The independent. [volume] (Lincoln, Neb.) 1902-1907, 1906-09-06


can afford to receive contributions even from In
d1vlduals when the acceptance of those contri-
buttons secretly pledge the party to course
which 1t can not openly avow. In other words,
politics should be honest, and I mistake political
conditions in America if they do not presage i'm
provement in the conduct of campaigns.
While men may differ as to the relative Inn
portance of issues, and while the next congress
will largely shape the lines upon which the next
presidential campaign will be fought, | think
it is safe to say that at present the paramount
ISSUE in the minds of large majority Of the
people, is the trust issue
Il congratulate President Roosevelt upon the
steps which he has taken to enforce the antitrust
law and my qualification is not lessened by the
fact that he has followed the democratic rather
than the republican platform in every advance
he has made 1t has been great embarrassment
to him that the platform upon which he was
elected was filled with praises of the republican
party's record rather than with promises of re-
form; even the enthusiastic support given him
by the democrats has enabled the champions of
the trusts to taunt him with following democratic
leadership He has probably gone as far as he
could go without mourning the hostility of the lead
ers of his own party. The trouble is that the re-
publican party is not in position to apply effec-
tive and thoroughgoing reforms, because it has
built up through special legislation the very
abuses which need to be eradicated.
Before any intelligent action can be taken
against the trusts must have definition of a
trust Because no corporation has absolute
and complete monopoly of any important product
the apoogists for the trusts sometimes insist that
there are in reality trusts Others insist that
it is impossible to legislate against such trusts
that may exist without doing injury to legitimate
business. For the purposes of this discussion
it is sufficient to draw the line at the point where
competition ceases to be effective and to designate
as trust any corporation which controls SO much
of the product of any article that it can fix the
terms and conditions of sale
Legislation which prevents monopoly not
only does not injure legitimate business but act
ually protects legitimate business from injury
We are indebted to the younger Rockefeller for
an illustration which makes this distinction clear
In defending the trust system he is quoted as say
ing that as the American beauty rose can not
be brought to perfection without pinching off
nnety-nine buds, so that the hundredth bud
can receive the full strength of the BUSH so great
industrial organizations are impossible without
the elimination of the smaller ones 1t is cruel
illustration but it presents perfectly accurate
picture Of trust methods. The democratic party
champions the cause of the ninetynine enter
prises which are menaced; they must not be sac
rificed that great combination may flourish
and when the subject is understood shall re-
ceive the cordial support of hundreds of thousands
of business men who have themselves felt the op-
preston of the trusts who, having observed
the effect of the trusts upon Others realize that
their safety lies not in futile attempts at the
restraint of trusts, but in legislation which will
make private monopoly impossible.
There must be no mistaking of the issue and
confusing of the line of battle The trust, as
institution, will have few open defenders. The
policy of the trust defenders will be to insist upon
reasonable regulation and then they will rely up
their power to corrupt legislatures and to ntm-
idae executives to prevent the application of any
remedies which will interfere with the trusts.
Our motto must be: "A private monopoly is in
defensible and intoerable, and our plan of attack
must contemplate the total and complete over
throw of the monopoly principle in industry.
We need not quarrel remedies We
must show ourselves willing to support
any remedy and every remedy which
promises substantial advantage to the peo-
pie in their warfare against monopoly Some
thing is to be expected from the enforcement of
the criminal clause of the Sherman antitrust law,
but this law must be enforced not against few