Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1900-10-17
What Farmer Brown Learned

After supper the next evening
FARMER Brown said: 81 guess 1 must
De getting ready to go home. 1 have
enjoyed these lessons very much and I
want to tell you now, John, that YOU
nave made plain to my mind many
things concerning which l was in doubt
when l came here. | think YOU have
demonstrated that conditions among
the farmers, laboring men and Others
In the state of Iowa are undoubtedly
much better this year than they were
four years ago. Now, 1 am not lust
ready to say that it is all on account of
the administration of the Republican
party, but l will admit the probability
that any change in the way of running
the government just now would cause
people in business to become uneasy
and would disturb affairs so that il
might bring on hard times again. OF
course, l don't understand all the de-
tails of government, as you would saw.
but l guess | know enough to let well
enough alone. L can see from what
you have told me that there is no use
In denying the fact that there is pros
perity in this country. Now, whether
this thing that we call good times has
come to stay or not don't really know,
and as don't know think it would be
good horse sense for me not to try to
tinker up what might seem to me
better way of doing things and then
have 1T turn out as bad as it did when
Cleveland was president. But there is
one thing l would like to talk to you
about little, and that is the trusts. 1
have an idea that most everybody
thinks the trusts a bad thing. / don't
know how to control them or get rid
of them, and what l would like to
know is what the Bryan fellows pro-
pose to do
What the Democrats Did Not DO.
"Well. father, your last question is
the most difficult one you have asked
me yet" replied John. eff anyone can
tell what the Bryan fellows propose to
do / would like to hear him myself.
can tell you, though, what they did not
do when they had a chance. They did
not vote for constitutional amend
ment in the last congress, giving the
general government authority to con-
ago the supreme court of the United
States in what is known as the Knight
case, under the law of July 2, 1890, de-
cided in effect that however much
trusts, combinations and cOnspiracies
to monopolize manufacture and produc-
ton affect and restrain commerce such
results are indirect and incidental, and
that therefore the power to regulate
commerce does not include power to
regulate or repreSS such monopoles,
and cGnspiracies. This
decision by the supreme court made it
plain to the Republican members of
the last house Of congress that i'm or
der to bring about uniform legislation
which would control the trusts Ii was
necessary that constitutional amend
ment be adopted. 10 that end an
was presented in the house
which provided, among other things,
that congress should have
power TO define. regulate, prohibit or
dissolve trusts, monoplies or combina-
tons. whether existing in the form of
n corporation or otherwise The sew
eral states were also by this amend
ment authorized to continue TO exercise
such power to control or dissolve trusts |
In any manner not i'm conflict with the |
laws of the United States.
Bryan Endorsed Amendments,
snow this amendment was deemed |
sufficient to give the congress the pow |
err necessary to deal with the trusts i'm |
n proper manner. 1t would seem us |
though there could be no objections TO |
such measure. i'm fact, at the trust |
held in Chicago In Septem.
Der OF last year, Mr.. Bryan himself en-
dorsed such n plan. He said, in his
speech on that occasion, after outlining
n plan for general law controlling the
trusts, If IL Is unconstitutional, and so
declared by the supreme court, am in
favor OF an amendment to the constitu-
ton that will give to congress the pow
err to destroy every trust in the coun.
try Later on in that same conference
and, to be more explicit. on Sept. 10.
1899. he said. while engaged In q con,