Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1906-08-01
Capitalization nf Power.


bills will have to be passed upon by the
Supreme Court before we know where
we are at. so us far as endorsing that
legislation the voters at the next cleo.
tion Will have to vote blindly. The
railroads evidently believe that they
have not much to feDr from rate regula-
tion as far as any reduction OF rates is
concerned, or the price of their stocks
would not be go strongly maintained.
The beef packers profess to be more
than satisfied with the meat inspection
bill, as they may well he, considering
that Republican Congress so kindly
put the cost OIL the American taxpayer.
Regarding. the building OF the Panama
Canal, and no one but tile engineers
Will know the progress that Is being
made and all the people of the United
States will be sure OF Is that the annual
bills will be paid for by them and that
the cost will be increased $40,000,O 1000
or more by the decision of the Repub-
.llcan Congress that all the supplies
must be bought of the tariff fostered
trusts, unless the President decides tile
price charged is extortionate. That, of
course, the President will not be called
upon to decide, for the trusts and COM
bines will keep just within what might
be looked upon us extOrtionate. Thus
all the proposed reform and remedial
legislation that has been heralded with
such strenuous flourish of trumpets
and beating of toni-toms- dwindles down
to mess of pottage for the people.
They may not have sold their birthright.
but 1t looks vastly possible that the Re
publican leaders have mortgaged 1t for
them and that the trusts and corpora
lions expect to foreclose in due time.
The Congress has taken most. rad
lcal position OH placing in the hands of
the President the prerogatiyes of power
and has declared for Capitalization III
the Federal government of sovereignty
more than the. old Federalists under
Hamilton urged or desired. In the
hands of n patriot the increased power
of the President may do no harm and
may be of service in controlling Con
gress and the bad elements of his party.
But IL tyrant, or an ambitious crea-
ture OF corporations should be elected
chief magistrate ard should desire to
perpetuate his public service, 1t would
be quite difficult to .depose him by con
stitutional methods. The President
now has the army, the navy, the militia,
the office holders-a vast swarm of
them-at his beck and call. He has
power to secretly inquire into the do.
lngs of corporations that operate out.
side of one State. He has NIL the ma
chinery of the Federal courts, the at
-torneys and United States marshals,
whose deputies might be increased
without end, to indict and punish sucll
as might not bow submlssively to his
sovereign will or dlsgorge assessments
that might be levied against such cor
poration. and Individuals as might in.
tentionally or ,carelessly have broken OF
eyaded the law. Even many of the
Federal judges would not be lndepell.
dent of him or, at least, enough would
be found to enforce the law with an
eye to their own advantage 49,.
Such III brief are the conditions that
now confront us, through the constant
subservIency OF n Republican Congress
to an Executive clothed with vast pow
er. 1t commenced with. Mckinley un.
dor tho ohcurd 500 10 op thu NO, f,,.t -
Spain and has been gradually growing
until 1t has become menace under
Roosevelt The latter may be pat
riot, though most people doubt 1t. and
think him consumed with ambitious
projects. He has declared he will moi
be candidate for third term, and
for their own ultimate salvation thu
people must take him at his word.
Open Confession.
After much tribulation most Of the
Republican politicians of note admit
that the trusts and combines sell cheap
err abroad than here. The Iowa stand
patters, such us Secretary Shaw and
Congressman Hepburn, still persist In
claiming that the trusts sell us cheap,
~ here as abroad. except occasionally
a job lot that 1t is impossible to sell
at home on account of being out OF
fashion or out Of condition.
Congressman Dalzell, however, has
acknowledged that the trusts are sell
Ing their surplus products cheaper
abroad than here and is rather boast
full of 1t. 1t need hardly be said he
used to deny 1t as a Democratic fabri
cation Of the most ethereal Kind.
Senator Aldrlch. the boss standpat
ter and stuffed prophet Of the trusts
which ARE the spirit of his political
life" has also acknowledged the fact
that the trusts sell cheaper abroad
than here. for on June 2, speaking ir
the Senate, he made this statement:
at is a well-known fact, about which
there is no dispute, that producers ir
the United States and In every one OF
the great Industrial nations, sell por
tions Of their products from time t.
time Mt a less price to people of othel
countries than to their regular custom
ers at home"
1t Is hardly possible TO expect Secre
tary Shaw and Congressman Hepburn
to change front on this Issue. They
have too lately made the most deter
mined denlals that their friends, thu
trusts, are SO wicked. 1t can also hard
ly be expected that the Republican
spellbinders and many of the newspa
per organs of the G. O. p. Will tax,
back what they have learned and stated
with the precision Of photograph, ant
now their mendacity being disclosed
they should be covered with shame, ant
acknowledge the Democratic contention
has all along been the correct one
They will either have to admit they
were wrong. or still stick to deludini
tile plundered taxpayers, who are pay
Ing Al per cent higher on the averag'
for all they buy then they did befor,
the present Republican tariff law wa
enacted, and so much higher than TIN
foreigner pays for the same articles
is this square deal for the Ameri