The Hocking sentinel. [volume] (Logan, Ohio) 1871-1906, 1903-02-26
Republican Trust Busters.

IN PRINT about the ANTITRUST leglSlatlOI
that Congress has been engaged upon
most of it being intended to befOg the
minds of the voters instead of enlight
eninS them on what has been and is i'll
tended to be accomplished toward con
trolling the trusts.
There has been a conflict between the
Senate and House ON the measures that
should be enacted and the Senate has
won. as all the legislation OIL the trust
issue that has been passed or will be
enacted by this Congress are Senate
bills. That is Ominous Of-hOw little the
new laws will really do against the
publican leaders in the Senate are all
under obligations to combines and cor
pOratiOnS, and are therefore unlikely to
pass laws that will injure their friends.
Some weeks ago the trust attorneys
visited Washington and conferred with
the administration trust-busters. and
the Legislation that has so far passed
and is proposed to pass Congress is the
result of this consultation between the
trust attorneys and the Republican
leaders.
The legislation is as follows: An
amendment to the bill creating the De
partment of Commerce, which provides
there shall be bureau of corporations
which shall investigate the combines
except the railrOads-and shall report
to the President from time to time. as
he shall require; and the information
so obtained, or as much thereof as the
President may direct. shall be made
public" Also to publish useful infOr-
nation concerning corporations" as
shall engage in interstate commerce.
These are the famous publicity pro-
visions upon which the President has
set so much store. Yet the only publicity
required by this law is to publish use
full information" or as much informa-
ton as the President may direct That
publicity will be useless may be known
by the three years efforts in that line
by the Industrial Commission, which
published nineteen large volumes con-
tanning an enormous mass of facts
about trusts and corporations, yet no
law has ever been based upon these
facts. and the trusts have increased and
multiplied since the publication of this
The Interstate Commerce
has likewise investigated
and published all the facts about the
railroads for sixteen years, but it has
never curbed their rapacity nor pre-
vented the public from investing in
their watered stock. Publicity may
even do harm by publishing useful in
that the trusts want to have
made public. The statistical bureau of
the various departments of the Govern
ment have for many years been pu'
fishing useful information" that h..
been prop and aid to the continuance
Of the protective tariff. and in fact has
rejected all that would ex-
pose its enormity and fallacies. So
much for publicity.
The next law on the program is to
advance trust suits in the courts. This
IS Attorney General Knox's particular
pet and is certainly needed, for the
suits against the beef trust and the rail-
-oad merger have been dragging along
since last spring, and are still in their
initial stages. But it will require more
han law to advance trust suits. The
great necessity is an Attorney General
who is a real trust-buster; but SO far,
10 Republican President has appointed
,uch an one. Indeed, Mr.. Knox himself
vas attorney for the Carnegie Steel
and can hardly be expect
ID to expedite the law against his
friends. Mr.. Knox complained that he
lad not been furnished with sufficient
'unds to adequately fight the trusts.
10 the Democrats have forced an
to the legislative and judi
.ial appropriation bill giving him $780,
400 for that purpose. This bill has been
ranging fire in conference for some
weeks, perhaps because of this amend
nent not being looked uIon with favor
" the Republican cOnferees.
The last and the most extraordinary
bill is the one to prevent
ebates by railroads, which Senator FL
Tins is sponsor for. 1t is not intended
hat this bill shall hurt the corpora
ions; it was probably drawn after COLI
ultatiOns with railroad attorneys, and
senator Elkins. being a corporation
nan himself and noted as Il friend of
he combines. is hardly likely to have
,ushed bill through to take money
ut of the Golfers of the great railroad
mergers The bill contains clause re-
,ealing the criminal clause of the inter-
tate commerce act. and that alone
would indicate that the railroads and
favored it. for they evidently |
ear that an administration who would |
nforce this provision may be elected
n 1904. This they do not mind. but i'm
risOnment would be unbearable to a |
rust or corporation magnate.
All this shows that the sO-called anti |
rust legislation is farce enacted to |
gain fool the people by trying to make
hem believe that the Republicans are |
Who Has Held Up the People:
The strike commission has permitted |
he operators to present testimony |
gainst the miners and has delivered i
lcidental lectures to the miners on
ne subject of their responsibility to |
ne public and their duty to mine all
le coal possible. The miners deny |
nat they have limited the output of /
ne mines and assert that the operators !
ave done SO. Fair play demands that !
lie miners have their opportunity TO !
uestiOn the men at the head of the i
pal combine. Whether the miners |
ave been misrepresented is question I
f minor Importance. however. COM
AIRED with the right of the public to
now who has been working the hold !
p game in the coal Market.-Philadel- |
hia North American.
Roosevelt and the Trusts.
President Roosevelt's opposition to re-
loval of tariff protection from the
rusts, as stated by him during the re-