The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1900-04-03

vaults full of trust certificates that do not
represent . cents on the dollar on the
actual capital (Applause) And when you
want to destroy the truss-the lndus,riaI
trust-you have got the same enemies
which you have when you try TO destroy
the standard money trust. ,,.-,- ~.
Why, ]. G. Mitchell, OF the Illinois trust
Company, of Chicago, gave out an inter
view while back. and in that interview ne
said that in the long run the trust Gan 90
no harm. What a consolation that Is 70 a
run. Uaughter)
Suppose that some young man starts IN
business. He has honesty. he mas eNnerl-
ence he has knowledge. he has sufhcient
capital under ordinary circumstances, put
tomorrow some aggregation OF wealth. mat
seeks a monopoly OF that particular BRANCH
of industry, comes and taps ntm on the
shoulder and gives him his choice between
bankruptcy and a conspiracy against nj.
fellows. What about the man whc slneIS
bankruptcy before the run Is eompleted'
what of the man who Is the victim or eX-
toruon while the run lasts Inc SlaHd ifd
Oil Company has raised the price OF OIL
or cents 4 gallon. and declared diVi-
dend of 70 per cent. on its nominal capltal.
But, don't worry, in the long run Il can
do no harm. The barhed wire trust has
raised the price OF barbed wire 100 per cent.
and declared a dividend of 80 per cent, on
its common stock. But don't worry about
II, in the long run the trust can 90 no
harm. Yes, my friends, while those aggrc-
cations are gathering together the various
industries in each great line. the time is
approaching when few men viii have
controlled the price OF ell that you buy;
the price of all the raw material which yo;
sell; of the wages paid to labor While all
this is going on. you need not worry, IN
the long run the trust can do no harm.
That is the answer that you get back, and
your administration created by those cor
poratons. stands inactive while the people
are plundered.
Republicans you did not believe that
trusts meant anything in 1896. You can't
doubt now but that IL means something,
uY.1 he loo V4pr fu sta a.
sor for the trusts II is the defender OF
them. Sometimes l wonder whether Re
pubicans read the Bible, as l see the
effect of some Of their policies, When l
see how carefully the Republican party is
looking after that great power that
brought the administration into existence.
how it remembers and takes care of those
combinations of capital, am sure there
is one passage in the Bible that the Re-
publican leaders have read. Remember
now thy creator in the days of thy
hering those great financial forces that
created 1t.
Il have suggested a remedy that ! be-
lieve will be complete one. Every cor
poration is n creature OF law, and congress
has the power to fix the terms and condi-
tons upon which interstate commerce is
carried on, and as monopoly in private
hands has always been an outlaw, con-
gress has power to place upon interstate
commerce such restrictions as may be
necessary to protect the people from mo-
nopoy. The state can do something, and
1t ought to do all that 1t can. l believe
that congress should supplement the work
of the state and should see that before any
corporation, organized in Washington or
Nebraska, or any other state. does busi-
ness outside of the state, 1t must take out
n license from the federal government
which will permit 1t 10 do business outside
of the state, but In accordance with the
laws of any other state in which ii was TO
do business, and let that license DE grant
ed on conditions which will make a mo-
nopoly impossible. Now as to the condi
tons; first, squeeze the water out of the
stock of the corporations. See that no cor
poration organized in any state shall re-
ceive license to do business outside OF
the state until It shows that there is no
water in the stock Of the corporation; that
1t is an honest, bona tide corporation, en-
gagged in an honest business. Second let
the evidence show that the corporation
has not attempted in the past, and is not
attempting to monopolze any branch OF
business or the production of any article
of merchandise, and then provide for the
revocation of the license If the conditions
are violated: and | believe you can pre-
vent the formation of a monopoly and
DESTROY all those in existence"