The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-08-31
BRYAN MAKES NOTABLE COMING ADDRESS MADISON SQUARE


tive and to designate as a trust any cor
poration which controls so much of the
product of any article that it can fix the
terms and conditions of sale
Legislation which prevents a monopoly
not only does not injure legitimate bust
ness but actually protects legitimate bus
mess from injury. We are indebted to
the younger Rockefeller for an illustra-
ton which makes this distinction clear.
In defending the trust system he Is quot
ed as saying that as the American beau
ty cannot be brought to perfection with
out pinehing off ninety-nine buds. so that
the one hundredth but can receive the
full strength of the bush. so great in
dustrial organizations are impossible with
out the elimination Of smaller ones 1t is
a cruel illustration 1t paints a perfectly
accurate picture of trust methods. The
democratic party champions the cause of
the nfnety-nine enterprises which are
menaced. They must not be sacrificed
that the great combination may flourish,
and when the subject Is understood we
shall receive the cordial support of the
hundreds of thousands of business men
who have themselves felt the oppression
of the trusts or who having observed the
effect of the trusts upon others. realize
that their safety lies not in futile at
tempts at the restraint of trusts, but in
HtSlSldllOn WHICH VIII make IA pflNdIe
monopoly impossible.
Trust Has Few Defenders.
There must be no mistaking of the
issue and no confusing of the line Of bat
tie. The trust as an institution will have
few open defenders. The policy of the
trust magnates will be to insist on ''rea-
sonable legislation and then they will
rely upon their power to corrupt legisla-
nd fntfy1idata nxept4fiVnc "a
the application of any remedies which
would interfere with the trusts. Our motto
must be "A private monopoly is indefens-
I ible and intolerable,' and our plan Of at
tack must contemplate the total and
complete overthrow of the monopoly prin-
ciple in industry.
Must Not Quarrel Over Remedies.
I'VE must not quarrel over remedies
We must show ourselves willing to sup
port ANY remedy which promises substan-
tial advantages to the people in the war
| fare against monopoly. Something is to be
expected S-bm the enforcement of the
criminal clause of the Sherman ANTITRUST
| law, but this law must be enforced moi
against a few trusts as at present, but
against all trusts, and the aim must be tc
| imprison the guilty not merely to re.
/ cover a fine What Is a fine of a $1,000 oil
| even $4,000 to a trust which makes a
| hundred thousand dollars while the trial
is in progress?
"If the criminal clause Is not good tc
| be enforced it ought to be repealed. II
| Imprisonment is too severe punishment
for the eminently respectable gentlemen
who rob $4,000, 600 of people of hundreds
| of millions of dollars annually, the stat
| utes ought to be changed, for nothing Is
more calculated to breed anarchy thar
! the failure to enforce the law against rich
| criminals while it is rigidly enforced
against petty offenders.
Need New Legislation.
But 1t is not sufficient to enforce exist.
| ing laws. If ten corporations eonspiring
| 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 tc
| a new corporation. The new corporation
| can proceed to do the same thing that
| the separate corporations attempted, aid
| yet not violate the law. We need there
fore, new legislation, and the republican
| party not only fails to enact such leglsla-
| ton but fails even to promise 1t. The
| democratic party must be prepared &c
propose new and efficient legislation.
Recent investigations have brought te
| light that nearly all crooKedness revealed
| in the management of our large corpora
| tons has been due to the duplication OF
directorates. A group of men obtained
! control OF several corporations doing bus
mess with each other and then proceed
ed to swindle the stockholders of the va
rious corporations for which they acted
| No man can serve two masters and the
director who attempts to do 50 will fail
no matter how much money he makes be
fore his failure Is discovered. Many Of thu
trusts control prices by the same meth
DDS The same group of men secure con-
troll If finpS "a M
the management is thus consolidated. II
is worth while to consider whether a blow
may not be struck at the trusts by law
making 1t Illegal for the same person to
act as director, or officer of two corpora
| tions which deal with each other, or are
engaged in the same general business.
Require Federal License.
"A still more far-reaching remedy was
proposed by the democratic platform OF
1900 namely. the requiring of corpora
lions to make out a federal license be-
fore engaging in Interstate commerce,
This remedy Is simple. easily applied and
comprehensive. The requiring of a license
would not embarrass legitimate corpora
tions-it would scarcely inconvenience
them-whle ii would confine the predatory
corporations to the state of their origin
just as license to sell liquor leaves the
possessor of license to sell only in ac-
cordance with the laws of the state in
which he resides, 80 the corporation IL
Gene granted by a federal commission
would not interfere with the right of each
state to regulate foreign corporations do
ing business within its borders. If cor
porations were required to take a federal
license, the federal government could
then issue the license upon the terms and
conditions which would protect the pub
lic A corporation differs from a human
being In that 1t has no natural rights
and as all OF its rights are derived from
the statutes, it can be limited or re-
strained according as the public welfare
may require.
THE control which Congress has over
interstate commerce is complete, and If
Congress can prevent the transportation
the express companies or by freight, 1t
can certainly forbid the use of the mails,
the railways and telegraphs to any cor
poration which Is endeavoring to mono
police an article OF commerce and no
party can long be credited with sincerity
If It condemns the trusts with words
only, and then permits the trusts to EN-
ploy all the instrumentalities of interstate
commerce in the carrying out its nefarious
plans. 1t is far easier to prevent a mo-
nopoly than to watch 1T and punish 1t
and this prevention can be accomplished
in practical way by refusing a license
to any corporation which controls more
than certain proportion of the total pro-
duct-this proportion to be arbitrarily fixed
at point which will give the free oper-
alton to competition.
Tariff Question closely Allied.
1.-THE tariff question is very closely al
lied to the trust question and the reduc-