The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-02-03

The Washington Branch OF the Ameri
can Antitrust League held a mass meet
ing at Masonic Temple last evening
The hall was well filled. and upon tn
stage were seated Senators Allen an
Heltfeia. former Senator Call Hon E r
Turner, Hon William Suffer- Hon. e. r
Ridgely. P. T. Moran. Gen William
Brendle, Hon. Richard Lacey, Hon a. B
Lipscomb. L. A. Newman. Rev. Alexan
der. Kent, and H. B. Martin. The latte
acted as temporary chairman and intro
duced Mr.. Suizer as the chairman OF tbs
evening
Mr.. Sulzer opened the evening with
vigorous address, in which he denounced
trusts as a whole and many in particular
saying that ali trusts were bad and some
worse than others.
'In my opinion" he said, every trust
is bad, because every trust is a criminal
organization, and If the Attorney General
of the United States did his duty not a
trust would exist today. There is a full
and complete remedy in the first section
only requires an Attorney General who is
not the hireling of trust Administration,
owned by a Cleveland believer in trusts
to administer the law and remove the
monster. Mark Hanna says that trusts
are a good thing and the people will like
them when they get used TO them. am
glad the press is represented here. be-
cause | want every trust to know what /
think of them ! know what | am talking
about. | have made a pretty deep study
of this business. The value of the eoun-
try's wealth. based upon the result of the
Eleventh Census, is s65 900 005, o0e. dis
tributed among 75.000,000 of popula-
ton. OF this enormous sum, more than
one-half is owned by less than $4,000 peo-
pie in this country There were few
years ago more than 100000 travelling
statesmen in this country, today there are
less than half that number The rest have
been thrown out of work by the trusts.
Do you know about the Amalgamated Cop
per ztock? That stock was capitalized far
above its real value and the subscriptions
poured in like a flood-tide. What did the
Standard Oil Company then do? They
tipped OF the banks not to make loans on
the stock, and the banks followed their
orders. The stock dropped and millions
were deliberately stolen from the pockets
OF the people. Then the Standard Oil
Company bought it all in and up 1t went
They are right nice people. They know
how to push good thing along. It's an
easy thing TO make fortune in Wall
Street IL you know how. All you need is
a good promoter. q national bank. and the
United States Treasury back OF you with
Secretary Gage at the rudder, and YOU
have the proper combination.
There is the American Steel and Wire
Company. That company was organized
with a capital of 500 900. 600, and one of
the organizers told me 1t was not worth
600. That company sold wire TO
England for so per cent less than it sold
It for in the United States.
1.-THE law on the statute books against |
trusts is clear and plain, and the highest |
court in the land has passed on II and |
sustained it. The antitrust act Of 1890 |
declares that every contract or combina- |
ton in the nature of a trust in restraint |
of trade and commerce among the sew
eral States or with foreign nations is a
conspiracy-illegal and void, and punish
able by fine and imprisonment
Under the act IL seems TO me every
trust in the United States can be prose-
cuted for violation of law. the charter an
nulled and the men behind it punished for
conspiracy. Every trust is in restraint of
trade and commerce.
III you Will read the act OF 1890 and the
decisions OF the United States Supreme
Court in the Trans Missouri Freight case
and the Addyston Pipe Line case the con-
clusion will be irresistible that the fault is |
not so much with the law as it is with the
men who are sworn to enforce the law. The
law is all right: the Attorney General
all wrong. Enforce the law and every
trust in the country viii dissolve.
THE people who oppose and condemn
trusts will receive no encouragement and
no relief from this trust-ridden and trust
owned Administration.
1.-THE Republican party In all its power
stands fearlessly for trusts. and is openly
and boldly supported by trusts Every trust
for President in 1896 and every trust will
zealously and loyalty aid him in 1900. II
you ask what for, ! answer for value re-
ceived. for the blessing OF a pliable and
eomplacent Secretary OF the Treasury and
Attorney General, for a lively sense OF
favors yet TO come, and. above and beyond
all, for Mark Hanna, who runs the Re-
publican machine. for the benefit of the
trusts, and who turned down quickly an !
honest and fearless Attorney General in
Ohio who was brave enough TO do his duty
and courageous enough TO make an at
Tempt TO enforce the law against the STANG
ard OIL Trust-the greatest, the most re-
ientless, and cold-blooded monopoly Of
them ALL"
Senator William V Allen OF Nebraska .
followed Mr.. Sulzer. He said that he was
neither Democrat nor a Republican.
u wash my hands of both parties" he I
said. Il am q Populist We do not like (
trusts. and II the people would not tolerate S
them they could not exist. The remedy is a
In the ballot box. Go 10 the polls in next {
November and cast your vote against the {
present trust-ridden Administration. and I
Tou viii have remedled the evil of these
gigantic corporations and their purchased !
press. Redeem the country by the ballot L
believe in reducing every natural monop- I
by To Government ownership. This Is why s
am not a Democrat. j am victim OF d
trusts. and am pretty well Informed about {
heir ways. Free coinage is the true solu- v
ion of the money question, and the solu- 8
ion of that question is the solution Of all r
'tifers ] believe that the man who re- {
mains away from the polls should be dis C
ranchised, for the man who remains away v
rom the polls enthrones The very power 4
hat will destroy him and his family" d
Capt. Patrick O'Farrell spoke, as did c
lso John G. Devine. and Hon. T. r. Rids- v
ey closed the debate with short but
orceful speech declaring that the trust Y
ssue would be paramount In the autumn o
lection Ia