Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1900-11-01
non. (. B. WHITE AND TRUSTS.

HON. A. b. WHITE AND TRUSTS.
The Register is in receipt of the
following communication from Hon.
A. B. White, still Collector of Interna:
Revenue for the District of West Vir-
ginia. and Republican candidate for
Governor of the State:
WHEELING, w. Va. Oct 81. 1900.
TO the Editor of the Register.
;slr:-Your Parkersburg correspondent
deliberately and maliciously lies about me
in your issue Of this date in an alleged re-
port of my Bellevlle meeting. 1t Is sim
piy old-fa shione5, out-and-out lying. with
out a shadow of foundation. | never said
at BeIleville or elsewhere that there are
no trusts" l never said that there are
corporations in this State, but there is no
such thing as a trust" and no one in my
audience there or elsewhere propounded
any such question as your correspondent
states.
I did discuss the trust question. de-
fined what / considered trust to be in
the popular acce ptat!on of the term.
also discussed the remedy for the trusts,
and advocated a constitutional amend
ment and other remedial legislation
re- pect:ully.
A. B. WHITE.
Mr.. White admits that he discussed
the trust question. but that he never
uttered the langl age attributed to him.
That is simply d question of yeraclty
between him and our correspondent,
ana right here. atsthe outset. the Reg
IN Y
White and all others concerned. In
any degree. that the Register does not
believe that its correspondent was
guilty OF the prevarication charged by
Mr.. White; and to further say that all
correspondents of the Register have
the distinct understanding that only
the truth is to be reported, whether
the matter in hand may be politics or
ANYTHING else, and nothing else will
be tolerated. The Register is news
paper. and has a deserved reputation
in that direction. There is a complete
and absolute divorce between its news
columns and the editorial comment
upon the news. We do not believe
our correspondent telegraphed a lie,
as Mr. White delicately puts it. On
the contrary, we have every reason to
believe that the report was substantial
ly or entirely correct.
AS to trusts: Will Mr.. White kindly
state where he stands? Mr.. Hanna,
Mr.. Whites big political boss, and the
presiding genus of the so-called Re-
publican party, says there are no
trusts. Senator Spooner, in his adj
dresses all along the Ohio river, main
kained that there were no trusts
within the meaning of the law" fol-
lowing the cue given by Senator Han
ma, and he further asserted that Mark
Hanna WIS right in his Interpretation
of the situation. Other prominent adj
ministratt{e speakers have taken the
same ground. But Mr.. White admits
there are trusts, because he says, in
the letter printed above, Il also dis
cussed the remedy for the trusts, and
advocated a Constitutional amend
ment, and other remedial legislation"
Minority Senator N. B. Scott also says
that trusts are in existence, and adds
that they are "a good thing"
Mr.. Hanna denies and Mr.. White as
serts. We are free to say We prefer
to believe Mr. White, in this particu
lar matter. rather than Mr.. Hanna.
But what re1ledy does Mr.. White
propose for an evil he admits is in
existence? A Constitutional amend
ment and other remedial legislation.
What, in the nam OF conscience and
common sense, is Mr.. Whites concep-
ton of public intelligence? He must
hold it at very low estimate. He
knows that the peo Die know that with
n Republican majG ity in both houses
of Congress, his party has steadily
iegislated in favor of the trusts, and
has distinctly failed and refused to en-
act that "other remedial legislation"
he says he is in favor Of The Re-
publican party has had its opportun-
ity, and under the re yime now happily
to be ended by the people, the trusts
have flourished like a green bay tree.
Mr.. White proposes a Constitutional
amendment. as one of his remedies for
an evil Mark Hanna and Senator
Spooner insist does not exist Why
did not the Republican administration
and Congress enact proper laws
when they saw the rising tide of
monopolies, two years ago, or even one
year ago? There was yet abundant
time, and warning was not lacking,
for the handwriting was on the wall.
Yet no supporter of the administra-
tion lifted either hand or voice or cast
a vote in the direction of that
remedial legislation" which Mr..
White suggests at about four minutes
before the twelfth hour has struck
Mr.. White admits in his letter that
he did discuss the trust question"
Does he recall that at Cam IRON, w.
II, ~, 4bo octh Of Ootohar 1Qan ba