The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1904-07-23

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but not free trade. He continued;
THE true democratic position on the
tariff is this: Recognizing the fact
that a large portion of our revenue
has always been raised from customs
duties or taxes, democrats divide all
imports into three classes-neces-
saries, comforts and luxuries-and
contend that the tariff taxes should
be highest on luxuries, lower on COM
forts and lowest or none at all on the
necessaries. They furthermore say
that taxes should be uniform on all
articles belonging to n class.
That is the democratic party's posi-
ton, from which 1t will not be driven
or coaxed or bullied. No amount OF
misrepresentation will cause them to
bulge from that position"
The chairman then devoted his at
tention to former Attorney General
Philander C. Knox. He declared that
Mr.. Knox had been made attorney
| general through the influence OF the
trusts and was afterwards transferred
to the United States senate as a reward
for his protection of the trusts. On
this subject he said, in part:
People will open their eyes In as
constituent and begin to inquire as to
the why and wherefore of his appoint
ment when they learn that the transfer
of Mr.. Knox from the attorney gener-
alship to the senate vas procured by
the earnest and successful efforts of
Mr.. Prick, Mr.. Cassatt, and Mr.. Donald
ator Boise Penrose, the new republican
boss of Pennsylvania, to permit Mr..
Knox to be senator-for Gov. Penny
packer, who nominally made the ap-
been considered at all in the premises.
THE amazement of the people will
grow like Jonah's gourd vine when
they learn that Mr.. Frick is the heavi-
est stakeholder in the steel trust; that
Mr.. Cassatt is president of the Penn
sylvania Railroad company, which is
one OF the defendants in the coal trust
suit now pending, and that Mr., Gamer
on represented the Standard Oil trust
and Wall street interests in ~persuading
Boss Penrose to let Mr.. Knox go to the
senate.
Here we have the strange spectacle
the mystifying anomaly-of three
of the chief trust magnates in the land
securing the appointment to the senate
of Attorney General Philander c,
Knox, who has been exploited far and
wide as the greatest trust buster on
terra firma.
Folks who still dare to think, will
be forced to one of two conclusions:
First, either that Mr.. Knox Is the only
lawyer in America capable of conduct
ing a suit against a trust-which Ii
absolutely preposterous-or that the
Knox antitrust crusade has been 8
bunko game from the beginning"
Concluding his address, Chairman
Clark said:
Has the president changed his
views, or have the trust magnates
changed theirs?
PLAIN people cannot be blamed fol
being bewildered by all this kaleido'
scoplc performance.
"They cannot be censured because
by an old process they figure 1t GU
that two and two make four, and thai
the transfer of Mr.. Knox from cabiner
to senate at the behest of Messrs
Frick, Cassatt and Cameron, taken In
connection with the change of feeling
In Wall street In favor of the presi,
dent. has a sinister meaning.
1.-THE trust magnates who secured
the senatorial toga for Mr.. Knox, since
they have established the entente cor.
dale with that famous trust buster
ought to compel the young ruffianlJ
scions of great trust houses who SOM
time ago insulted and assaulted Mr.
Knox in a public restaurant to &c
down on their knees and make him tn,
amende honorable. Then all will b.
I~oyely-away with the trust and tn,
trust buster"