The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-09-12
ATTEMPTS TO GIVE
ANSWER TO DEMOCRATS

:. flnally, we come to certain matters
upon which our opponents do in their
platform Es:a,t M. of principles definitely take
ISSUE issue Win US, and where, if they are
aster TO the country. But exactly as it
is impossible to call attention to the
present promises and past record of our
opponents without seeming offensive. so
IT is impossible to compare their pIat-
form with their other and later official
uttefances and not create doubt as to
Their sincerity. In their private or UNI
official utterances many of them frankly
ADVANCE this insincerity as merit. TAX
ing the position that as regards the
points on which am about to speak they
nromises or of departing from the poll
cies now established, and that there
fore they can be trusted not to abuse the
power they seek.
When we take up the great ouestion
CT the tariff We are at once confronted
ny the doubt as to whether our oppo-
n I1sala 90 or 40 not mean what they say.
ihey say that protection is robbery
and promise to carry themselves fac-
cordingly II they are given power Yet
prominent persons among them assert
t T they do not really mean this and that
II they come into power they win adopt
our policy as regards the tariff while
Others seem anxious to prove that it is
safe to give them partial power, be-
and therefore they would not be able to
do mischief. The last is certainly a GU
rfeus plea to advance on behalf of a
party seeking to obtain control of the
government.
AT the outset it is worth while to saw
word as to the attempt to Identify the
question of tariff revision or tariff re-
duction witf-a solution of the trust ques-
ton. This is always a sign of desire
to avoid any real effort to deal adeauate-
" with the trust question. In speaking
4. 1903, said: "a 11ii :.
The question of tariff revision. speak
ing broadly, stands wholly apart from the
question of dealing with the trusts. No
change in tariff duties can have any sub
stantial effect in solving the so-calIed
trust problem. Certain great trusts or
great corporations are wholly unaffected
are of any importance have as a matter
of fact numbers of smaller American
competitors: and of course a change in
large corporation would work not merely
injury but destruction to its smaller.
competitors; and equally of course such a
change would mean disaster to all the
large or the small corporations From
the standpoint of those interested in the
solution of the trust problem such
change would therefore merely mean that
of its weaker American competitors and
thrown only into competition with for
eisn conpe tltors; and that the first effort
to meet this new competition would be
made by cutting down wages, and would
therefore be primarily at the cost of
labor. In the case of some of our great
est trusts such change might confer
upon them positive benefit Speaking
broadly. it is evident that the changes
in the tariff will affect the trusts for
veal or for woe simply as they affect the
Whole country. The tariff affects trusts
only as it affects all other interests. 1t
E3akes all those interests, large or small
profitable: and its benefits can be taken
from the large only under penalty of TAX
ing them from the small also.