The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-09-19
Mckinley Nuggets.

made the subject of orohibitory or
penal legislation" But why do not
Republican officials enforce the prohib-
itory or penal legislation we have?
Why has Mr. McKinley'S department
of Justice refused TO carry out the ma
tional antitrust law2 When an occa-
sional Republican official does attempt
10 enforce the laws against the trusts,
why is he at once turned down" by
his party, as in the case of the former
Attorney General Monnett in the pres
identS own state of Ohio2
? Publicity. 1t is not necessary TO
re-eleet President Mckinley % get
that. The newspapers viii furnish all
the publicity that is needed. What is
wanted at Washington IS. an admins
tratiOn that will act upon the facts the
agents of publicity bring to its atten-
ton.
g. Uniformity of legislation in the
several states Very good, but before
the president attempts TO regulate the
legislation of the states. with which
he has nothing to do. would il not be
appropriate for him to pay a little at
tentiOn 10 the things that are within
his own jurisdiction
4. Discrimination between what is
injurious and what is useful and neces-
Sary. Honest cooperation of capital
is to be encouraged, but "conspiracies
and combinations intended to restrict
business, create mOnopolies and con-
troll prices should be effectively re-
strained" But how? Represive laws,
as we have said. are never enforced by
Republican authority.
There rs one sure way of restraining
such combinations, but President Nc
kinley does not mention it 1t is to
abolish the privileges on which the
combinations live and fatten- The Gus
toms tariff, said Mr.. Havemeyer, is the
mother of trusts. Put every article con-
trolled by trusts on the free list and
T0n rr-rnc fe- lfc rlaTr-
for harm. Since the president did not
dare to suggest that remedy, it would
have been better for him not to men
ton trusts at all.
Practical civil reform" says Mr.
Mckinley, has always had the support
and encouragement of the Republican
party The future of the merit system
is safe in its hands" Practical civil
| service reform is, of course, the kind
that took TO- 600 offices from the protec-
ton of the civil service rules and
turned them into political spoils. 1t is
/ the kind that made the new census
| one vast political machine. It is the
kind that inspired a Republican county
committee in West Virginia to send out
| a circular to every office-holder within
its reach, announcing:
We must have money to meet the le-
Ultimate expenses of the campaign, and
we need it badly at once.
U THIS emu the mas lSFl0u a
| political assessment on every Repub-
| Iican postmaster in the county.
| This letter goes to each of these post
| masters today, and all are expected TO
| cheerfully and promptly respond. This
] is not an attempt at political tyranny
/ or blackmail, but a. straight-Out bust
| ness proposition The party has helped
| you, placed you in an office from which
| you make some money, and you should
| be willing to help the party to again at
/ tain success.
We are not aware that the admins
/ trations devotion to civil service re-
| form has ever led it to discourage such
| activity as this. The president seems
/ to have the same defects of vision
| there that he has when he looks toward
! Cuba, with its Nicely and Rathbone
and says:
The merit system, as far as practic-
able, is made the basis for appoint
i ments to Office in our new territory
/ 1t was probably not practicable t.
put honest men in the Cuban pOsta
/ service.
! President McKinley's letter woulS
! have made a much better impression
on the public if it had been confined Il
statements its author believed. o
course, in that case it would have beer
pretty short.