Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1902-10-03
he discovered that he had written his
note on letter head bearing this
text: 'Ye are bought with price
Boies on Trusts.

Former Gov. Horace Boies, of Iowa,
i'm accepting the democratic nomina-
ton for congress in Speaker Hender-
sons district. has issued a letter
which shows that he agrees with Mr..
Henderson's opinion that the voters
of the district are in favor of the re-
moval of the tariff on trust-made
goods. In a mastery argument he
shows that the trusts are the imme-
date source of the greater part of
the evils of which the people com
plain and that of necessity they are
created and fostered by the tariff
laws He adds:
1.-The futility of legislation other
than tariff reduction in restraint of
such action is to them demonstrated
by the fact that the great bulk of our
trusts have been openly organized in
the face of antitrust laws, carefully
prepared and Incorporated into the
statutes of the nation and many of
the states. They insist. therefore,
that inasmuch as the plain object of
these combinations is to destroy com
petition among themselves. and there
by become able TO fix their own
there is but one remedy for the evils
they threaten, and that is to- take
down the wall that shelters them and
compel them to compete with the
world at large.
I'm this view | heartily cOhcur. as
do in the old and revered democrat
lie doctrine tina: a tariff which is
nothing less than a tax on consum-
ers can rightfully be laid for one pur-
pose only, and that To raise needed
revenue for the use of the govern
ment. But old as that doctrine is,
and firmly rooted in democratic
faith as it has become, il must al
ways be interpreted i'm the light OF
conditions as they exist when it is to
be applied
Following this line of thought, he
shows that the immediate need is not
for sweeping horizontal reduc-
ton of the tariff. but for a revision
that will remove the trust evil, and
that therefore he will give his efforts
specifically to that line of work. He
says:
TO the worshipers of protection
let me say ii is not the fetch you
have made your god these men are
after now. An evil greater than that
must be dealt with first. 1t is the
heart of the trust that they would
reach. To do this they know the wall
that shelters it must be battered
down at the place where it is con-
cealed. If this should reduce our tar
iff system below a revenue basis they
=. !,
ever or wherever a trust is not shell
tered behind it. This is the present
day doctrine of tariff for revenue
only. as understand il and as | shall
interpret it if | go to congress. Do
not understand that | would do moth
ing more. There is not a missile any
human being can invent l would not
help to use if l could to drive these
from every inch of our soil.
and scatter them at once into their
deponent parts. Every measure.
whatever il may be and wherever it
may originate, that would help to ac-
this would have my utmost
and never-ceasing support"
This is certainly a very cIear-cut
and forcible presentation of the plaE
to revise the tariff for the special
purpose of graduating the trust sys-
TEN, and there is much force in this
position that this is the instant duty
of the hour. 1t is not wise TO try to
do too much at once. 1t is far better
to- set task that can be accomplish
ed than to try to do too much and
fail altogether. On such a position
there would seem to be no reason
why Gov. Boies should not carry the
district, largely republican as it is, if
Speaker Henderson is correct in his
view of the sentiment of the people.