Omaha daily bee., 1903-02-07
TRUST DEBATE CONTINUES
Assertion Ne Combines Exist and Congress
Cannot Control Commerce.
HOUSE CLOSES GENERAL D. BATE ON BILL
vote VIII he Reached Today on
Measure 60 Place Greatet Legal
Restrictions ON Industrial In
cubuses in United states.


WASHINGTON, Feb. 6.-General debate
on the antitrust bill closed in the house
shortly before 6 this evening. The debate
had lasted since 10 in the morning. More
interest was aroused as it proceeded and
the closing speeches by Mr.. De Almond
MOI and Mr.. Littleaeld (Me) we're de-
livered to crowded galleries and to a full
attendance Of members.
Tomorrow the bill will be considered
under the fve-minute rule for three hours,
after which the Anal vote will be taken.
Mr.. Jenkins tWis.), chairman of the ju-
dietary committee, held there we're no
trusts and congress had no control over
commerce..
Mr.. Fleming CGa. y1suggested an amend
ment SO as to make section 5 applicable to
water transportation He said that MT.
Irwin CO., and himself, both members OF
the judiciary committee, had concurred in
a minority report removing the prohibition
placed on carriers transporting trust made
goods. He was opposed to IT.. because II
placed the responsibility of. determining
what were trust=made goods on the carrier.
Mr.. Gilbert (Ky)osaid the bill was not
only a homeopathic dose, but would do
more harm than good The republican
party was engaged in the same sort OF des-
perate -effortoto destroy the trusts which
characterized ft in its attempt for ten
years to establish bimetallism in the ma
tional agreement. u
Pleads for Tariff Suspension.
Mr.. De Almond MOI then closed the
general debate for his side. He said he
realized how dificult it was to deal ade-
quately with the trust question. Human,
greed, with the best human intellect at
its command, was not so easily bafied, and
therefore a solution of the problem required
sincere and honest endeavor. t.
He was one Of those who believed that a
revision of the tariff could accomplish
much, though he did not believe that tho
tariff sheltered all trusts. Still, IL 1t would
break the horns Of any of the giant trusts,
why should the remedy not be applied?
Some on the other. side openly admitted
that the tariff phould. be revised in certain
particulars. Why should not the bars be
let down when it had been made a shelter
ing place and a breeding ground for trusts i?
His side proposed an amendment to clotbe
the president with power to suspend duties
on trust-made articles whenever necessary
to protect the public. Why would not the
other side join in the enactment Of that
amendments.
DO yOu prefer ne dSkeu, 10 trust the
trusts rather than your own PRESIDENT"
Eve are not seeking to destroy" Mr.. De
Almond continued, ''but to preserve, to act
as a bulwark to prevent the concentration
and constantly multiplying monopolies
which will finally crush out the American
individual and make'a husk and shadow Of
what was once his proud American citizen
ship" ~ 4''
The bill reported from the judiciary COM
mittee, he said, was quite a different meas
ure from that originally introduced by Mr..
Littlefeld. nhfvr' - &
when tn q seehtIeman from Maine started
outtbsRid he,tShS had bldoa in his eye and
a t~omahawk in his hand, but by the time
he and HIS Colleagues caught up with the
trusts they wore smoking the pipe Of
peace, the SKY was clear and the ~pickings
continue food'fo r the trusts"
II it was desired to do anything effective,
he added, the minority amendment should
be adopted. Corporations should be made
amenable TO local courts as individuals
were. The taxing power of the government
SHOULD be employed as it was to suppress
state banks. The bankruptcy act could be
used to throw trusts into court II they
violated the law.
He believed that members should Sc
riousIy, without seeking party advantage,
strive to place an effective law on the
statute books. The administration and
the republican majority in congress would
go far enough to satisfy the people that
they sought to do something for them, but
not far enough to do damage to the Enemy.
Trusts Thousands Of Years Old.
Mr.. Littleheld closed for the majority.
He said no one seriously believed that with
the constitutional limitations a bill could
be introduced that would adequately meet
the situation. But he believed the COM
mittee had presented a fair, reasonable
and constitutional measure, and as such
he hoped it would address itself to the
member Of the house.
He created considerable amusement by
reading a most extravagant denunciation
of trusts, and then announcing that the
extract was not from a speech by any
gentleman on the other side, but from one
delivered by Sir John Culpepper in the
British Parliament 262 years ago.
They had 'em then" he said, "just as
we have 'em now ! call your attention to
the fact that there was no protective tariff
in those. days" ~-.s rta
He traced the history of combinations
back to $500 B. c., to show that eombina-
tions always had existed and that there
had been an outoTy against them. 1t
showed further how old and how difhcult
the problem before congress was.
Speaking OF the bill. Mr.. Littleheld said
It was not commended that the publicity
feature was a specific or oureall for mo.
nopoly, but that 1t was q step in the right
direction, helpfulr7tU the public in three
connections where the trust touched the
people, namely, as investors. creditors and
HOnEumRFR. -r#aaHH--
In reply to a question: he said he did
not believe congress would ~penalize over
capitalization TO do so would produce a
panic. But. publicity wQdld acquaint the
people with the facts and the evils and
overcapitalization would gradually be abol-
ished.