Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1904-01-28
THE PUBLICITY REMEDY
It Seems There Are Only Two
Bad Trusts In the Country.
NO PUNISHMENT EVEN FOB THEM.

The Standard Oil Case a Shining Exc
ample and Expensive
Paraphernalia Of the Strenuous
Trust Investisatien-Larg Expend-
flares and No Results.
ness, and to bag one requires more
money and energy to be expended than
to create new republic. All the siren
uous efforts Of the administration, from
President Roosevelt down to the lesser
clerks Of the department Of justice, have
SO far failed to accomplish any tangi-
BILE results in the trust hunting cam
paign. With host of special assistant
attorneys and money to burn-congress
having appropriated 100000 for the
special business of hunting down. bad
trusts-they have only discovered two
trusts that are bad enough to be legally
proceeded against, and the cases
against these are still dragging along
In the courts. Congressman Littlefeld
Of Maine-good Republican authority
published list of about 500 trusts
nearly two years ago, not one Of which
can be said to be u good trust and
hundreds of which are certainly bad
trusts" if gouging the public makes
bad trust in the eyes Of the powers
that be. Two of these 800 trusts were
selected by President Roosevelt and
Attorney General Knox as the only ones
they could discover that needed curb
ing-the railroad merger Ct the Great
Northern and Northern Pacific and the
packers combine, known as the beef
trust.
Both of these cases are in the SUI
preme court, and if the decision is
against these trusts or combinations
the ordinary person would expect that
the trusts would be punished for dis
Obeying the law, but such will not be
the case. The only result of decision
against these combinations will be to
dissolve the combine in the same way
as the Standard Oil trust was dissolved
by order of the court ten years ago.
Has that decision against the Standard
OIL trust reduced the price Of oil or rem
dered in any way its extortions from
the consumer less exacting? The an
swer will be No, with big N, for the
price of oil is increasing and the trust
is still paying about 40 per cent profit
to it's stockholders. The railroad merger
and the packers combine will also con-
tinue to do business at their old stands
In spite Of these spectacular efforts to
appear to suppress them.
pensive business under the present ad-
ministration, and no results favorable
10 the people are accomplished, the ma
ehinery created by the last congress for
publicity Of trust transactions is even
more expensive and less effective, II
that were possible. Hon. George b.
Oortelyou, the secretary Of the depart
ment Of commerce and labor, has over
10000 clerks and employees under him.
and although all Of them are not en-
xaged in hunting up trust doings, yet
It is to be presumed that many Of them
are, publicity being the special hobby
Of President Roosevelt. Cortelyou is
crying to congress for more money and
more clerks to help battle with the
trust demons and track them to their
hair 10 that their modes and habits and
habitations can be exposed to an anx-
ious public and thus prevent the
lambs" from purchasing their watered
stocks.
But Republican congress in its wis
dom provided that the secretary OF
commerce should report any facts he
mieht discover about The trusts to the
pssaidant, ara h shall 1sside r TIE
same shenA y Duh1lGhsl. ~ we'd
g has ~ O ~ AeansoD1o -
4 y Al0et - 1aDsvs - 1so10