The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-07-05


the right to contract we reply that there
ere many laws which violate such right,
such as the law against usury, gaming,
doing business on Sunday etc, and The
wisdom of these laws has never been sue
cesstuly assailed. No man or corporation
has the inherent right to make contracts
in violation of public policy or contrary
to the interests of humanity, and the right
to lesislate against mcnopoiies is as old
as the history of jurisprudence. This right
was known to the Roman and Grecian
peoples 1000 years ago, and TO our Eng
Hsh, French and German ancestors hum
dreds of years ago. But it Is said the
trusts benefit humanity by reducing the
price to the consumer of the article man
ulactured Recent experience in the for
nation of trusts prove this not true, but
the reverse is. This cannot be true for
what is saved in the expense by consoH-
daton is more than 4ost in the interest
charges on the water in the stocks and
bonds which is always injected into The
trusts as profits to the promoters ana
brokers who float the scheme, aEd to pay
for Improbable plants which must be shut
down OF course, the interest on these
watered bonds and stock must be added
10 the costs of the article and recent eX-
perience in nearly every instance has
shown the price of the article was imme-
dately advanced over former prices. If
this be true, then the only plausible arsu-
ment yet advanced by the trust is found
TO be unsound, and they serve no purpose
except to crush labor and pluck mankind.
1t is impossible for an Individual to com
pete with them, for it would not only be
to engage in a struggle with a competitor
having superior capital, but with one
clothed by Jaw with privileges and fran
chises he did not possess. It would be an
Individual attempting to fight system,
with o n nc IaUbt " a
This fear of monOpoies on the part
of the American people is no idle fear.
No man of sense wishes to return TO the
day of the shoemaker with his awl, his
pegs and his last for a supply of shoes.
and yet there are thousands of good citi-
zens who would view with alarm the sight
of one trust controlling the output of every
shoe factory in the United States No sen
sibie man wishes to 90 back to the days
of the old and cumbersome stage coach
as q means of transportation, and yet
there are several millions of voters and
good citizens, too who would protest We
hemenuy against one trust controlling
every mile of railroad in our country.
There is a conservative middle ground be-
tween lack of progress on the one hand
and gigantic monopoies on the other, and
we plant ourselves upon this solid ground
There are others, however, who might
also be alarmed. 1t is q fact well known
ito lawyers that the legal profession is be-
coming more and m ore <commercia.ized
every day. That thousands of lawyers
who were once Independent practitioners
are now mere employees of corporations;
and the profession is fast losing that fear
less independent character it had a gen
Grafton ago. When practically all the
wealth of the country shall have drifted
into few trusts, what will become of
the lawyers? 1t requires no gift of pro
4f91f in tIa t1,-y~ l1,
are fortunate enough to remain in the
profession will become mere employees
without independence or Individuality
Trust companies to manage litigation will
be formed by the trusts owning the prop
erty, who will employ attorneys to attend
to the legal proceedings very much as a
railroad company employees a brake
being done by some companies is well
known. And what is true of the drum
mers and lawyers viii be found to be true
of many other callings and professions.
None can feel safe while these gigantic
consultations are going on, controlling the
products of the farm, factory and work.
shop, and even the native elements.
He was followed by ex-Congressman
Asher G. Caru h of Kentucky, who said in
part:
eighteen hundred and ninety-sx is in
our rear; 1900 is in front of US. II is useless
for us to talk of the causes of the defeat
in 1896. We know that we cast nearly
100000 more Democratic votes than were
ever given to our candidates for President
before, and yet we lost. Everything that
human ingenuity could cOntrive, every ex-
pSdient which desperation could suggest
were used in order TO corrupt the fran
chise and to secure the presidency of the
republic. il is not necessary to partic-
ularize. but The 'votingest' people in the
1 In
out of every three Of the population was
voter in 1895, a proportion startling,
previously unhoard of and grossly untrue
Take old Kentucky, my state, which gave
Bryan in 1896 2l7 900 votes to 175000 votes
given Cleveland in 1892, an increase of A.
000 and yet, in 1892 we carried the state
by 10000, and lost it by 2S1 in 1896 1t was
moned and corporate powers of this coun-
try to accomplish the defeat of the will OF
the people by false clamor and failing in
that by a false count But 1896 lies in
the past, and no regret, repentance or re-
pining, can bring it back again.
Let us cease to lament for that we can
not help,
And study help for that which we la
ment.'
nineteen hundred is before us. and to
that year we must turn for succor.
I'VE cannot men of Tammany expect
that 6.5O3.CG0 votes OF this country will ig-
more the principles for which they cast
their suffrageS less than three short years
ago. Although defeat came to them,
Democrats over this country believe, or,
at east. majority of them believe, ana
democracy is but the viii Of the major
ity, that The platform. laid down in Chi
cago in 1895 states The cardinal doctrines
of the Democratic faith, and on that plat
nrrt,s h, -f