Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-11-25

pay for their steel rails and materials gen.
orally, oftentimes so per cent more than
the same material is sold for by the same
manufacturers to foreign countries
"I agree with you fully regarding the IN.
come tax OF all countries In the world
ours should have one, and yet whlle IL ex-
lists in England, in Germany and SWitzer-
land and France is soon to have one, theIe
are but few advocates of 1t in America. We
have everything bigger in our country than
anywhere else individual selfishness. per-
haps as well as individual fortunes. am
yours very truly, etc. etc. III,
Mr. Bryan replied at length defendlng MS
position, and his admirer continued the cor
respondence as follows
Railways and Trusts.
Dear Mr. Bryan: I duly received your
letter of March 81 You say: The trust
question and the railroad question are the
ones about which the discussion is raging,
and upon these / fear we are not In har-
mony' You are, perhaps, right in so think
ing. The chief mainstay Of the trusts Is our
iniqu,tous tariff. The greatest abuse from
which the American farmers. our great
wealth producers, suffer is the extoruon
which the tariff enables the trusts TO exact
The prices which our farmers pay for their
wooden wearing apparel of every descrip-
ton their tools coal. lumber, ana many
other things, are much higher than they
would be, except for the tarlH. On tne
ton whatever from the government. their
rates are fixed under free competition Wlth
each other, and are lower than exist any
where else in the world
II disapprove of your course under the
circumstances in attacking the railroads
so violently and exclusively Win view 10
forcing them to sell their transportation
at rates fixed by government of1ic1a $, Whle
by your silence regarding the tariff you
neglect an opportunity to use the great
weight of your name and influence In
favor of repeal of the existing legislation
which allows the trusts to rob the people.
consider it of vastly more real i'm
portance to the public that there should
be additional legislation requiring the
trusts TO give full publicity to their book
keeping and their operations. and which
should prevent their doing interstate busl-
ness upon fictitious capitalization, than to
enact legislation compelling the railroads
to sell their services to the pubic at rates
fixed under political influence. while leav--
ing the trusts free to sell their wares at
extortionate prices under the protection OF
federal law.
MANY instances and there may still be in
dividual cases of Injustice done by the rail-
roads through rebates, special rates and
unjust discrimination. but L telsVe II
should be a question rather of detection,
exposure and prosecution under existing
laws of such abuses than oil more law or
more power. i am quite as strong as you
in my desire to see all abuses corrected,
not concentrate all our energies upon the
little zones at the risk of creating perhaps
other abuses which might be very detri-
mental to the interests of the country.
thoroughly believe in the proper regula-
ton of corporations arf their forced SUBJ
mission to wholesome law and in jul
dicious remedies fer the real wrongs and
abuses of mono poly, but let US first verify
the abuses and then attack mem in the
order of their Importance 1t has always
been popular to make great hue and
cry about the railroads and to attack them.
You doubtless remember the extreme hos
tile granger legislation OF the seventies. its
injurious effects and it's final reputation
by the people. You do not want to repeat
that experience.
Guarantee Of Deposits.
$50 with regard to banking legislation
Go not think you realize the Importance Of
going slowly and carefully You once told
me you believed that the national banks
should mutually guarantee each others de-