Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1900-09-17

mental system and would therefore dis.
arrange all the vast and delicate ma@
chlnery Of our complex industrial life.
above ALL the effect would be ruinous to
our accounas If we are to prosper, tha
currency of this country must be based
upon the gold dollar, worth one hundred
cents. The stability of our currency has
been greatly increased by the excellent
financial act passed by the last congress.
But no law can secure our finances
against the effect of unwise and disas-
trous management in the hands Of un-
friendly administrations. No party can
safely be entrusted with the manage
ment of our national affairs unless it ac-
cepts as automatic the truths recognized
in all progressive countries as essential
to sound and proper system OF finance.
In their essence these must be the same
for all great civilized peoples. In differ-
ent stages of development, different
| countries face varying economic condi-
tiOns but at every stage and under all
circumstances the most important e'e-
| ment in securing their economic Well-be-
ing is the sound finance and honest
money. So intimate is the connection
sound currency that the former is jeop-
| ardized not merely by unsound finance
but by the very threat of unsound
| finance. The business man and the farms
| er are vitality interested in this question:;
| but no mans interest is so great as that
| of the wage worker. deprecated cur-
| rency means loss and disaster to the busi-
ness man; but it means grim suffering to
| the wage worker. The capitalist will lose
much of his capital and will suffer
| Wearying anxiety and the loss of many
comforts; but the wage worker who loses
| his wages must suffer and see his wife
| and children suffer, for the actual neces-
| sites Of life. The one absolutely vital
| need of our whole Industrial system is
sound money.
! THE TRUST PROBLEM.
One of the serious problems with
which we are confronted under the cons
ditions of our modern Industrial civilza-
ton is that presented in the great busi-
ness combinations, which are generally
known under the name of trusts
The problem is an exec dinghy difficult
! one and the difficulty is immensely ag-
| gravated, both by honest but wrong at
| tacks on our whole industrial system in
the effort to remove some of the evils
connected with it, and by the mischiev-
| Gus advice of men, who either think
crookedly or who advance remedies
knowing them to be ineffective, but
deeming that they may, by darkenng
counsel, achieve for themselves a spu-
| rlOus reputation for wisdom. No good
whatever is subserved by indiscriminato
denunciations of corporations gener-
! ally, and of all forms of industrial com-
binations in particulars; and when this
public denunciation is accompanied by
| private membership in the great corr
/ porations denounced the effect is Of
| course to give an air of inSincerity to the
whole government. Nevertheless, there
are real abuses and there is reason for
| striving to remedy these abuses A
| crude or ill considered effort to remedy
them would either be absolutely with-
out effort or else would simply do dam.
| age.
PUBLICITY THE REMEDY.
Tbn f,.cf = &c,
facts; and for this purpose publicity as
to capitalization, profits. and all else Of
| Importance to the public, is the most
| useful measure. The mere fact of this
| publicity would in itself remedy cer-
| tain evils, and as to the others, it would
in some eases point out the remedies,
and would at least enable us to tell
whether or not certain proposed reme-
dies would be useful. The state acting
in it's collecting capacity would thus
| first find out the facts and then be able
to take such measure as wisdom dic-
| tated. Much can be done by taxation.
| Even more can be done by regulation
| by close supervision and the unsparinc
excision of all unhealthy, destructive
and anti-social elements The separate
state governments can do a great deal;
and where they decline to cooperate.
the national government must, step in.
| While paying heed to the necessity OF
keeping our house in order at home the
retain their Self-respeet. refrain from
doing their duty great nation in the
world. The history of the nation is in
a large part the history of the nations
expansion. When the first continental
congress met in Liberty Hall and the 13
original states declared themselves a
nation, the westward limit of the coun-
try was marked by the Allegheny moun-
tains. Even during the revolutionary
war the work of expansion went on.
TpnnpSSpp
northwest. then known as the Illinois
country. We're conquered from our white
and Indian foes during the revolutionary
struggle. and was confirmed to lis by the
treaty of peace in 1888. The land thus
confirmed was not then given to us. It
was held by an alien foe until the army
under General Anthony Wayne freed
Ohio from the red man, while the trea-
ties of Jay and Pinckney secur> d from
the Spanish and British Natchez and
Detroit.
COLONIAL EXPANSION.
In 1908, under President jefferson, the
greatest single stride in expansion that
we ever took was taken by the purchase
of the Louisiana territory This So
| called Louisiana, which included what
| are now the states of Arkansas. Mis-
! souri,, Louisiana, Iowa, Minnesota. Kan-
! sas, Nebraska, North and South Dakota,
| Idaho, Montana and a large part of Colo
| RADIO and Utah, was acquired by the
treaty and purchase under President
Continued on Page Four.l