Barre evening telegram. (Barre, Vt.) 1898-19??, 1902-09-22

90 big corporate lions. What We wish 70 90
10 to protect the people from any evil tina
may grow out of their existence or NAL
administration Some Of those corpora
lions do we'll and others do III.
II In any case the tariff 10 found 10
foster q monopoly which does III, why Of
course no protectionist would object to
modification of the tariff SUFFICIENT TO
remedy the evil. But in very few cases
does the so called trust really monopolize
the market. Take any very big corpora
ton which controls say, something over
| half the products of a given Industry
Surely in rearranging the schedules al.
| fecting such big corporation II woulo
be necessary to consider the interests OF
| Its smaller competitors who control lhe
remaining part and who, being weaker
would suffer most from any tarln de-
signed to punish all the producers for OF
| course the tariff must be made lght or
| heavy for big and little producers alike.
| Moreover, such corporation necessarily
employs very many thousands OF WORK
| men, and the minute we proceeded froH
denunciation to action II would be neces-
sary to consider the interests OF these
! workmen. Furthermore, the products OF
many trusts are unprotected and would
be entirely unaffected by any change in
the tariff or at most very slightly 50.
The Standard Oil company offers case
in point, and the corporations which con-
troll the anthracite coal output of1er an
other, for there is no duty whatever on
anthracite coal. I am not discussing the
question Of the tariff as such, whether
from the standpoint OF the fundamental
difference between those who believe In a
protective tariff and those who believe IN
free trade or from the standpoint OF those
who while they believe in a protective
tariff feel there could be rearrange-
ment of our schedules either by direct
legislation or by reciprocity treaties
which would result in enlarging our mar
kets.
Nor From Com placent Viewpoint.
Nor yet am l discussing it from the
standpoint of those who feel that stabil-
ity of economic policy is at the moment |
our prime economic need and that the |
benefits to be derived from any change in |
schedules would not compensate, for the
damage to business caused by the wide
spread agitation which would follow any |
attempted general revision Of the tariff at |
this moment.
Without regard to the wisdom Of any
one of those three positions 1t remains
true that the real evils connected with
the trusts cannot be remedied by any
change in the tariff laws. The trusts can
be damaged by depriving them Of the
benefits of a protective tariff only on con-
dition of damaging all their smaller COM
petitors and all the wageworkers en-
fhoHtu III tHe Industry. ! MS point ID very
important. and 1t is desirable to avoid
any save willfu misunderstanding. My
point Is that changes in the tariff would
nave little appreciate effect on the trusts
save as they shared in the general harm
or good proceeding from such changes.
No tariff change would help one Of our
INHALER corporations or one of our pri
'ate individuals in business still less one
II our WaReWorkers, as against a large
corporation in the same business.
chanEe Would Hurt Trusts Rivals.
On the contrary. if it bore heavily on
he large corporation it would inevitably
re felt still more by that corporations
weaker rivals. while the loss would be d.
ided between the capitalists and the la
orers. and after the years of panic and {
istress had been lived through and some J
eturns to prosperity had occurred. even {
hough all We're on a lower plane Of pros
Gritty than before. the relative difference
etWeen the trusts and their rivals would !
emain as marked as ever. q
In other words the question Of regulat- i
IL tho trusts with view to minimizing a
ahol'slng the evils existent in them is II
'rarate and apart from the question Of e
riff r. Vision. q
The necessary supervision and control +
which firmly noltev. as the only 4
'ethod Of eliminating the real evils ot Il
it trust must con" through v'ie " and I.
ilu'ousNN framed leg, Station which shah
M IN the FIRST place to a!v" aennit. con "
ol 10 some sovereign OVER the great cor r
'ta'ions and which shall lac followed r
non once his power has been conferred Il
system giving to the government +,
r full knowledge which is the essential | "a
r satisfactory action. NJ