The San Francisco call., 1904-10-02
NEWLANDS OPENS THE DEMOCRATIC
CAMPAIGN IN THE GOLDEN STATE

enue taxes imposed upon commerce,
upon the exchanges and upon the Ia
ciIities for business in the shape of the
various stamp taxes should be re-
pealed, the taxes imposed by that act
upon aggregated wealth, such as upon
sugar and oil refneries, should be re-
tanned.
The Democrats contended that the
tax imposed by the war revenue act
OF one-eighth Of one per cent on the
gross receipts of sugar and oil refin-
cries in excess of S25O,OOO, under
which one million dollars annually
was paid toward the expenses. of the
government by the greatest trusts
known to modern times-the sugar
and the oil trusts, corporations which
have notoriously escaped proper taxa
ton, whether national, State or mun1-
cipal, should stand, and that it should
b" extended to all industrial corpora
items having large annual gross re-
ce1pts, and that in connection with
such tax such corporations should be
compelled to make statements to the
national government as to their re-
celpts, operating expenses, taxes, wages
paid, prices charged for their products
abroad as compared with domestic
prices, and other information neces-
sary to secure full publicity of their
affairs.
This contention, fully set out in the
report of the Democratic minority of
I the Ways and Means Committee, was
denied by The Republican majority and
was defeated by a rule passed by the
Republicans in the J1onse preventing
the consideration of any amendments
TO the repeating act save those sug-
gested by the Republican majority of
the Ways and Means Committee, and
| thus an opportunity was denied to the
minority, even by an amendment, to
present their contention to the vote OF
the American Congress.
"A reasonable and graduated tax.
similar to that imposed upon the sugar
and oil trusts by the war revenue act,
should be imposed upon the gross re-
ceipts of all great industrial combina-
tlSls, and in connection with it pub
lefty should be required, with a view to
securing such information as may be
a guioe to further legislation of regu-
lative and corrective character.
RATES AND PUBLICITY.
The Republican platform asserts
that new laws insuring responsible
publicity as to the operations Of great
corporations, and providing additional
remedies for discrimination in freight
rates, have been passed by a Repub-
lican Congress. While power is given
by the recent law to the Secretary of
Commerce and Labor to make investi-
cation in such matters, yet publicity l.,
left to the discretion of the President of
the United States, who can publish or
withhold, as he sees fit. A publicity en-
forced by the law itself is the only pub
licity the law should recognize, and it
should not be permitted TO any public
Official however high to exercise dis
cretion as to whether the general pub
lie should be advised concerning the af
fairs of these great industrial corpora
tions. Although nearly two years has
passed since the act was passed, no
publicity has as yet been given, and
this suggests the fear that the support
of the trusts and industrial combina
tions will be insured in the coming cleo
ton by assurances, judiciously made,
as to the exercise of this discretionary
power.
'In contrast with this fictitious Re-
publican publicity stands the Demo-
cratic plan of publicity urged by the
Democracy regarding the sugar and
oil refineries and other industrial COM
binations and also the plan of
publicity proposed, by Senator Dubois
of Idaho as an amendment to that
provision of the bill providing for
permanent census, which gave the
power of examination into the affairs
of corporations. This amendment re-
quired not only examination, but also
full information as to their receipts,
expenditures. capital stock, bonded in
debtedness, wages paid taxes paid.
prices received at home and abroad by