Mexico weekly ledger., 1902-10-23
HON. GEO. ROBERTSON.
TALKS ON POLITICAL ISSUES,
STATE AND NATIONAL, TO
THE LEDGER:
Tendency Toward Capitalization On.
posed by the DemOcracy-The
States Are Adequate
to Control the
Trusts.

Hon. George Robertson, who was
opposed to the Democratic Populist
fusion,i on being asked by a LEDGER
reporter to-day the attitude of the So
called sound money element Of the
party to the present political cam
paign, said:
with the practical abandonment
OF issues never considered by many as
Democratic, there is certainly no
further reason for differences within
the lines.
I'VE are all Democratic, and will
work tremendously for the success OF
the party in national as well as State
politics. The ~senseless campaign OF
the opposition against the financial
management Of State affairs since full
power was regained by the Democracy
in 1872, calls for a reputation Of the
administrations Of Woodson, Hardin,
Phelps and Marmaduke, the mention
of whose names will serve to summon
Democrats into action.
"The excellence Of the judicial part
of the State ticket alone, with which
l am better acquainted than the
other, should Of itself secure a perfect
alignment of the entire Democracy of
the State.
There are nor serious questions,
however, than that Of State control,
confronting the Democracy at this
time. Judging from the utterances of
President Roosevelt prescribing a
greater Capitalization Of power in
the Federal Government for con-
troll of corporations, and the sup
preston Of trusts, and his action in
making use of the Presidential Office
without constitutional power in the
settlement Of the coal strike, there is
opportunity for an issue, which it is to
be hoped the Democracy will not fail
to grasp.
"However c~ommendable the motive
and beneficiant the results, his inter
position in local affairs of the state OF
| Pennsylvania is liable to be taken as a
precedent of Presidential authority
not existing in the constitution.
"The Presidents action in this mat
ter is deserving Of attention and
calls for an intelligent treatment by
that class Of people opposed to Federal
interference in the affairs Of the state
and this must necessarily be done by
the Democratic party.
1.-THE proposition to increase the
authority Of the national government
TO full control oyer corporations IL
more federalistic than ever proposed
by the old federallst party, and
more centralizlng than ever taught by
Hamilton.
1.-THE opposition to all these ten
denotes toward Capitalization is, anC
must from the nature Of the organ
ization and fundamental principles o
the parties, be lodged in the Dem
ocracy.
ut is not to be admitted that thu
states are powerless or inadequate t.
deal with the trust question. 1t !
said there are bad trusts and goot
trusts. This may be true but if so. Il
is because there are bad men and gooC
men In control of the trusts.
ut is the peculiar function of th'
state governments to deal with tn
conduct Of men-to regulate and con
troll them in their transactions witt
each other to prevent injury.
uThere is no more reason for a stat
to allow its citizens to conduct hi
business as to be hurtful to anothe
out of the state, than it is to allow biz
by the use of a firearm to injure ar
other by shooting across the stat
line. One is as amenable to the au
thority of the state as the other. Blu
there is, now unexercised, a power
the general government to handle to
greater or less degree the trust que
| tion.
'eThe Republican party is, 1t seem
irrevocably committed TO the doctrin
, of tariff taxation for protection.
1.-THE idea that protection is ten
porary and intended for the infar
manufactury has been abandoned /
| combinations all manufactured pro-
ucts are put upon the protected lis
and by log rolling in Congress a
maintained there. II domestic cor
petition had not been throttled Il
: prices Of protected articles wou
probably have been brought down
the proper level.
ITO prevent this the protects
classes combine particular lines OF
dustry into trusts to control the hon
{ production. Thus is the tariff u
! father OF the trusts
ITO every intelligent observer the
g can be NO doubt that the power OF
. ducing the tariff can be made use OF
y destroying the trusts,
"The Democracy Of New YORK la
q " declared that a tariff should
I levied only for public objects, neN
for private purposes, limited 10 I
&c necessities Of the goYernmef
u economically administered.
1.-THE party now ~contesting I
u House, on the platform that 'imme'
L ate tariff revision is the supreme du
d of Congress- should have the 10y
g support Of every Democrat"
" Rev. X. NJ. Deane, of Mexico
" Chaplain and A. S. Houston also
this city, In Senior Deacon oil 7
,-.d Masonic Lodge. now in SeSSl