The Aberdeen Democrat. (Aberdeen, South Dakota) 1???-1909, 1903-01-02
Fpon WASHINGTON.
Our Special Correspondent or N
Political Situation.

the consideration of the short session
NJ HI 57th Congress. The Democrats
are shooting straight at the mark and
the Republicans are lodging ana
hedging as is usually the case VIII
them when any question comes UP lo'
consideration that will put thehh on
record. :..o
The Democrats threw a bomb into
their camp Oh last Wednesday ouiins
+ho consideration of the legislative
executive and judicial appropriation
hin. Representative Bartlett o.
Georgia offered an amendment TO one
bill inserting an appropriation OF SOU
ooo for ;he purpose Of enforcing the
Sherman antitrust law. rms move
On tnc part of the Democrats was
wholly unexpected by the Republicans
and completely knocked them OH theil
feet. 1t was amusing to Watch 1he'
antics. They first stared at each oUilel
in HANK amusement and then rushcu
wildly around for ahasty consultatiol
with tbe leaders Of the party. LII was
at first decided to rule outline amend
mention u point Of order that II was
new legislation. and, therefore. ho'
cermane TO the bill. but the level
headed Oh foxy fellows knew that II
would be the worst polltlcs IN Tue
world to so before the country IN OPP
nositiOn TO the enforcement OF lhe
ANTITRUST laws, so they took another
tack. They dug ap Che "fete' Hep
burn bill which appropriated double
the amount, but which is much
milder in tone and is intended to give
tn. trusts as little trouble as possible,
AND substituted that for the BARTLETT
amendment. 1t was a bitter pill tor
the Republicans to swallow and they
made a WY face over the oose admin
istered by the Democrats, for they
had intended ito allow the Hepburn
bill to die a natural death in the COM
mittee, as it had been offered in the
FIRST place simply as i bluff and to fool
the people into believing that they
were trying to do something to curb
the rapacity of the trusts, but the
Democrats called their bluff and COM
PEELED them tx show their hands. Nj
Bartlett tried in vain to get Hepburn
to insert in his bill, which the Repub-
licans adopted as a substitute to the
BARTLETT amendment, q provision III
structing the Acknowledgement to
proceed at once to the prosecution of
all trusts and unlawful combinations
Of capital in restraint of trade.
1t was no 60, the Republicans alb
solutely refused to tell the Attorney
Gederal to do anything. Judging the
future by the past the Attorney
General will be afflicted with the
same mastery inactivity concerning
trust prosecution and the bill passed
by the Republican House will have
about as much effect on the trusts as
Wduei On d DUCKS DdCk.
That is the way the people of this
country are constantly deceived by
the Republicans in the Congress of the
Nation. The people are led to believe
that the Republicans are doing some
thing in their interest by a great dis
play and much ~windjamming in the
Republican press of the country, over
the passage of such so-called anti
trust legislation as is contained in
this Hepburn bill, when in truth it
is as harmless as a bread pill. The
trusts still enjoy the tariff pad over
their backs and the pounding does
nothurt them a particle. The Re-
publicans always treat symptoms, but
never touch the disease. They have
tried every remedy, or rather they
suggested every remedy as a cure for
the trust evil known to the political
pharmacopeia and none have an
swered the purpose. The trusts have
continued to grow and flourish like
cinch bugs in a r field and have
overrun and over ridden the entire
field of commercial endeavor until
the small merchant is a mere serf and
chattle with which they play battle
door and shuttlecock, and the man
who earns a living by the sweat of
his brow pays the freight. The Re
publican President first suggested
publicity as a remedy. That remedy
was offered by a Democratic senator
as an amendment to a bill in the
Senate at the last session Of Congress
and was promptly mashed into the
earth by a Republican majority. Then
they talked of a Constitutional
amendment and Of a tariff commission.
All of them have been cast aside for
the present makeshift and now thew
will prate about how they are trying
tp break up the trusts. 1t is all n.y.
pocrisy, false pretense and rot. How
much longer will the people be blinded
to the facts in the case?
Tie Republican party gradually is
coming to the Democratic contention
that we should have free trade with