Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1905-12-07
TRUSTS And COMBINES
Defy the Government and Con-
tinue In the Old WAY.
ONLY POSSIBLE MEANS OF RELIEF

Put the LnSshrcukers In Jail or Re.
wise the Taritf-so Far the Admin
istrntion Has Failed az II Trust
us~tcr-Pricc Advance and Co.t of
Living Increases.
The beef combine charges the govern.
ment with having used trickery and de
ceit, with having obtained by mlawfuI
searches and seizures at the point OF
arms evidence against them. They
have therefore made special and gener.
al pleas to the court in which they have
been indicted that they cannot be pre-
sented. Their claim is that a secret
service agent under the direction of the
United States district attorney at Chi.
cage used force and firearms in Selling
their books and papers, which Were
submitted as evidence to the grand
jury that indicted them. These trust
magnates as long as they can hold up
the public get along Swimmingly, but
when the tide turns and the strong arm
of the law is in turn holding them III
they raise objections. AS it is notorious
that they have been and still are in
combination to plumber the stock rails.
ers and the consumers of their prod,
ucts, it is a bow Of promise to the pub.
lie that the department Of justice has
been taking strenuous measures to OBJ
tain the evidence to convict them.
The administration will earn the
gratitude of the people if the beef bar.
Il are punished as the law directs.
Mere fines will have but small effect.
but a term of Imprisonment will not
only bring the barons to their knees,
but reduce the price of meat to a com.
petitive basis and also be an object les.
son to the hundreds of other trusts and
combines that control other necessities.
The coal trust, the Standard Oil trust.
the steel trust, the sugar trust, the
leather trust, the starch trust, the rope
and Irvine trust, the tobacco trust, the
whisky trust and many others too nu-
merous to mention are all equally guilty
with the beef combine, but from some
occult cause no proceedings have been
So1uHlSIlSCu dSdluSI lIlGlu.
To preserve the record Of the admin
istration as a trust buster will require
the scalp of more than one trust to be
permanent, and as yet after four years
Of reputed activity the only combine
that has been dissolved is the Northern
Securities company. Strange to relate,
the Northern Pacific and the Great
Northern railroads, which composed
that combine, are still running in one
interest and both charging all the traf-
tc will bear, as other railroad combina-
tons are doing, so those legal proceed
ings are worthless as far as relief for
the public is concerned.
Trust prices are still advancing and
the cost of living Increasing, the only
exception being that cotton, wheat,
corn II oats are cheaper, for there is
virtually no protection on those prod
ucts, and the farmers have so far failed
to form a combine to raise prices. The
tariff protects the trusts, but the farm
ers are outside Of that charmed circle
and under the Republican stand pat
policy always will be.
III PRESIDENT Roosevelt would stir up
congress on the trust question by urg-
ing tariff revision even the stand pat
Republicans would have to do some
thing or face an outraged public that
would retire many members to private
life. But the question arises. If it takes
four years to get the beef combine into
court, how long will it take to break up
the other combinations unless the tariff
is revised?