Omaha daily bee., 1900-01-25
REPUBLICAN, PARTY AND TRUSTS.

a'fa @''
In his Baltimore speech Mr.. Bryan
gave extended attention to the trusts
n theme he Is working with notable
assiduity-and insisted that the repub.
lican party had no intention whatever
of interfering with such corporations
under any circumstances. II is very
easy to make an assertion Of this kind.
but the intelligent voter will want to
know If there is any ground for II and
will be very likely to inquire whether
the republican party has ever done any
thing to interfere with the trust
Finding that it has he viii be pretty
certain TO conclude that the party can
be trusted to still further deal with
this important problem.
Twelve years ago the republican
party, in its national platform, put
itself on record in opposition to all
combinations of capital, organized in
trusts or otherwise. to control arbitrarily
the condition of trade among our Citi.
zcns. At the same time 1t recon-
mended to congress and the state legis.
lature "such legislation as will pre-
vent the execution of all schemes to
Cypress the pc pie by undue charges on
their supplies. or by unjust rates for
the transportation of their products to
market Two years after this dec
l~aration a republican congress enacted
an antitrust law and whatever effect
has been given to that act is due to re-
publican administrations, it having
been practically ignored by the demo.
cratic administration in power since
its enactment. 1t is also to be borne
in mind hat n democratic congress
since that law was passed, of which
the present leader Of the democracy
was II member, did nothing to
strengthen the law-pronounced de
fectivc and inadequate by "A demo
cratic attorney general of the United
States-or otherwise to interfere with
the trusts.
The republican party is still opposed
to combinations organized in trusts to
control arbitrarily the condition of trade.
Evidence of this appears in the latest
state platforms Of the party and in The
~utteranceS of its leaders. President Me.
kinley said in his last annual message:
at is universally conceded that combi-
nations which engross or control the
market of any particular kind of mur-
chandise or commodity necessary to
the general community by snppressing
natural and ordinary competition,
whereby prices are unduly enhanced to
the general consumer. are obnoxious
not only to the common law. but also
TO the public welfare. There must be
a remedy for the evils involved in sch
organization. If the present law can
be extended more certainly to control
or check these m~onOp3lies or trusts, it
should be done without delay, What
ever power the congress possesses over
this most important subject should be
promptly ascertained and asserted.
The republican party is in hearty ac-
cord with this and it can be confidently
predicted that the present congress will
give heed to the suggestion of the pres
ident.
Mr.. Bryan deScants upon the evils of
trusts. which every intelligent person
who has given attention to the subject
is familiar with, but he has yet to pro
pose a practical plan for the solution of
the problem of dealing with the com
binations. The only scheme he has
suggested, given 10 the public some
months ago, WAS so crude n imDrac.
teal that so far as we have observed
nobody approved il whose opinion is
worthy of consideration and he has
probably himself abandoned ii. Until
Mr.. Bryan. as the leader of his party
proposes an antitrust plan that viii
commend itself to intelligent people he
will not be able to create confidence ii
the ability Of the democracy to prop
erly deal with this problem.