The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1906-09-06

viii authorize an income tax. and thus
| make it possible for the burdens OF the
! federal government apportioned among
| the people in proportion to their ability
| to bear them.
| Capital and Laksr.
have referred to the investigator O,
! International controversies under a sys'
tenn which does not bind the parties u
| accept the findings of the court OF IN
| quiryc This plan can be used in disputes
between labor and capital In advocating
arbitration of differences between larg'
corporate employers and their employees
| believe we are defending the highest
interests of the three parties to thes'
disputes viz the employers, the EN-
ployes and the public. The employees can
not be turned over to the employer to b'
dealt with as the employer may please
The question sometimes arises: Can
not conduct my business to suit myselfE
This question is plausible one. but wher
a man in conducting his business at.
sempts TO arbitrarily fix the condition:
pnder which hundreds of employees viii
nave to live and to determine the condi'
tions under which hundreds of Others
shall have to exist. / contend that he has
no right to deprive his employees of the
right or life, liberty aad the pursuit OF
happiness To support this position
need only refer to the laws regulating
the safety of the mines. the factory laws
fixing the age at which children can be
employed and usury laws establishing
the rate of interest,
But if il is unwise to make the EN-.
ploycr the sole custodian of the rights
and interests CT the employees. it is
equally unwise to give to the employees
uncontrolled authority over the rights
and interests of the employer. The en-
ployes are no more to be trusted to act
unseIfishly and disinterestedly than the
employers. In their zeal to secure an ad.
vantage they may not only do injustice.
but even forfeit ii larger future gain.
No reference to the labor question is
complete that does not include some men.
ton of what is known as government by
injunction. AS the main purpose of the
writ IS to evade trial by jury, 1t is really
an attack upon the judicial system, and
ought to arouse unanimous protest. So
long as the meanest thief is guaranteed
trial by Jury. jury ought not to bt
denied to wage earnerS. However, as the
writ is usually invoked in case of strike
the Importance of the subject would b.
very much reduced by the addition OF
a system of arbitra ton. because arbitra.
ton would much reduce, even if it die
not entirely remove the proba bility of E
strike.
Just another word in regard to the
eight-hour day Is an international strug.
gle, and it is sure to be settled in favor
of the workingman's contention. The
benefits of the labor-savfng machine have
not been distributed with equity. The
producer has enormously multiplied hi:
capacity, but so far the owner of the ma.
chine has received too much of the in
crease and the laborer too little.
BimetalIism Not an Issue.
which may not be regarded as strictly
partisan, but I am sure that you will
pardon me If In this presence 1 betray
my interest in those policies for which
the Democratic party stands. Our oppo.
nents have derived not only partisan
pleasure. but also partisan advantage
from the division caused in our party
by the money question. They ought not
therefore, begrudge us the satisfaction
that we find in the fact that unexpected
conditions have removed the cause OF
our differences and permitted to pres
ent a united front on present issues. Tht
unlocked for and unprecedented increase
in the production of gold had brought
a victory to both the advocates of gold
and the advocates of bimetallism-tht
former keeping the gold standard which
they wanted and the latter securing thu
larger volume of money for which they
contended
Trusts the Paramount Issue.
While men may differ as to the rela
tive Importance of issues. and while the
next congress will largely shape the line:
upon which the coming presidential cam
paign will be fought, / think it is safe
to say that at present the paramount is.
sue in the minds of large majority OF
the people is the trust issue. 1 congratu,
late President Roosevelt upon the step.
which he has taken to enforce the anti.
trust law and my qualification is not les
sened by the fact that he has followed
the Democratic rather than the Repubi
can platform in every advance he ha:
made.
Before any intelligent action can b.
taken against the trusts. we must have
a definition of a trust. Because no cor.
poraIion has an absolute and complete
monopoly of any important product, the
apologists for the trusts sometimes in.
sist that there are in reality no trusts
For the purpose of this discussion it i.
sufficient to draw the line at the poin,
where competition ceases to be effective
and to designate trust any corpora
ton which controls so much of the prod
uct of any article that it can fix the
terms and conditions of sale.
Must Protect Legitimate Business.
Legislation which prevents monopoly
does not injure legitimate business, bu
protects it from injury. We are indebted
to the younger Rockefeller for an illus
tration which makes this distinction
clear. In defending the trust system, he
Is quoted as saying that, as the Ameri
can Beauty rose cannot be brought tc
perfection without pinching off SO buds
that the Tooth bud can receive the full
strength of the bush. SO great industrial
organizations are impossible without tn,
elimination of the smaller ones. 1t is
cruel illustration, but it presents a per
fectly accurate picture of trust methods
The Democratic party champions tn,
cause OF the 80 buds that are menaced
they must not be sacrificed that one great
combination may flourish, and when the
subject is understood We shall receive tn,
cordial support of hundreds of thousand,
of business men who have themselves feI,
the. operation of the trusts or who, hayins
observed the effect of the trusts upor
others, realize that their safety lies no!
in futile attempts at the restraint OF
trusts, but in legislation which will max,
a private monopoly impossible. Our motto
must be: "A private monopoly is indie
fensible and intolerable," and our plan o!
attack must contemplate the total ane
complete overthrow of the monopoly
principle in industry.
lmprison the Guilty.
We need not quarrel over remedies. We
any remedy which promises substantial
advantage to the people in their warfare
against monopoly. Something is to be
expected from the enforcement of the
criminal clause of the Sherman anti.
trust law. but this law must be enforced
not against few trusts as at present
but against all trusts. and the aim must
be to imprison the guilty not merely te
recover a fine. What is fine of $1,000. OF
even $4,000 to trust which makes $780,,
600 while the trial is in progress? If the
criminal clause is not going to be en-
forced 1t ought to be repealed
New Anti-Tru.t Laws Needed.
But it is not sufficient to enforce exist.
ing laws. If ten corporations conspirins
together In restraint of trade are threat.
ened with punishment all they have tc
DO now is to dissolve their separate cor.
porations and turn their property over &c
new corporation. We need therefore
new legislation and the Republican party
not only fails to enact such legislation
but falls even to promise il. The Demo.
cratic party he cd