The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-09-04
TRUSTS ARE SAFE
IF REPUBLICANS DEPEND UPON
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT.
SAYS HON. w. G. BRANTLEY.
But THAT Is NOT GOING TO BE
DONE.

The Democratic Congressional Cam
paign Being WaEed on the Subject
of Trusts-Too Early Yet, Said Mr..
BrantIey to Forecast the Demo-
cratic Issue in the Next Congress.
The Remedy for the Evil of Mo-
nopoIy, He Believes Is I'm the
Tarih-Snys Pleasant Things of
Savannah.
'If the President and the Republican
party can succeed in imposing upon
Congress and the people the belief that
an amendment to the constitution is
needed to control the trusts. it will be
equivalent to giving them a license TO
operate as they will in perpetuity."
Thus Congressman w. G.. Brantley,
of the Eleventh district, summed II"
his views of the trust problem and Of
governmental control of the evil. Con-
gresham Brantley came over from
Brunswick yesterday morning and
spent the day and night in Savannah.
He expects to return to-day.
1T is too early yet he said, in an
swer to a question, Ito forecast upon
what issue the Democrats will make
their fight in the next Congress. but
the Democratic congressional cam
paign is being waged on the subject
of the trusts.
"The speeches of the President, re-
Gently delivered, have seemed to me to
follow the Republican programme in
the Fifty-sixth Congress, where the eff
fort was ostensibly to secure an
amendment to the constitution giving
the national government more power to
control large corporations. They tried
to get the Democrats to vote for this
amendment and had they succeeded
they would have stopped the Democ-
racy of the country from any effective
effort to check the march of monopoly.
safety for Trusts.
But the constitution is not going TO
be mended-certainly not within any
reasonable time. 1t has been amended
but twice in a century-and it required
four years of war to do it then. If
that is the Republican programme. as
it seems to be, the trusts are as safe
from Republican disturbance as their
officers can we'll desire"
Mr.. Brantley does not believe that
constitutional amendment is at all
necessary, but on the contrary that
there are many ways by which the
trusts can be reached without any
change in the present fundamental law
OF the land.
Il believe" he said, they can be
reached through the tariff. OF course
it is not corporations generally, but
monoIolies, upon which the fight
CHI kr
not exist if foreign countries We're in
a position 10 sell their products in the
United States on even terms with do
mestic producers 1t does not seem
to me that injustice would be done
anyone were the trusts compelled to
sell at home at the same prices they
are willing and anxious to accept
abroad.
lily Postal Regulations.
Il think it possible that something
could be done through postal regula-
tons, by means of which the Louis
lana State Lottery was driven from
this country. / think much could be
done il the powers of the Interstate
Commerce Commission were enlarged
and strengthened, because it Is large
ly through the cooperation of the rail-
roads and transportation lines that the
trusts find it possible to accomplish
their ends.
And there is another effective rem
edy for the evils of monopoly, which is
already at hand. There are penal
laws on the subject of unlawful COM
binations, the enforcement of which
would be potent for good. / have not
heard that the President has instruct
ed the Attorney General to institute
prosecutions for their violation.
oh, no, we don't need a constitu-
tional amendment-which is fortunate,
for we could not secure one if we did
1t is idle to talk about 1t, nor am l
impressed with the serious purpose of
antitrust arguments of which it is
made the basis. We need action; not
talk"
COmpIimented savannah.
Mr. Brantley is making his first visit
of more than few hours to Savannah
for year or two and he is impressed
with the improvements that even that
brief space of time have witnessed
here.
Your Union Station is one of the
handsomest in the South" he said;
very much handsomer than anything
of the kind in Washington. AS it has
been one of the most needed. so think
it one of the greatest improvements the
city has made, and just now l am in
ciined to the belief that the Casino here
at InunuerDOlt is the next IN attrac-
tiveness and beauty"
Mr.. Brantley was sitting on one OF
the Casino verandas when he made the
statement. He had dined out there
with Solicitor Gneral w. w. Osborne
and Mr.. A. A. Lawrence and to the
soothing after dinner accompaniment
of good cigar was suffering the-poe-
try of the star-lit river and marshes
to sink into his soul. 1t was pref
ty scene, and the reason of Mr.. Brant-
ley's enthusiasm was not far to seek.
Possibly because he had come to Sa
vannah only on business, possibly be
cause of the contemplation of the rivel
and the contentment begotten of thu
cigar, Mr.. Brantley was not very anx
ious to discuss politics-a state of minC
the reporter did not think healthy, no.
desire the congressman to retain.
"Come, Mr.. Brantley," he said. "an(
tell me what the Democrats in Con
gress are going to do about the trusts
and when you next run for Congress
I'll come down to your district anC
give you two or three votes"
Tut" said Mr.. Osborne: 'offer tn,
man some real inducement. He's al
ready got a life tenure on his office
and the people of his district are think
ing of giving him the privilege of dis
posing of 1t in his will