Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1903-06-27
CURLING THE TRUSTS
The Republican and the Demo-
cratic Way of Doing It.
THE INCREASED COST OF LIVING
1t Brings Every One to a Realization
of the ExtOrtiOns of the Combines.
Revision of the Tariff the Only
Hope For Relief From High Prices.
Republican Alternatives.

Hope For Relief From High Prices.
Republican Alternatives.
Every one may be said to agreesthat
the trusts and combines are against
the public interests, but there is a
strong difference of opinion about the
remedy. President Roosevelt thinks
that publicity will cure the evil, but
we already have a full exposure of
some of the trusts and it has no effect
on their exactions. Publicity may stop
some speculator or investor from buy
ing trust stocks, or it may, by the good
showing made, induce investments in
that quarter. But what advantage is
il to the ordinary citizen to know how
much a trust is earning, how much its
plant cost or how many men it en-
ploys and the wages it pays them
Congress, at the instance of the presi-
dent, has charged the new department
of commerce and labor with the inves-
dgation of the trusts, and if the preSi-
dent deems it TO the public advantage
he may publish the result of the ipves-
tigation of that department. But it is
hardly necessary to say that no trust
make the public pay for its products
by the publication of Its condition or
the amount of its profits. The whole
question of the trusts that interests
the public is the eXtortionate prices
that the trusts and combinations are
charging and how they can be COM
PEELED to charge reasonable prices. The
Democrats show very clearly that
nearly every trust is protected by the
present tariff law and that if the tariff
was abolished on trust articles the
fear of competition of foreign goods
would compel the trusts to lower their
prices to about the same rate as the
tariff protects them. The protection
under the Dingley law is from 40 to
100 per cent, and if these tariff taxes
were abolished, or even reduced, prices
would fall accordingly. President
Roosevelt denies that tariff protection
has any connection with trust eXac-
tons, but he used to think differently,
and it is very plain that he took this
ground because the great majority of
the party leaders have declared for it
and to take the side of tariff revision
would have endangered his chances
f0sa-Sa--Faaomination. 1t was shown to
him that to attempt to revise the tariff
would lead to n full discussion of the
subject and so many interests would
demand that their particular industry
required free raw materials that gen.
eral revision of the whole tariff would
be necessary. II was also stated that
to revise the tariff when business was
good would result in disturbing the
present prosperity and bring on
panic.
There never has been and probably
never will be a monopoly that is max
ing vast profits that will not declare
that the heavens will fall if they are
interfered with.
So, until n panic and hard times
come, if President Roosevelt and the
Republican politicians have their way,
the trusts have the full privilege to
bleed us.
A cheerful outlook is this for the
man of small means, be he store
keeper, farmer, mechanic or laborer.
No relief from trust prices until hard
times come or the Republican poll
tcians become angels.