Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1900-02-28
ANTITRUST CONFERENCE.
History VIII Record 1t as One Of the
Vain Enorts to Stem the Rising Tide of
Socialistic Evolution.


vertised antitrust conference is now
a thing of the past and q page in the
history of current events. In the mid
die of the next century the confer
ence will historically be considered as
one of the many futile efforts made by
the small capitalists, engaged in man
ufacturing and distributing industrial
products, to compel the large capital
lists, who own the sources of raw
wealth and the improved machinery
of production, to continue to operate
separate establishments and compete
with one another-even as the indi-
vidual laborers, so years ago, endeav-
ored to arrest the evolution of the
machine and perpetuate the system of
competition between individual labor
ers working with primitive tools.
But history will also record the fact
that this conference, called in strict
ly non-partisan spirit, to devise ways
and means to destroy the so-called
trusts, developed into gathering at
which old party advocates urged the
merits Of their respective parties as
trust smashers.
From all the reports, the populists
were not in it, just little bit. In
deed, when a populist innocently Of
fered a resolution binding the men,
bers of the Antitrust league not to
vote for any candidate who did not
believe in and advocate the principles
adopted by the league, the conference
was hurriedly adjourned to preclude
any discussion of such preposterous
| idea. 1t is, of course, the intention
of the democracy, in national con-
| vention assembled, to adopt a plat
form containing the principles
| adopted by the league, and those are
mistaken who assert that the conven-
| ton will simply ''reaffirm the Chicago
platform and add strong planks
against trusts, militarism and i'm
| perialism.' If there is to be an hon.
competitive mode of production, an
antitrust" plank will not suffice, but
remedies must be proposed and can
didates nominated who are known to
be in favor of the remedies proposed
The platform adopted by the con-
ference is as follows:
| Whereas, In the opinion of the Ma
| tional Antitrust conference at Chicago
| February IL, 13 and IA, 1900, the just and
true remedy for the combinations known
| as trusts, which consist of corporation.
and natural persons controlling legalizet
special privileges, is the abolition of thos,
privileges; and.
| Whereas, The legalized privilege of tel
| egraph monopoly, the legalized privileg,
of protection against foreign competition
| nv trt1S re
the legaliZed privilege of monopolizinl
the issue of paper money, and the legal
lied privileges incident to the privat,
ownership of railways, are potent fac
tors in creating and maintaining trusts
| therefore, be it resolved:
First-That congress take immediat
| steps, under the power of eminent do
main, or otherwise, may be deeme'
the most expedient (but in any event b,
paying the just value, irrespective o
franchise value of any property takel
or condemned). to establish the tele
graph and telephone systems of tn
United States as adjuncts of the pos
office department and subject to it's op
| erationS.
Second-That congress defeat all meas
ures that have been or may be propose,
| and repeal all that now have the sane
ton of law whereby private corpora
tions may acquire control of the volum
of the circulating medium and Great
| a banking trust.
Third-That the tariff shall no longe
be employed to foster and buttress trusts
but that congress shall place on the fre
| list all articles the sale of which in tn
United States is controlled by a trust.
Fourth-That congress take immediat
| steps, under the power of eminent do
main or otherwise, as may be deeme
| the more expedient (but in any event b.
| paying the just value of watered stoc
or other fictitious values Of any propert
taken or condemned) to take. own an
| operate the interstate rail highways nov
| owned and operated by private person
or railways corporations.
And, whereas, the political power of tn
trusts lies in their frequent representa-
tion in and control of the house of leg
islation. We recommend the adoption O
the system known as direct Legislation
to make government once more, as O
| right it ought to be, and as was con
ceived alike by Thomas Jefferson an
Abraham Lincoln, government of tn
people. for the people and by the people
A perusal of this platform woul
, almost lead one to believe that it wa
, written by the same hand tha
penned the populist state platform
) of Kentucky and Mississippi, so nearl
, identical are they in their languag,
In any event, the adopted demand
are good populist principles. But lie
us consider this platform in it's reIs
tionship and adaptation to the wor
it is expected to perform, to wit: tn
: destruction of the so-called trusts.
which are not trusts, but are hug
corporations with large aggregat
: capital, owning all the principe
sources of raw material and improve
plants and machinery for the produ,
ton of the line of finished product
in which they respectively deal.
The planks concerning the publ
ownership of the telegraph and tel,
phone may be ignored as not german
to the question in issue. The plan
, concerning money may be very larg,
ly ignored because the volume {
: money and it's source of issue ha,
, | very little to do with the bankin
} business, which is that of receivin
| deposits and making loans and di
: counts. Government banks is tt
, solution of the money question.
all the paper money of the nation w;
issued by the government, the MANI
featuring and mercantile business ,
the country would, as now, continue
be operated with borrowed capital ar
the banks would yet have control
the credits of the nation, which a
, of far more Importance than the vc
L urna iccr1o of rponor C1n,ol.,1 81