The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-10-05

THE TRUST IN POLITICS.
The issue of the trusts is receiving
toward the close of the prevailing presi-
Dental election some measure of the at
tention which its gravity warrants. The
disposition shown to minimize the i'm
portance of the issue has not been con
CURED in by public sentiment; and the
result is now that both sides to the
great conflict are bitterly assailing each
other on their respective earnestness in
their professed opposition to the enorm-
Gus Industrial growths which are so fast
monopolzing the markets of the country
for most of the necessaries Of life.
No matter what the result Of the pre-
vaihng struggle may be the question of
the trusts will prove to be the real para
mount issue in the minds of the people.
The Republican party is committed both
by association of interest and by gen
eral backwardness in either legislative or
administrative action to comparative
friendliness toward the trusts. This in
to Republican advocates, and the most
strenuous efforts are being made to null
lily its possible effect. Harper's Weekly,
for instance, one of the most Intelligent
organs ofethe administration, devotes an
entire page under the caption, 1.-The
Trumped-up Trust Issue to-what is
manifestly intended as defense of the
Republican administration in this direc-
ton, It makes much ado over the fact
that the declaration of the Philadelphia
platform is not much behind that of the
Kansas City platform In its denunciation
of Illegal commercial and Industrial COM
binations and is, as it claires. far ahead
in intelligent treatment of the subject.
Tt declares that there is no party which
sustains or looks with tolerance upon
any conspiracy to monopolize trade, to
destroy competition, or artifcially to fix
hand and finished products or the other"
1t denies that the Republican party holes
brief for any such combinations; but
it does not advance a single argument or
statement of facts with which to negative
the almost universal belief that the Re-
publican party does hold just such
brief.
The main contention of the article in
Harper's Weekly is that there is prac-
tically no remedy whatever which the
federal authorities can apply to the evil
and that the remedy is to be found only
in the action of the state authorities.
This idea is embodied in the closing par
agraph of the article as follows:
''Is it not clear that the subject belongs
wholly to state regulation? Is 1t not
manifest that the very structure and con-
stitution of the republic forbid congress
and the president to deal with it at all,
except in very limited and necessarily in
effective ways? Is it not manifest that
any attempt on the part Of the national
authorities to assume the functions of
the several states in such matter would
he a revolutionary act of usurpation
distinctly and very dangerously imperial
ist'c In character?
This is surely a very weak, as well as
a very insincere plea. Tt may be of use
to holster up the very absurd political
trick resorted to by the present congress
to avoid the issue by passing a law pro-
viding for a constitutional amendment:
but it viii not do to cover up effectively
any failure that may exist on tie part
| Of the national authorities to prosecute
the existing trusts.
None denies that congress, under tho
interstate clause Of the constitution, has
the right to prevent any such combina-
| lions as will interfere with the freedom
! Of interstate commerce. And none is
BLING enough not to see that the trusts
in their operation are distinctly agents
Of interstate commerce. Save the ice trust
alone it would be pretty hard thing to
! discover 4 trust whose operations are
confined to the limits of one state. Can
| 1t be that there is not 81 single Illegal
combination engaged in trade among the
several states save the ADHESION Steel
Pipe trust and the railway combination.
both OF which were recently prosecuted
successfully in the federal courts? That
Suiei! 10 d lcSitIlstte inference from the
claims and contentious of the article here
. mentioned and generally from the con-
tentions of all those who assume the
apologize role toward the Mckinley ad-
ninistrationl in this behalf.
1t may be doubtful whether in any
event the trust evil will receive a sert-
Gus set back as the result Of the coming
election. But it is not at all doubtful
that the public sense is being aroused to
the dangers which the trusts are bringing
on the country, and that both parties
viii in the immediate future be compelled
To take this subject up, and wherever
either of them is In power take the no