Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1903-02-07
A TRUST MEASURE,

The senate has surprised the people
by passing unanimously an antitrust
law. The Elkins bill striking at rail-
road rebates was passed last Tuesday
without opposition. And now the re-
publicans are strutting around aod
pointing with pride to this evidence
that the party is in accord with the
democrats of the senate on the trust
question.
1t was so surprising that people
generally were unable to understand
how it came about. The senate has
been supposed to be the bulwark of
special privileges, and to see that not
one of the railroad maguates had a
word to say against a bill aimed at
the railroads was an unfathomable
mystery to most men.
Now comes the Washington CORE
spondent of the Minneapolis Tribune
and casts ray Of light on the sub
ject. The Tribune being an ultra-re-
publican paper, there can be no sus-
picion that the explain alton is colored
to show up the measure in bad light.
He says among other things:
A small and close corporation of
republican senator's govern the party
program of the upper house absolute
ly, Allison, Aldrich, Spooner, Han
ma, Lodge, Plat of New York and
Beverage,
NELSON AS ALTERNATE.
This is the coterie with Nelson and
Plat, Of Connecticut, and Fairbanks
and one Or two others as consulting
alternates who figure in the business
now and then.
When they took up the trust ques-
tion in earnest they saw the president
and learned just about how little he
would be contented with, How con-
sentative they could be- is polite
description of it,
He told Aldrich and Allison that be
would promptly veto anything On the
milk and watery kind that savorel of
the congressional joke book.
Then James j. Hill of railway fame
and j. P. Morgan of steel trust nOto-
riety drifted into Washington.
Hill has spent much of his time here
during the past two months. Morgan
has been in and out.
They stopped at the Arlington,
where it was possible to have little So
cial chats with Hanna and h alf doz-
en- senators who stop there at any
time without undue publicity and with
out fear of interru ption.
Clapp of Minnesota went forth to see
the railway people other than Jim"
Hill. He saw them. The result is the
Elkins bill that passed the senate yes
terday, which, it is announced, that
the railways have no! and will not op-
pose.
There we have it. Morgan, Hill and
the other railway people have been
seen about the bill and it is satisfac-
tory to them. Hill and Morgan are
perfectly willing to have rebates
stopped. Hill has very little compe-
tition to contend with. Anyone wish
ing to ship an article to any point on
his lines has to accept his terms.
Morgan is interested in many great
manufacturing enterprises and might
want rebates for his companies in
those lines. But as he and his asso-
ciates in those enterprises ara also in
control of the railroads in those Sec
tions they do not need the rebate sys-
tenn any longer. They fix railway
rates and what they lose On one end
Of the business they can make up on
the other end. But their competitors
have no such recourse, and will have
to pay the rebates in heavier rates.
The rebate system was q handy thing
70 have in the infancy Of the trusts,