The Press., 1901-08-15
Washington Letter.
Washington, August IL, 1901.

sion say about trusts In Its report TO con-
gress, upon which It's members are now
supposed to be working ? The steel strike
and it's complications have served to bring
this question to the front. The Industrial
commission gave exhaustive hearings on
the trusts and their relation to labor and
business, and the report should be OF
moro value than such things usually are.
IL 1t should be unanimous, 1t unquestion-
ably would be. But If there be two re-
ports, signed respectively by the majority
and minority members Of the commission,
they would have no more value nor carry
any more weight than the usual partisan
reports put out by congressional COM
mittee. Representative Livingston Of
Georgia, a member of the commission,
said In the course of an interview: "There
Is one subject the Industrial commission
proposes to handle without gloves, and
and that Is the trust question, and how 1t
affects both capital and labor. The trust
question Is the most important problem
we have to consider, and 1t will be dis
posed of first. In view of the present
conflict between capital and labor, the
consideration of this important subject
will call together a full attendance OF the
members of the commission. No one can
now suggest what the recommendations
of the commission to congress will be,
but trust and believe it will be inde-
pendent of political bias and free from
partisanship. 1t Is not political ques-
ton, for both republicans and democrats
are directly or indirectly associated with
the various trusts. AS things are going
now, it will require prompt methods by
the government and extremely delicate
handling of the subject to prevent rev.
olutionary contest between capital and
labor. This state of affairs cannot go on
much longer without serious conse-
quences."
Some members of the Knights of La
Dor and of the American Antitrust
League, in Washington, have started a
movement to aid the steel strikers by
legal proceedings against the steel trust
under state antitrust law. They have
engaged lawyer and are acting largely
under the advice of Ex-Attorney General
Monett of Ohio, who claims that the men,
bers of the trust In that state can be impris-
oned under the state law. The same men
are trying to get Attorney General Knox
to proceed against the steel trust under
the federal antitrust law.
The interior department has received a
resolution adopted by the Legislature of
Hawaii, asking congress to impose duty
upon all coffee imported from other coun-
tries, land in this way protect this indus
try In Hawaii and ether parts of the
q. s." The resolution will, of course,
be sent to congress In due time, but it is
doubtful, very doubtful, whether the in
dustry of coffee growing Sin Hawaii and
other parts of the U. s. will be consid-
cred of sufficient Importance to justify
putting duty on coffee. 1t Is possible
that coffee growing may become great
industry in Hawaii and other island pos
sessions of the U. s., but it Is little more
than an experiment at this time, and, In
view of the official reports against the
use of Hawaiian coffee in the army and
navy rations, because of its lack OF
strenth, it can hardly yet claim to be a
successful one.
Consul General Ballows, at Yokohama,
reports to the department of state the dis
covery of rich deposits of iron ore in
Southern Japan and the organization of a
company to develop the territory, which
is also believed to contain sulphur, copper
and lead.
L. D. Hastings of San Francisco, who
is largely Interested in Oriental trade, es.
pecially grain and food stuffs, who is now
in Washington, thus emphatically ex-
pressed his opinion of the treaty of Paris
"Our commissioners who framed the
treaty of Paris, which marked the end OF
the war with Spain, made grievous mis-.
take in agreeing to the open door policy
for the Philippines. The Philippine is.
lands are American territory and will al.
ways remain such, and can see no justif.
cation for tying our hands with a treaty
agreement that we will retain no trade
privileges there that other nations cannot
enjoy. It would be as sensible to agree
that the other states in the union shall
enjoy no advantages in the markets Of
New York state that are denied to Eng.
land and other foreign nations" Mr..
treaty Is bound to make trouble In the
future, and that it will eventually have tc
be abrogated unless this country adopts g
free trade policy which he doesn't think
likely.
By decision of the comptroller of the
treasury $40 900, appropriated by the ag
ricultural bill for the current fiscal veal
for genealogical investigation, Is placed al
the disposal of the secretary of agricul
ture to be spent in encouraging the export
of American fruit either in guaranteeing
minimum return to the shippers or ir
paying all or part Of the freight charges
While not so-called, 1t will In reality be 6
government bounty on fruits exported, tc
be paid In the discretion of the secretary
of agriculture.
Without questioning the justice of the
public censure Of Rear Admiral Robley
D. Evans by Acting Secretary of the Ma
Wy Hackett, for having written In his
book disrespectfully of certain official &C
tions Of Hon. w. E. Chandler, when hi
was secretary of the navy, many are dis
posed to think that the censure would
have been more seriously regarded by the
public at large had 1t been preceded by
some sort of official action, showing thai
the navy department disapproved of the
disrespectfully manner In which Maclay
one of its employees, wrote Of Rear Ad
miral Schley.