Omaha daily bee., 1902-04-20
SMASHING TIE rRrrsrs

editorials the popocratic %megaphone de-
clares that Destruction, not regulation,
Is the remedy for the trusts! 1t was
not the fear Of bimetalism which
prompted the trust magnates TO con
tribute millions of dollars to the cam
paign fund of the republican party in
1884 and 1900 for the purpose Of de-
feating William j. Bryan. These men
knew that with William J.. Bryan in
the White House public interests would
be protected and the trusts destroyed.
MIR. Roosevelt has the same power to-
day. 1t cannot be expected, however,
that he could successfully WELD that
power even were he so inclined"
Such drivel may impose upon ignorant
partisans, but 1t will not down with
intelligent thinking people. Did not
Bryan and all of the Bryanite organs
proclaim in 1896 that the battle against
bimetalism was waged by the money
power, which had entered into a con-
spiracy to make money scarce and dear
in order to depress the prices of all
commodities, impOverish and enslave
the producers and finally ~monopolize
the wealth of the nation?
Did not Bryan declare free silver to
be the paramount issue in 1896 and did
he not declare free silver and imperial
ism to be the paramount issues Of 1900
with the trust question as a mere Incl
dent? Were not the Standard Oil trust,
the Whisky trust, the Sugar trust and
scores of other trusts in existence when
Bryan was in congress, and why did
he do nothing?
Suppose Bryan had been elected presi-
dent. Could he have lone any more to
smash the trusts than Roosevelt, or any
other president? Could he have die
tated a trust-smashing law to congress
If the majority Of that body, or even
the senate alone, stood as a barrier
against such legislation?
Viewing the question from a purely
practical standpoint, would it be more
prudent to destroy the great combina-
tons Of capital engaged in colossal in
enterprises than to regulate and
supervise them, so as to make them
harmless?
Take the Beef trust for example.
Suppose Bryan were king and could
smash the Beef trust with one single
blow. Suppose he could close the doors
of all meat packing concerns in Amer
lea by one single edict, what would
Would it be to the advantage
Of the American stock-raisers to lose the
of the foreign export Of
American meats and cattle, which can
only be carried on with organized cap
ital? Would it be of an advantage to
restore the old system Of individual
cattle buying for the use of retail
butchers In the various cities and vii
lagos of the country? Would the con-
of beef, mutton, pork and
canned meat products be better off than
they now are, or would they not have
to pay a great deal more for their meats
by reason of the unsettled state of mar
kets and lack Of facilities for storage
and transportation?
Suppose that the packing houses were
all closed and we had to depend on the
individual soapmaker for u soaps and
other by-products of the packing house,
would not the users of these indispensa-
commodities have to pay more for
IN inferior quality of goods? Would
Tho nrian nf Ioofhar on1 lonfhnr .rnNIg
be cheaper if the meat packing houses
were closed and the old system of buy
hides from each butcher in all OF
the villages and towns of America were
restored? A comparison Of prices
twenty-five years ago and today would
afford ample proof that the new sys-
TEN of organized systematic production
and distribution has introduced econo-
mics that could not possibly have been
obtained through small cattle buying
and individual butchering.
What is true of the meat packing in
Is equally true of nearly every
industry controlled by combinations of
The most gigantic trust of all.
the Steel trust, has enabled America to
the markets of the world with
American rails, American structural
iron, American locomotives and Amer
steel and iron products, thus fur
nishing steady employment for thou
sands upon thousands of American
wOrkmen at living wages in the produc-
ton of commodities that would other
wise have been manufactured abroad.
What would the American people gain
by destroying the Steel trust and scat
tering the hundreds of millions now In
in its vast plant among indie
pendent factories operated by ordinary
capitalists? Would not the destruction
OF this concern be disastrous not only
to several hundred thousand working
now pm its payroll, but also to the
whole country in d~eranging industry
and commerce? Would 1t not be more
rational and prudent to enact laws I'M
der which the interests of investors,
consumers and working people could be
safeguarded and protected against trust
extortion inc other abuses that are the
natural consequence Of the new indus