Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-07-06

party had failed to enforce have been fear
lessly enforced Here are the statements.
FIRST that the republicans. instead Of both
parties. enacted the law. which Is not true:
second. that the democratic party had done.
nothing. and third. that the republican
partially true. Now, the fact is that al
though the democrats only had a four
years opportunity. and although the trust
evil was neither very acute nor very preva-
mon, under Cleveland's administration,
| found the suit of the government against
| the Trans Missouri Freight Association lost.
| took it up. revived 1t and won it. He then
instituted suit against the Joint Traffic As
| ISOLATION and also against the Addystone
Pipe Company. These two cases were de-
! cided for the government after Mr.: C!eve-
land went out. 1t Is true, but on the lines
| laid down by his Attorney General. and the
principle established in the case of the gov
eminent against the Trans-Missouri Freight
| Association-the principle there contended
| for by Cleveland's Attorney Generals the
| principle which gave life to the proceedings
| in the Northern Securities case, and which
| led Governor Van SAINT and not the repub-
icans, as has been falsely pretended. to in
| augurate that case. 1t was natural con-
sequence of the case against the Trans
| Missouri Freight Association and the case
| against the Joint Traffic Association. Nor
| Is it true in any proper sense that the re-
| publican party deserves much credit for
| enforcing the antitrust law.
what has the republican party done in
| this regard? One Of the chairmen OF the
| whether 1t was the temporary or perma-
| nent chairman) says it has 'enjofned the
beef trust We would not have known II
| II somebody had not told U.S. The fn1unc-
| ton does not seem to have had any prac-
| teal effect upon the beef trust or upon the
price of beefsteak. think 1t was the per-
manent chairman of the republican con-
vention who said the democrats killed
,x,,3th Ind md he
| law. Where are the corpses? There Is but
| one that know of. and it properly belongs
| to Governor Van SAINT. 1t is the spoil OF
| his sword and his spear The boast that
| the administration has executed the anti
| trust laws is, of course, ridiculous.
1.-The Attorney General In response to a
resolution of my own, frankly confessed
| that nothing had been done. and lett the
| inference that nothing would be done to-
| ward the criminal prosecution or the men
| found guilty by the Supreme Court IN tne
! Northern Securities case Of having violated
| the law and incurred Its penalties. Inc
entire republican party at the last session
of the House of Representatives, with three
| exceptions, voted against prOv1so INSTRUCT
| ing the Secretary of the navy not 10 ense :
| into governmental contracts with trusts
| and unlawful combinations convicted oy
law of being such. The Attorney Cen
eral in answer to another resolution,
failed to show that anything yuDsta a,a.
was being done. civilly. criminally against
| the anthracite coal-carrying railroads ana
| anthracite coal mine owners, constituting
| together, in violation of law, one OF the
private American citizen had proceeded at
great expense to get up the evidence. the
| Attorney General in that case hid behind
| the pretext that 1t would be contrary to
public policy for him to give Congress any
| informa ton as to what he was doing or
| would do. This same trust buster. as my
good friend, Mr. Joe Cannon, would have
| us have him to be, Attorney General Knox,
i hoe hoo
| Pennsylvania senator from that state on
| demand. the newspapers all say. of the
| very men who constitute this unlawful
combination, or who are, at any rate, the
presidents Of the railroad companies and
| the owners of the mines constituting 1t.
| What are you going to do when the trust
| buster is busted. is removed or promoted
| out of the way?
Interstate Commerce law.
Then there follows the boast of having
| perfected the interstate commerce law.
| The absurdity of this statement Is demon
| strated by the actual condition of things.
| The interstate commerce commission has
been knocking at the doors of Congress for
| years asking for power; asking this power
| at least when a given rate, after inveSti-
cation and full hearing of both sides. has
| been decided by the commission to be I'M
| reasonable. to declare what rate would be
| reasonable in it's stead, and to make this
rate operative until set aside by due pro-
| cess of law on appeal. review or otherwise.
A more ridiculous piece of official impo-
tency than is the interstate commerce
| commission at present does not exist. 1t
can declare given rate of fifty cents, let
us say, to be unreasonable, but as it cannot
prescribe what would be reasonable in its
| stead, the railroad can do one of two
| tiiings-it can either take an appeal which
| suspends the decision of the commission
| while the appeal is being long drawn out
by the railroad interested. or 1t change
| hn rot 70 to fnTfxy -ri and I,1f 70, Il
| when that has been declared unreasonable
! can change it again to forty-nine and a
| quarter cents, and when that has been de-
| clared unreasonable can change it to forty
! nine and one-eighth cents, and so on ad
| infinitum. compelling the newly aggrieved
| citizen In each case to bring suit at the risk
| of being punished industrially by the rail-
| road for what it calls unfriendly conduct
| and without the hope of any substantial
immediate redress
"a bill to give the interstate commerce
commission power, not to declare rates gen.
| orally not to fix a schedule of rates, for all
| the roads in the country engaged in inter-
| state commerce, but power merely to de-
| clare a reasonable rate in its stead in par
| ticular cases where a rate established has
been declared unreasonable, tins rate to be
| maintained until set aside by law, has
| been pending before the committee on in
| terstate and foreign commerce in the
| House of Representatives since this Con-
gress met, and although the democrats
on that committee again and again de-
manded consideration of the bill, and al
| though delegation after delegation of mer-
chants and members of merchants and
| shippers associations have been to Wash
| ington begging enactment of it. or like
| legislation. nothing has been done. The
republican party here as elsewhere, stands
pat
Readjusting Tariff Rates.
II read from the republican platform
again: Tariff rates should be readjusted
| only when conditions have so changed that
| the public interest demands their altera-
ton Public interest," from this connec-
| ton. considering the voice which has ut
| tered the words, is good. Public interest
| from the man who wrote 1t and the con-
| vention which adopted it, really means pro-
| tected interests How can public interests
| demand the alteration?
How can 1t make the demand heard?
There Is only one way that I know of to
| make demand of that sort heard, and
| that is to vote down the men who say that
| all is well enough and the gospel of hui
mainly. as far the tariff is concerned
| is ali included in the phrase stand pat
| Is Is possible that the American people