Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1903-06-25
Special Washington Correspondence.

WASHINGTON, D. c., June %, 1908.
Some very shrewd, if INSCRIPTIONS,
newspaper work is being done by the
press agents who are booming Presi-
dent Roosevelt for the 1904 Republic
can nomination. They are portray
ing him as a heavyweight trust fighter
who is smashing the trusts right and
left. They tell the people that Wall
Street is dead against Roosevelt, and
is Matching all kinds OF schemes to
prevent his nomination. They are
ever inventing ingenious stories about
the postoffice frauds. scandals and cor
ruptions, which they hope will rot
only divert well-deserved blame for
this state Of affairs from the President,
who has permitted it to 60 on for two
years, but will try to make political
capital out of it for him. They now
say that some Of the principal rascals
Of the many who we're plundering the
postofiee were conspiring to prevent
the Presidents nomination next year.
In these simple and absurd ways they
expect to beguile the voting popula-
ton Of the country, and, according to
their W assurances, they are sue
ceeding.
Lee: US see what kind of fights the
President has been making against the
criminal trusts of the country and in
the interest of the ''plain people,"
about which his touters are 80 loudly
prating at present. The Presidents
reputation as a trust smasher rests
largely on two court decisions OBJ
tanned last year. The beef trust was
enjoined by the courts and the North
ern Securities Co., a railroad combina-
ton, was declared illegal in the United
States Circuit Court. In neither case
can any benefit to the ''plain people"
be detected, even by the aid OF the most
powerful microscope. Both Of these
trusts are continuing to fix prices and
rates that the people must pay, and 1t
may be said right here, that no de-
cision under the Sherman law has re-
suited in permanent benefit to the
people. The net result has been that
the trusts have changed their form but
not their substance. No court decis-
ion has permanently lowered prices or
rates, or taken the hands OF the trusts
out OF the pockts Of the people. Nor
is it probable that court decisions will
ever remedy the evils of trusts while
we have high tariffs and other special
privileges which give %monopolies
powers and encourage combinations
and trusts. We must somehow over
come these monopoly privileges before
we can hope to get rid of the evils of
the trusts. But the President has set
his face against any change in the
trust-fattening tariff. He even stopped
off, on his recent stumping tour, to
help strangle the poor little ''Iowa
idea" which feebly declared that tariffs
which shelter trusts should come off.
II people call this strenuous trust bust
ing, they are easily satisfied.
Milk sugar forms the basis OF baby
foods. 1t is, therefore, a most neces-
sary product in thousands of house
holds, and it should be as cheap as
possible, for, unfortunately, most
babies are born in poor homes where
the parents must struggle hard to get
sufficient food even of the poorest
quality. II there is any industry that
should be fostered and protected, IT is
this industry in our homes. 1t would
certainly seem cruel, almost inhuman,
to legislate TO make the price of baby
food nearly double what it should be
and thus to put it out OF the reach of
millions Of little unfortunates. But
this 10 just what our Congress did
when it, in 1897, put a duty of five
cents a pound on sugar of milk.
The Casein Go. OF America not only
controls the National Milk Sugar Co.,
the principal manufacturer Of milk
sugar in this country, but 1t controls
the milk sugar industry OF the world.
1t is o selling milk sugar in this
country at 144 cents and in Europe at
% cents per pound. 1t manufactures
1t here, principally in New York and
I~llinoie, and exports 1t to other parts
OF the world. The difference In its
foreign and domestic prices is exactly
the amount Of our tariff duty. The
milk-sugar infant gets its protection
at the expense OF the human infant.
We are sacrificing human infants on
the altar Of protection. We are put
ting the dollar above the man. Yet
our President Is discussing Grace sui
eide" without suggesting lower duties
on food and clothing, all Of which
vastly increases the cost of living and