The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1900-06-03
DEMOCRATS AND TRUSTS.

DEMOCRATS AND TRUSTS.
That was most interesting and signif-
cant discussion which was had in the House
of Representatives last Friday on the joint
resolution proposing a constitutional
amendment empowering Congress to
regulate trusts.
Mr. Lentz, of Ohio. said that "if the peo-
pie would only elect William Jennings
Bryan he would place at the head of the
Department of Justice an Attorney-Gene-
raj not from the trust-ridden State of New
Jersey, who would keep the trusts so
busy that they would not have time to
PURSUE their rapacious vocation"
Mr.. De Armand said that the power Of
the people to meet and overcome trusts
would be less If this amendment should
be added TO the Constitution. 81 am will
ing TO amend the Constitution" he went
on, 'but I am not willing to amend it so
as to take from forty-five States the
power that they now possess to create
and control corporations
1.-The amendment said ar. Mccall, Of
Massachusetts, would strike deadly
used 10 destroy labor organiza TONS
That is good Democratic talk, and we
have read it with relish, but how these
distinguished Democrats can hold such
views and still give their enthusiastic sup
port to Mr.. Bryan for the presidency is 2
political problem which we shall not try
to solve The resolution offered by the
ic Tow ray q ~
mutation of Mr.. Bryan's views on this sub
ject In speech delivered at Port Huron,
Mich, on April 29tll, Mr. Bryan is reported
as having used this language: LET Con-
gress say that any corporation that wants
to do business take out a license from the
Federal Government Then they will be
under government control, and provisions
can be made for revocation Of licenses
when there is shown to be monopoly
and watered stock" In an article written
by Mr.. Bryan in the current issue of the
North American Review he used this Ian
guage:
1.-The heavy hand of monopoly Is laid
upon SO many that there is a growing
protest against a system which permits
few men to control each branch of indus
try, fix the rate of wages, the price of raw
| materials and the price of the finished pro-
duct II monopoly really exists We
should shut it up in the State of its origin
and take the other forty-four States away
from it This can be done by an act of
Congress making it necessary for corpo-
ration, organized in any State, to take out
a license from the Federal Government be-
fore doing business outside of that State,
the license not to interfere, however, with
regulations imposed by other States"
Mr. De Armand's speech, from which we
have quoted above, was as muck denun-
ciation of Mr.. Bryan's views as it was a
denunciation of the Republican resolution
If Mr. Bryan had been a member Of the
House, holding the views which he has on
more than one occasion publicly expressed.
he could not consistently or conscientious
w have voted against the House resolu-
ton.
We do not blame the Democrats for
voting down the Republican proposal. NO
Democrat who believes in State sovereign
| ty and local self-government could get his
consent to support such measure. and
we quite agree, as this paper has more
| than once said, that .'the proposed amend
ment bears upon Its face irrefutable evil
! dence that 1t was not intended to be placed
| In the Constitution to control trusts, but
to be placed in the campaign to delude
| voters
The insincerity of the Republicans is thus
| exposed in a special to the New York
| Evening Post. published before the vote
| was taken We quote:
| An amendment to the Constitution, as a
| remedy for the evil, is the Republican pro-
| posal on behalf OF which elaborate argu-
| ments will be presented, with this peeu-
| liarity, that the Republicans hope ttle
Democrats will not be persuaded In prl-
| yate conversation there is widespread op-
] position among Republicans to the amend
| ment, believing that its adoption would be
| fraught with greatest dangers. But II the
| Democrats and Populists will only with
| hold their votes so that the necessary
| two-thirds vote cannot be obtained, these
| demonstrating Republicans think their vote
| will do no harm. If there were real danger
| of its adoption a wholesome Republican
| protest would be offered, but what pre-
! vents its utterance now is the fact that
| the men who are feeling most strongly on
| the subject have been compelled 10 uis-
| sent from their party so many times this
| session that they dislike to do SO unneces-
| sarily now.
The whole thing was a miserable sham
to make the people believe that the Re-
publican party is against trusts, and YET
| without antagonizing the great corporations
of the country. It was a double play, and
the Democrats could not afford to be a
marty to 1t. But the fact remains that the
idea of having the government control
trusts and deprive the States OF the right
to regulate them originated with Mr.
Bryan, and in consistency the followers OF
Mr.. Bryan should have given 1t their cor
Dial support.