The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1900-08-31


strikes me-" said Mr.. LittIeneld, ''that
my friend Williams had better drop this
line Of argument"
The speaker then called the attention
to another rnisstatement which Williams
had made about trusts. land speaking
of trusts reminds me to say that when
1t comes to trusts you want to put your
trust in the Republican party. This I
Will demonstrate to you. 1t is no guess
work, but the truth have told you.
Williams said that under the fostering
care of the Republican party and by
friendly legislation the prices of sugar
had advanced from or to z cents a
pound. This statement I want to nail
as an absolute and wilful falsehood. I
don't know whether he knows what I
am telling you, but he ought to know it
anyway. When it comes to these facts he
may get little chilly for you know the
trust question has cut considerable ice
in Tammany hall lately. daughter J
Williams says that the tariff is the
mother OF trusts. Then if tariff is the
creator where tariff is found should be
found the creature
: The speaker showed that the greatest
trust of all was the Standard Oil com.
pany and that this was not created by
tariff because there is no duty on oil.
There is no tariff in England and yet
England is filled with trusts. How were
these trusts created? Did they grow
like TopsyS
Mr.. Littleheld also proved that under
the Wilson bill the Democratic party had
put duty of 40 per cent ad valorem- on
raw sugar and a duty of 40 1-2 per cent
on the manufactured article, thus pro-
tecting the sugar trust, while the Repub-
lican tariff measure had legislated
against the sugar trust by putting eight
per cent more duty on the raw material
than on the manufactured article. The
Democrats hadsshown themselves by their
legislation friendly to trusts and had
Iegislated for them while the Republicans
had Iegislated against them.
Another point Mr.. Littlefield made
was that in 1894 when member of the
House ways and means committee, as
Mr.. Littleheld himself had investigated,
Bryan introduced an antitrust measure.
This he had referred to his own commit
tee where it died and Bryan never even
offered to resurroct it or tried to have 1t
reported.
This was an illustration how the Demo
Gratis had not fought the trusts. What
would that party do If it was returned
to power9
Mr.. Littleaeld now took up the expan-
sion issue. He said that It had happened
during the recent session of Congress
that he had differences with his Repub-
lican friends regarding some legislation
relative to Porto Rico. He said that 1t
didn't make any difference to him wheth-
er he was siding with the Democrats or
the Republicans, If he believed himself to
be right. he claimed that wherever the
flag of the nation went there went also the
guarantee of human right. 81 believe
this now" said Mr.. Littlefeld ''This
question is no Issue in this campaign
for two reasons. First, the Republicans
didn t make it an issue. It was suggest
ed that it be made a part of the Republi-
can platform, but it was turned down by
the committee on platform on the ground
that 1t was legal question.
'Now that question is not now, it new
or has been, it never can be a proper po
Iitical question. In the end it depends up
on what nine men say who sit IN the
greatest court kown to Christendom as
to what the Constitution means. If they
happen to agree with my view, well and
good. We submit to it. II they hap
pen to agree on the other view. likewise
we'll and good. We submit to it. 1 say
it cannot be a political question.
Perhaps this is said little mite
broadly; ought to put in a qualification.
Unless; unless what? Unless the propo-
sition suggested in the Democratic plat
form IN 1896 becomes q political propo-
sition for action by a political party in
this republic. agree with my friends
upon the invioIabiIity of the constitu-
ton; but I go further than my friends.
I believe in the invtolability of the Su-
preme court of the United States,
'sBut this platform of the Democratic
party in 1896 for the first time in the his
tory of the republic contained the anarch-
istfc infamous and revolutionary propo-
sition that they would go to the people of
the United States upon a proposition that
they would elect a President pledged to
do whatY TO reconstruct the Supreme
court of the nation by filling vacancies
with lawyers whose views were known
and thus unpatriotically amending the
constitution-the most dangerous poIiti-
cal proposition ever suggested In the his
tory of the republic.
"And there disagree with my
friends. If every Republican and every
Democrat throughout the republic should
vote one way upon the Porto Rico propo-
sition, it would not change the law. Ii
they voted the other way it would not
change the law. The law will b e determ-
ined by intelligent, patriotic. indepen
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