The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1906-12-07
POINT TO CONSIDER
REPUBLICANS CANNOT EVADE RE.
SPONSIBlLITY.
Whether the Tariff or Railroad Rebate
Evil 10 the Mother Of Trusts, tho
Party in Power Has Done Much
TO Foster Them.

President Havemcyer of the sugar
rust stated to the industrial commits
sion in 1898 that the tariff Is the
mother of trusts, but now comes the
belated opinion of Attorney General
Moody that mot the tariff but the
railroad rebate is the mother or
trusts" Whichever of these impor-
lant Republican opinions is the right
one is not of much consequence, for
all impartial investigators are agreed
that the tariff and railroad rebates
are both closely related to trust plum
dering and either may well be the
mother and the other the father OF
these predatory corporations. But the
chief thing Is 20 remember that the
Republican party has been standing
pat while the trust fostering was in
cubating and now the trust Infants
have grown to the stature OF giants
the Republican party Is still continu'
ing to prevent legislation that VIII
take from the trusts the monopoly
they enjoy through tariff protection.
There is no escape for the Repub-
iican leaders from President to state
legislator, from the fact that since
coming into power in 1897 and enact.
ing the Dingley tariff. that the trust
era has accompanied that trustfoster-
Ing law. Nor can It be denied that
since the tariff was so greatly In
creased in 1897 II has been accom-
panied by a similar advance in the
price OF nearly all commodities, until
now the cost Of living according to
Oun's and Bradstreets index figures,
Is close upon 80 per cent. higher than
before the DinEley law was passed.
As the Republican leaders have
taken all the credit for any advantage
to business from the trust boom and
have even attempted TO appropriate
the blessing from favorable seasons
and resulting good crops, they must in
return be held responsible for the
( enormous increased cost Of living and
the great loss 10 those whose incomes
/ have not kept pace with their in.
creased outgo The Republican lead.
crs must also explain TO the farmers
why the price Of wheat and other ag.
ricultural prodHcts has fallen under
| the trust fostering tariff. which they
! have assured the farmers was to pro.
/ tcCt them as we'll as the trusts, As
/ long as poor crops abroad apparently
| kept up this Republican DECEPTION, by
making n demand for our surplus
wheat and other farm products and
/ their price naturally was advanced, the
| Republican theory, that the tariff ben.
| Gifted the farmer, appeared to the I'M
! thinking to have good grounds for be.
ing really responsible for prosperity.
| But that Republican idol has been
shattered by the reduced demand for
wheat and other farm products and
| the fall in the price
II is therefore incumbent on the Re.
! publican leaders, who have been 20.
ing up and down the land claiming
that prosperity is due TO the tariff. to
| explain this breach in the tariff walls
! that has allowed the low priced farm
products to get into the tariff fort.
ross alongside of the high priced
trust products They must also ex,
| plain why the trusts are to continue
TO have n monopoly under the high
tarlff law and the farmers shall still
be forced to sell at prices fixed in the
free trade markets OF the world in
/
countries that have like products to
dispose Of
A revision Of the tariff is obviously
| demanded so that the trusts shall
lose their enormous protection and the
consumers--farmers and other people
alike-wIll be protected from paying
the high prices that the trusts arc
protected by the tariff in imposing on
all the American people.