Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1904-05-06

xV9u III OecemDcr. therefore lie is j
probably happy. But what of the peo- !
pie? How do they like to see Re-
publican congress abandon its post of !
duty and scud away in search of votes
lin April?
Hearst Versus the Trusts.
Hon. William Randolph Hearst, edi- !
tor of several great newspapers rep F,
resentative in congress and candidate
for the Democratic nomination for
president, manifests an honesty of pur-
pose and a persistency of action most
admirable and most unusual in pur- /,
suing the trusts. Some men criticise
his motives, but he keeps on fighting
the trusts-an example which it would
be much wiser to initiate than to carp
at. Horace Greeley once said The
way to resume is to resume" Hearst
evidently believes that the way to bust
trusts is to bust them. So he keeps
on humping them. 1t will be remem-
bered that recently he scored a great
triumph over the anthracite coal trust
In the supreme court OF the United
States. Not satisfied with that, ON
Saturday, April %, he filed with Mr..
Attorney General Knox complaint
alleging that combination of the
Philadelphia and Reading railroad and
the Central Railroad of New Jersey, I'M
der common management has shifted
competition, and pettioning the de-
pnrtment of justice to proceed against
them under the Sherman antitrust
law. The complaint asks that the &C.
ton be taken to restrain the Reading
company, while the owner Of the stock
Of the Philadelphia and Reading Rail-
way company, from owning holding or
voting upon the stock of the Central
etc.; finally that the guilty parties be
prosecuted criminally.
His detractors have tried to make it
appear that Mr.. Hearst IS q mere DUN
my, a charge which never had any
Foundation in fact and which he tri-
umphantly refuted the other day by
appearing before the house judiciary
committee and delivering an argument
of which any man might well be proud.
The great Republican lawyers on that
great committee tried to confuse him
| by cross examination, but he held his
own and came out with flying colors.
On that point his critics should in COM
mon decency shut up. Good for Will
liam Randolph Hearst!
In arguing his question before the
committee he used these two very Wig
orous sentences: 1.-The attorney general
has been brooding over that evidence
like hen on doorknob for eighteen
months. BE has not acted in any way
and won't let anybody take it away
from him."
This language indicates that Mr..
Hearst can express his ideas in vigor-
Gus and picturesque speech. Per-
haps it also indicates that his bump
of reverence is not abnormally devel-
oped. His words are not calculated to
| make him persona grata in the attor-
ney generals Office, but are well cal
culated to make the attorney general
squirm. To refer to any man as ''sit-
ting hen" is considered in all countries
an expression Of contempt, but to de-
scribe him as "sitting on doorknob"
il to express contempt in superlative
| degree. II Hearst does not look out
he will got himself prosecuted.
Benton on the Tariff.
The Washington Post pays the fol
lowing high and well deserved compli-
ment to the Hon. M. e. Benton, one of
the representatives from Missouri:
Representative Maecenas E. Benton Of
Missouri, recognized az one Of the ablest
and most Industrious members of the
| house. seldom devotes any OF his time to
oratorical efforts on the floor, although
he Is Acknowledged to be one of the best
| informed men In the body on public ques-
tions and one Of the most forceful speak
| ers on the minority side. In the debate
| upon the merchant marine Mr.. Benton
took occasion to advance his views on the
general tariff question with force that
has attracted wide attention.
IN opening biz address Mr.. Benton de-
MED the Republican contention that pro-
lection - the settled policy Of this coun-
try. Y insist" said he that you cannot
Anally settle anything in government
uke ours that IL not just in its makeup
to all classes OF our people. The wage
Garner of every class and in every part
Of our country Il entitled to an even
chance in the race OF life. The profess
/ sional man, the merchant. the farmer,
/ the miner and the day laborer are en-
titled to have the burdens OF federal tax
alton fairly distributed This cannot be
| done under system that enables the
manufacturer to sell his finished product
to foreign consumers cheaper than he
does to the homo market.
Strip this tariff question of all party
bias take away from it the party color
Ing which is given it by support Of a
great party that profits by catering to
i the tariff barons and the system cannot
sustain itself with a third OF the Ameri-
can people. Hear for n moment: Reapers,
mowers, plows, cultivators. trace chains,
steel rails, wagons, sewing machines,
| typewriters coarse cutlery, picks, shovels,
nails. axes, wire, cotton goods. woolens,
shoes and harness manufactured in this
country are shipped out Of the country
| and sold in foreign markets from 20 to IS
| per cent cheaper than the same articles
| are sold to the American consumer"
After reviewing briefly the history of
tariff legislation and calling attention to
many of the fallacies championed by the
Republican leaders, Mr.. Benton outlined
his ideas Of the proper attitude Of the
Democratic party on the tariff and other
| public questions as follows:
/ What Is the Democratic idea Of
tari1? asks the Republican politician
Briefly stated. 1t is that a constitutional
tariff levies such margin or duty on
foreign made goods as to raise sufficient
| taxes to carry on our government pru-
IDENTIFY and economically and that such a
tariff will much more than compensate
the American manufacturer for the great
Or price which should be paid the Ameri-
can over the foreign laborer.
Further, our notion of the tariff Is that
| the lowest average rates should be levied
upon those articles which are Of absolute
necessity and in general use among those
| who are least able to bear heavy taxes