The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-03-17
SHEPARD ATTACKS TRUSTS
 AND UPH0LlS TIE UNIONS
Says the Democratic Party Has Made Mistakes, But It Has Never Pro tected Combinations That Crush
 Out the Smaller Concerns.

l
 gathered today to attend the annual Jackson day banquet of the 1roquois club at the Auditorium hotel. Preceding the banquet many notables in the party held l long talks together, discussing sugges- l tions for the Presidential campaign of next year. The speakers at the banquet made strong pleas for unified party and the adoption of a platform that would meet general approval.
 Mayor Carter II. Harrison, who was to- day renomnated by the democratic city convention, was the first speaker. Aftir welcoming the visitors to the city he re- sponded to the toast, "The City of Chi cago."
 He was followed by Edward NJ shep- ard of New York who spoke on Present Duties of a Patriotic Opposition"
 MT. Shepard said:
 | The talk from one end of the land to the other is of trusts on one side and trade unions on the other. There Is q deep and widespread fear that American industrial civilization may come to be 6 mere interplay between those vast forces in which the great body of independent small producers will cease to be indepen- dent.
 Makes No Protest.
 q make tonight no protest against mere organizations or combinations O. capital or labor, where freedom of others is not impaired and where the power of the government is not thrown into the scale The idea of limiting indvidua. wealth is no doubt a pernicious dream. 1 The democratic party has never made and will never make an attack upon the I freedom of those who have lawfully made ff,,. t1 Ira Ia certainly the democratic party made up | in large part of wage-earners can never be otherwise than loyal to labor organi- l cations.
 T believe the economic efficiency of our | own country has vastly been Increased | and justice promoted by trades unions. | They constitute one of the great and con- | servative forces of our industrial rights. | No wise man can, however, fall to see that with every centralization of economic power by artificial limitation of our in- coming and outgoing markets with every increase of the power of captains of in- dustry over this United States senate, and othef divisions of our government, must go an increasing danger that in sheer defense the orders of labor may become unfayorable to liberty Can any thing involve more danger to conserYa- | tive interests than un-American interfer- ence with personal liberty, such as was H. | lustrated by the injunction order granted in St. Louis the other day by federal | judge of ability and character2
 Has Made Mistakes.
 "The democratic party no doubt has made some mistakes, for 1t is human: i but it has never left itself to neither leg 1 islation administration tending to the destruction of the small independent pro- ducers or of their independence. I should rejoice to hear the democratic party pro- pose not general revision of the tarff with all it's difficulties and complications, and with all of the widespread popular beliefs, faulty as I believe 1t to be of great masses of American business and lahoring men in the protective tariff, but in the first instance a removal or reduc ton to a revenue basis of the duties on goods, the production of which is today practically monopo;ized. Instead of deal ing with the whole problem of free trade and protection instead of Introducing doubt into almost eve.S business, the democratic party may "sl deal with the few schedules in which, through such practical monopoly, vast fortunes have been made by taxation upon the masses of people. For that campaign, public sen timent Is ready. In that campaign every argument in favor of economic freedom can be readily made clear to the Amer ican people. Its essential conservatism will readily appeal to the average Amer ican citizen. whatever he may scientifical. ly think of free trade.
 Too Much Capitalization.
 Nor Is this the whole of democratic duty and opportunity at present No wise man can Fail to see that the repub- iican Nablishment of a new system of colonies held for the American republic by force of arms and at enormous cost is but another phase of the centraliza- tion of power and Encouragement of equal rights. The republican party has of late years affected to be the guardian of sound financial policy. But its leaders have deliberately if not cunningly re fused to give the national bank note eur. rency, the sound and normal elasticit, the business of the country requires.
 For any sound relief of this Kind the country will, I believe, have to look tc the democratic party.
 Upon this programme let us then make our campaign. The establishment of equal rights; the abolition of special privileges; the maintenance of democratic self-goyernment. The programme means resolute tariff reform. beginning with the goods which have fallen under monopoly; resolute and practical prevention of in- ter-state commerce preferences. and abuses, rigorous reduction in cost of administration; the promotion of Phil ippine self government and independence and the provision of fair and normal distribution of secure currency by all banks which hold banking charters of the government"
 Jackson and the removal of the bank charter" was the topic chosen by Judge Judson Harmon of Cincinnati attorney , general under the second Cleveland ad. ministration
 Tn responding to the toast Looking tc 1904' Congressman David DeArmand ot Missouri aroused the 300 banquetters to a high pitch of enthusiasm
 Telegrams of regret at their inability tc be present were received from United States Senator Bailey of Texas and M E. Ingalls,, democratic candidate for mayor of Cincinnati.
 Owing to the large number of demo. crats who travelled to Chicago to attend the banquet and because of the small number of toasts at the banquet, a lunch. con was arranged this afternoon at which a number of out-of-town democrats an. swered to impromptu toasts
 Former Mayor Thomas Taggart of In. danapohs, in his address declared that the prospects for the democratic party