The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-07-06

alties. The entire Republican party at
the last session of the house of repre-
Sentatives with three exceptions voted
against proviso instructing the secre-
tary of the navy not to enter into gov
ernmental contracts with trusts and
unlawful combination convicted by
law of being SUCH The attorney gen
eral, in answer to another resolution
| failed to show that anything substan-
4 tial was being done, civilly or criminal
~, against the anthracite coal carry
ing railroads and anthracite coal mine
owners, constituting together in viola
| ton of law.
One of the greatest trusts in this
country, although a private American
| citizen. had proceeded at great expense
| to get up the evidence. The attorney
general in that case hid behind the pre-
! text that it would be contrary to pub
lie policy" for him to give congress any
| information as to what he was doing
or would do: this same trust BUSTER"
as my good friend, Mr. Joe Cannon,
would nave us believe him. to be, At
torney General Knox has just been ap
vania senator from that state, so the
newspapers all say on the demand of
the very men who constitute this I'M
lawful combination or who are at any
rate the presidents of the railroad COM
panies and the owners of the mines
constituting it. What are you going to
do with the trust buster" busted" or
removed or promoted" out of the
way2
Interstate Commerce Law.
Then there follows the boast of hav-
ing perfected the interstate commerce
law.
The absurdity of this statement is
demonstrated by the actual condition
of things. The interstate commerce
commission has been knocking at the
doors of congress for years asking in
creased power; asking this power at
least when a given rate after inveStiga-
f111 of sides
been decided by the commission to be
unreasonable TO declare that rate would
be reasonable in its stead and to make
this rate operative until set aside by
due process of law on appeal, review or
otherwise. A more ridiculous piece Oh
official impotency than is the interstate
commission at present does not exist.
1t declared a given rate OF 90 cents, let
us say, to be unreasonable, but as II
can not prescribe what would be rea-
sonable in its stead the railroad can
do one of two things.
1t can either take an appeal Whlch
suspends the decision of the commits
sion while the appeal is being long
drawn out by the railroad interested,
or it can change the rate to AZ IL cents
and when that has been declared un-
reasonable can change it again to AZ ~
cents and when that has been de-
clared unreasonable can change 1t TO
49k cents, and so on ad 1nnn1tum
compelling the newly aggr1eved cltlzen
of being punished industrially by the
railroad for what it calls "unfriendly
conduct" and without the hope OF any
substantial redress
merce commission power, not to de-
clare rates generally, not to nix
schedule of rates for all the roads in
the country engaged in commerce, but
power merely to declare rates in its
stead in particular cases where a rate
established has been declared unrea-
sonable this rate to be maintained un-
til set aside by law, has been pending
before the committee on interstate and
foreign commerce in the house of rep
resentatives since this congress met,
and although the Democrats on that
committee again and again demanded
consideration of the bill, and although
delegation after delegation of merch-
ants and members of merchants and
shippers associations have been to
Washington begging enactment OF 1t
or like legislation, nothing has been
done. The Republican party here as
elsewhere, Stands pat.
Takes Up the Tariff.
1 read from the Republican plat
form again:
only when conditions have SO changed
that the public interest demands their
Public interest in this connection,
considering the voice which has ut |
terests'' from the men who wrote and
the convention which adopted it really
means protected interests" How
can public interest demand" the al
teration? How can it make the de-
mand heard? There is only way that
1 know of to make a demand of this
sort heard, and that is to vote down
the men who say that all is well
so far as the tariff is con-
cerned, is all included in the phrase
stand pat Is it possible that the |
American people can be deceived by |
everybody know, that knows anything, |
that the Republican party has no idea |
of making any alterations in the tariff /
unless it can thereby purchase the |
or tie to those already bought by spe-
cial interest by yet closer bonds? Are |
there no conditions" demanding any
changes in any of the schedules of |
highly protected steel and iron prod
ucts, including rails, LOGON olives.
barbed wire and agricultural imple-
mentS of American make are being
sold daily in competition with the So
called pauper labor of the world in
the home of this same pauper labor?
More than that, when they are being
carried right by the south door of
Great Britain on through the straits
of Gibraltar and through the Suez
canal to Britain's own colony of south
arn Africa and sold there, and when.
even more than that, they are sold.
after freight has been paid and profit
obtained, at a less price than the same
goods are sold to Americans in Amer
can markets five miles from the fac
tory. Will any sane man say that
public interest has not already "de-
manded some alterations" in the tar
if? The trouble is. and will be as
ong as the Republicans are in power
hat private interests won't allow any
The curious thing about a man who
IS obtaining benefit by special Iegisla-
ton is that he insists upon playing two
rules. One way he is an
Industrial baron, boasting of having
the markets of the world
and of being able to keep them because
his goods are better or cheaper. The