedy, but a step, | think, in the right
direction. Let the laws, state and ma
tional, make it a penal offense for any
corporation to contribute to the cam
paign fund of any political party.
Continued cheers and applause). Ne
braska has such a law passed two
years ago. Tennessee has such a law,
passed two years ago. Such law
passed, or was introduced, in the state
of New York, but so far it has not
reached the stage of actual law in the
state of New York. Oaughter)
Step In Right Direction.
Now belive it is a step in the
right direction. You remember the
testimony taken before a senate com
mittee few years ago when the head
of the sugar trust testified that the
sugar trust made it its business to con-
tribute to campaign funds; and when
asked to which one it contributed, he
replied that it depended upon circum-
stances. To which one do you con-
tribute in Massachusetts? was asked.
To the Republican fund To which
fund in New York p TO the Demo-
cratic. fund To which fund in New
Jersey?' And the man said: Well,
will have to look at the books-that is
a doubtful state CONTINUED laughter
and applause.)
Now, that is almost literal repro
duction of the testimony of one great
corporation on the subject of campaign
contribution. do not mean to say that
that remedy would be a complete one,
but 1 believe that when you prevent a
corporation from contributing to cam
paign funds, that you take a step in
the right direction toward better legis-
lation, because some corporations are
compelled to contribute.
Corporations Are Blackmailed.
"They are blackmailed into contribu-
tons and such a law would protect a
corporation that did not want to con-
tribute and also prevent a corporation
from contributing that did want to
contribute. If the people are in earnest,
they can do it, and you could never do
anything in this country Until the peo-
pie are in earnest and when the Amer
lean people understand what the mo-
nopoly questions means, l believe that
there will be no power, political, finan-
cial or otherwise to prevent the peo-
pie from taking possession of every
branch of government from president
to the supreme court and making the
government responsible to the peoples
will Great cheers and applause)