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

tho consideration Ol tile
~ tho 57th Congress. The Democrat
are shooting straight at the marx ahe
the Republicans are lodging a.u
hedging as is usually the case w,'',
them when any question comes up io'
consideration that will put theh o''
record. - ;n.o
Tho Democrats threw a bomb ll,o
+boir camn on last Wednesday during
tho consideration of the leglsia1'Ne'
o]~ecutive and judicial appropriation
hin Representative Bartlett OF
Georgia offered an amendment 10 oae
b]il1inserting an appropriation OF s2'o'-
ooo for the purpose of enforcing inc
eno.,o,p antitrust law. This move
IN tine part of the Democrats was
whol,vunexpccted by the Republicans
and completely knocked them OH Vlieif
feet. It was amusing to watch the'f
antics. They first stared at each otilet
in hank amusement and then fusAeu
u;,d,v aronnd for a hasty consultation
with the leaders Of the parry. IL ""e
Of frst decided to rule outline amend
noint of order that II was
new legislation. and, therefore, h"V
carmane to the bill. but the leVel-
headed Old foxy fellows knew that ~
would he the worst politics in tue
world to so before the country In OPP
noSition to the enforcement OIL Tue
ANTITRUST laws, so they took another
tack. They dug ap the Pete" 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 for
the Republicans to swallow and they
made a WHY face over the 0ose admin
istered by the Democrats, for they
had intended to allow the Hepburn
bill TO die a natural death in thecom-
mitlee. 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 tosllow their hands. MI
Bartlett tried in vain 10 get Hepburn
to insert in his bill, which the Repub-
licaus adopted as a substitute to the
Bartlett amendment. a provision in
structing the Acknowledgement to
proceed at once to the prosecution OF
all trusts and unlawful combinations
of capital in restraint of trade.
1t was nc &c, 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
water on a ducks back.
That is the way the people of this
country r 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 nave an
swered the purpose. The trusts have
continued to grow and flourish like
cinch bugs in a corn 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 Republican majority, Then
they talked of a Constitutional
amendment andofa tariff commission.
All OF them have been cast aside for
the present makeshift and now thew
will prate about how they are irving
tp break up the trusts. 1t is all nv
pocrisy, false pretense and rot. How
much longer will the people be blinded
to the facts in the case?
The Republican party gradually is
coming to the Democratic contention
That we should have free trade with