The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1900-02-22
THE CONFERENCE SUMMARIZED.


The Chicago Journal Of Feb. Is thus
very correctly sums up the antitrust
gathering of Feb. 1915:
The antitrust conference passed into his
tory at IL o'clock last night
II history refuses to take 1t very serious
", the American Antitrust leaGue-the
name of the permanent organization-is
entirely to blame. For the members of the
conference were honest neither with one
another nor with the world.
The conference came to Chicago adver-
tised as a strictly non partisan movement.
Earnest, thoughtful men, it was said. would
meet to discuss some method Of checking
the ins0lence and grinding greed of monop-
oily. wholly apart from political expediency.
For it had been tacitly agreed that both OF
the great political parties were powerless
to handle problem that had Its roots in
other than political ground.
So when, on Monday, long row of news
paper men gathered at the tables before the
stage in Central Music hall they expected
to report the deliberations Of earnest,
thoughtful men, who should contribute much
of value on the Invest topic of the hour.
But the conference early developed. from
the unprejudiced point OF view OF the press
stand, into farce, which steadily grew
more farcical, and reached climax of alb
surdity Wednesday forenoon, when cam
paign songs about MAC" and the sultan of
Sulu were introduced, listened to with bu-
collie eagerness, and frantically encored.
A vast deal of speechmaking had been pre-
pared. Days before the conference gath
cred the newspapers had been supplied with
the abstracts of more than half a hundred
speeches. Among these were many thought
full and carefully prepared papers, but few
of these were delivered. The delegates de-
sired politics--and campaign songs. And
thew thoro
Congressman Ridgely of Kansas, says that
the conference was "strictly non-partisan
Throughout" In a way this view Is not
wholly incorrect. There was so much par
tisanship-so many political factions-that
perhaps one faction neutralized another.
But a better summing up was that by
Hon. Ignatius Donnelly, the cryptogram
statesman Of Minnesota, who declared that
''in refusing to pledge themselves not to
vote for any party whose platform does not
contain the principles which this conference
has declared are VITAL the members of this
rendered their actions here of no effect"
There were many earnest men at the con-
ference, but comparatively few thoughtful"
men. The speeches were, for the most part,
campaign harangues. and if from the hetero-
geneOus mass Of opinion one thing stood
Out palmer than another it was that about
all the delegates were opposed to the gold
standard, to expansion, and especially to
Mark Hanna Every reference to or hint
of free silver, anti-expansion, and w. J.
Bryan set the convention in an uproar Of
applause.
The row that Delegate Parker, of Ken
lucky, began about noon of Wednesday was
continued to a finish during the afternoon
session. Populist accused Democrat OF
seeking to control the convention. Demo-
crat accused singletaxer. Single taxer hit
back vigorously. Middle f-the-roader as
sailed Tammany, and Tammany accused
cryptography of aiding Mark Hanna.