The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1901-09-26

for the frOduct. When, howelc, a COM
bIuation attempts or attains a practical
monopoly in the field embraced and uses or
intends to use the unlawful and destructive
power thus acquired to arbitrarily fix the
price Of its products, it become the enemy
Of good government, imperils the peace and
good order of society, and lnficts upon the
people an injustice against which they
ought to, and will rebel. 1t does not seem
to me either wise or logical in order to
meet this evil to put Unfortunately every
article which may be produced by such
combination upon the free list. for in so
doing We would annlhilate many an honest
business. lmpOversh thousands Of honest
manufacturers and cast into id,yness an
army of our best workmen. If. however.
congress, in looking over the field. finds a
commodity or a product which is thus clear
ly monopolized, and finds that the tariff
which prevents foreign competition Is one
of the factors which enables the vicious
manufacturer to maintain the monopoly.
then it is the command Of the Iowa plat
form, expressing as I believe it does the
unanimous judgment Of Iowa republicans,
that the tariff upon such an article or such
a commodity shall be reduced or abolished
as to release the American public from the
grasp of the greedy producer.
Il would not have you believe that I re-
gard the revision Of the tariff as a remedy
for the evil of the trust. l shall not be
able upon this occasion to examine the
various propositions which have been sub
mitted. looking to the subverslon Of vlcl
Gus combinations. ! can only pause to
suggest that if they are destroyed they must
be directly, not indirectly attacked. The
keenest intelligence and the finest courage
Of the land are increasingly at work upon
the problem and failure Is impossible"
To the question of taxation Mr.. Cum
Minis devoted considerable time, and made
his position plain. He said in part:
II would. however, regard my duty as
but partially performed If l left you with
out some reference to a subject which both
parties have thought to be of sufficient i'm
portance to receive special attention in the
platforms adopted at Cedar Rapids and
Des Moines. l refer broadly to the sub
jet Of taxation. Happily there is sub
stantialIy no difference between the utter
ances Of the two parties respecting this
matter. l say happily, because the ques
tlons growing out of the subject ought new
er to become partisan questions. and I sin
cerey hope they never will. We should
have and believe will have, the cOmbln-
ed wisdom and experience of the men of
all parties in considering the subject with
out the prejudice and coloring inevitably
attending the settlement of party issues.
Both parties declare that taxation would
H. nd hat +bo In
dividual, the co-partnership and corporation
should bear their just proportion Of the
burdens of government; that Is to say
should pay their just share of the expenses
made necessary by the operation of govern
ment, according to the value of the prop
erty owned by them Our party declara-
tions In this respect are more anxious con-
corning which there can be no dispute and
therefore are not valuable as q guide to
the action of either the legislative or exc
cutive branch of the State government.
They are significant, however, from another
point Of view. They indicate that the peo-
pie are not wholly satisfied with the law
as 1t now exists, and they will furnish an
impetus toward the betterment Of our stat
utes / hope l may be pardoned II at this
point I may suggest my views with regard
to reform In the law.
Generally speaking evolution is better
than revolution. In the great majority OF
instances, 1t is most unwise to tear down
the structure which has been built and sub
stitute for its architecture OF radically
different kind. We should build upon what
we always have, adding here and removing
there, preserving what is worthy and has
stood the test Of experience. / am firm
believer In growth and development, wheth-
er applied to the methods Of business, the
rules OF commerce, or the laws which So
clety preseribes for its own protection.
II believe that the laws Of the State Of
Iowa with respect to taxation need some
reformation, and / trust that the public
mind will continue to be active and alert
until the best system which human intelli.
gence can devise is produced. To enter up
on the detail Of the subject Is the work Of
a volume, and il manifestiy impossible 10
public discussion. must conhne myself