Akron daily Democrat. [volume] (Akron, Ohio) 1892-1902, 1902-05-28
tion goes forward.

tlpu BoVS loI INhiu'
So when revision becomes necessary
it is question for the people Of the
country to say by whom that revision
shall take place; shall it be by the
friends of protection or by its enc
mics! We have had several revisions
of our tariff acts. One notable one
was the revision Of the tariff
IN 1888, which was done by
Republican Congress- Re-
publican revision. 1t worked well for
the time being Another was the re-
vision by the Republicans in the enact
ment Of the Mckinley law, and this
worked well. Another was the revis-
ion Of the Mckinley Tariff law by the
, Democrats in the Wilson act, and this
worked ruin. If there Is to be tar
| IN revision In the future 1t would seem
that the lessons of history ought to
induce the people Of the country to
see to 1t that the friends of protection,
not Its enemies should handle the
| machinery of revision.
Our Democratic friends are keenly
alive to subject which is one of the
most interesting Of all the phenomena
Of the day, the rapid and enormous
development of, the combinations of
capital and labor. which are usually
denominated trusts. No Democrat In
power or out of power. so far as
know, in any national way. has in
terfered with the operation of trusts.
| I xx-tII ,Ntn tba int hrn ;gxr
of their whole attack in this behalf.
On former occasion ! made state
ment in regard TO this question, which
| will adopt for the purposes of this
address:
Much ignorance has been mani
tested ns to the real character of the
existing and growing combinations,
but enough is known to fix the char.
acter and indicate tho possible results
of these combinations, and cheap poll
ticians and rampant demagogues are
filling the air with illustrations of the
impossibiaty Of ascertaining the cause
or prognosticating the results of what
is going on. 1t would not be interesting
to go into full discussion of these caus-
es or these effects In the brief period
which ! shall occupy, but the people
of our country must learn to distin-
guish between injurious combinations
and beneficial combinations, and lay
down this proposition: SO long as the
managers of two or more industrial
institutions who have combined into
one greater organization produced the
following results, no harm can come,
predlcated of their action. First, that
The combination employs more men
than did the constituent members.
Second. that they pay as high or high
er wages to employees. Third. that
they do not advance to an unjust tig-
ure the products Of their industry ber
cause 1t has already been demonstrate
ed that these combinations are produc,
ing far cheaper than the constituent
members could and that therefore the
enormous invasion of the markets of
the world which American industry
is now succeeding in establishing, has
been the direct result of the cheapen-
ing of production by the enlarged
capital, better means OF manufacture
and in various ways the cheapening
of production.
"Now. then, on the other hand, the
Injurious and dangerous combination,
that which will not be tolerated In the
United States. is the combination that
first reduces the number of laborers,
curtails their wages and enhances the
price Of the article to the consumer,
When this takes place, organizations
engaged in that business will be wip-
ed of the face OF the earth by one or
two processes. Either by law, or by
the more sure and certain process of
competition"
Today there is every appearance Of
a conflict to the death between the Gov
eminent of the United states upon
the one hand and certain recognized
Injurious trusts on the other hand,
and the Republican administration,
through the courts OF the country and
by the instrumentality Of the law as
invoked by the Attorney General of
the United States, Is proceeding TO de-
fine the trust as 1t exists and to drive
1t out of its business of monopoly The
writ of injunction Is being issued TO
restrain the greed OF combinations,
ana enective measures are being taken
to dissolve certain CT these Injurious
combinations.