Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1903-07-22
Observation-Disclosures
q POLITICS aaa )
~ =-OF THE DAY ~
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
The Paramount Issue.
OF THE DAY

The Paramount Issue.
1t Is just about one year before the
presidential campaign opens and new
matters for political controversy may
arise In that time, but from present
appearances the trusts and tariff will
be the paramount issues. The voters
of the United States will have to dis
crtminate between the two parties
about their opposition to trusts, but on
the tariff issue there will be clear
cut difference and the platforms adopt
ed should not require any interpreta-
ton to discover just where the parties
stand.
The Republican platform is certain
to denounce trusts and combinations
and point with pride to the legal steps
that have been taken to suppress and
control them. 1t will claim that nil
the legislation against the trusts has
been enacted by the Republican party
and will point to the merger suit and
the beef combine injunction MS exam
pies of what has been done and prom
Use that other combines will be SO
treated if found acting contrary to the
law.
The Republican platform will also
declare continued adherence to the
doctrine of protection, and point to the
wonderful prosperity that commerce
and labor are enjoying under 1t and
pledge the Republican party to so re-
wise the schedules if at any time 1t
should be found necessary to do so.
The tariff must be revised only by the
friends of protection is the favorite
way of putting 1t.
The Democrats will denounce the
trusts as combinations In restraint of
trade and as extortionate in their
prices for their products and being
protected by the tariff from competi-
ton demand that the tariff protection
be revised on those schedules that give
the trusts their monopoly.
The question that the voters will
thus have to determine is which party
is really in earnest about suppressing
the trusts and which policy will give
the earliest relief from their oppres-
sion. Has the merger suit reduced the
freight or passenger rate on the rail-
roads? If SO, Republicans are entitled
to the thanks and votes of the people.
II the rates have not been reduced,
the policy Of the merget suit has been
a failure. Every one who has used
the railroads since the merger suit
was decided can answer the question,
and the reply will not uphold the Re
publican contention, for freight rates
have advanced either directly or indi-
rectly by changing the classification.
Neither have the passenger rates de-
creased. so the much heralded merger
suit has been failure, for the rail
roads still continue their extortion and
apparently the suit was only COM
menced to make u showing of opposi-
ton to the corporations.
How is 1t with the only suit the ad-
ministration has maintained against
the Industrial trusts, that against the
beef trust. An injunction was granted
against the beef barons restraining
them from joining together to manip-
ulate the price of cattle and hogs aud
from debating the price at which their
products shall be sold. The combine
still pays its own price for cattle and
hogs and charges what 1t pleases to
the butchers in all the markets Of the
country. Meat is about the same price
that 1t was before the beef combine
was enjoined and there is no more
competition In the purchase Of cattle
or in the wholesale price of meat than
before Attorney General Knox began
the prosecution.
How is 1t with the other industrial
trusts, have they been frightened by
the fear of prosecution by the Attorney
General and reduced the extortionate
prices on their products? If anything,
trust prices are higher than before
these spectacular suits were COM
menced. 1t may therefore be fairly
said that the Republican program of
controlling the trusts, combines and
corporations has been a miserable fail
ure.
If the voters have arrived at the
conclusion that these sample suits
against the railroads and the indus
trial combinations have been result
less in staying their exactions and the
Republicans refuse to try the Demo-
cratic plan of reducing or abolishing
the tariff that protects the trusts, the
logic of the situation requires that the
Republican administration is a failure.
Shall the Democrats be given an op-
portunity to try their plan Of tariff re-
form? Under that program Congress
would abolish the duty on trust pro-
auctions and revise the tariff on other
importations SO that enough revenue
would be produced to provide for the
wants Of the government, honestly ad-
ministered. With the duty abolished
on their products the trusts would
have to reduce prices enough to pre-
vent foreign goods of similar kind and
quality from being imported. AS many
of the trusts now export their surplus
products and compete with the foreign
manufacturers on their own ground,
there is no doubt that the enormous
profits they now enjoy could be cut to
the amount of the protection that the
tariff now gives them.
With the monopoly that protection
gives the trusts abolished, the price of