The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-11-13
ARRAIGMS THE COMBINES
SAYS NEW RATE LAW is NOT
MEASURE FOR THE MASSES.

| san-tai SilOot trlppeu Saliy ahead or
| pui1ed up the aisle more than an hour
W., ne presented the speaker to Judge
" imam ii. King. who introduced him to
the dudlence Then Senator Smoot re-
Iapsed into a chair and for the balance
| OF the evening his face was as express
sloniess as mask save for the clouds
| ments
Senator La Palette literally talked
| against time. He fairly jabbed his argu-
ments into the audience and at times his
/ enumeration was so rapid that his words
! were run together. He gave the impress
sion OF absolute sincerity and an audience
IN which women were largely represented
palu MIN the high compliment of remain
| ing until nearly midnight He stopped
! Just in time to catch a train at II AS for
4 Boise City.
Points Out Grave Menace.
Tis speech was terrific arraignment
| OF great corporations. which he branded
| as a grave menace to popular govern
ment.
"As our fathers designed it. the basic
| principle was that it should carry out
! the Will of the people" said Senator La
| tollette- Our government has been Un-
dergoing a great change i'm recent wears
| and the citizen is being cut off from his
representation. Mighty influences are at
| work to thwart the will of the people
and destroy the representative character
| OF government
Within the last few years corruption
| has made such progress that a new word
| has been coined to keep pace with ii.
/ Graft stalks abroad in municipal affairs.
! in state legislation and in the halls of
congress
| of the past few years, every man and
woman who loves his country must re-
| aliZe there is something for us to do and
! do now. The names of the major part of
a legislature In this northwest. with the
amounts they received as brides to elect
a United States senator. constitute a mat
ter OF common knowledge.
Conditions are appalling. What is
back of it? The changed conditions OF
business are responsible. In the first era,
all the business of this country was con-
Quoted by individuals In the second
period practically all lines outside of ag-
ricuIture were conducted by private cor
porationS. Then cc-ne the third era In
an evil hour. men conceived the idea of
uniting these private corporations. Now
you have the multiplied capital of many
corporations controlled by a board of di
rectors or by single master mind. The
purpose is TO abolish competition and de-
stroy the natural laws of trade. At pres
ent no man can name any considerable
| line of business that is not absolutely
controlled by the trust device. 1t has
revolutionized the commercial life of the
American people
Power of Six Men.
You can't find free and open COM
petitive market for a pound of beef, NUT
I
Six men control this market, and though
they have loOsened their grip a little in
the light of some recent exposures and
court decisions. they are still supreme
| They shrunk the price of beef on the
hoOf in the United States s163. 100000 and
raised the price to the consumer a the
same time. Three times day they levy
tribute at the table of the citizen, and
even the soup bone Of the toiler is not
exempt.
This mOnstrosity was built up through
pf dc nd
there is a growing identity of interest
and ownership OF railroads and industrial
combines
You can't find an open competitive
Iowa. Missouri or Kansas. A few indie
pendent elevators remain but they are
rapidly being stifled by the organization
| in Chicago. controlled by the Armours
and identified with the ownership of
railroads. j introduced a resolution in
congress directing the interstate COM
merce commission TO make an investiga-
ton of the grain trade, and L actually
gathered facts enough to get it through.
When that commission makes its report
il will be quite as startling as the revela-
lions in the coal industry.
Every line of business is under the
control of Il like combination. One hun
dred men control the commercial and in
tdustrial life of the country tonight.
Seventy-six men comprise the boards of
directors of 1.600 corporations. You can't
attack one of the institutions without
dTouSlng the nOStiltN OF the others
Holdings of Eight Men.
Eight men hold nine billions of the
thirteen billions of railroad stock and
control nearly 80 per cent of the railroad
mileage few years ago there were
5000 railroad corporations in the United
States. Tonight there are six systems
controlled by eight men. These six are
not in competition. but are organized into
one gigantic railroad trust. Attorney
General Moody says they are all allied
and intertwined the whole aggregating a
gigantic community of interest, man.
moth transportation trust controlled by
a handful OF masterful fnanciers
''At present banking combination is
centralizing the credits OF the country
and this is a greater menace than the
trusts which have preceded it, All of
these institutions are organized a
false commercial basis. They are the il
legitimate product of evaSions and viola
tons of laws.
rs ii any marvel that John d. Rookie
feler's income for twelve months is
greater than any private fortune of forty
years ago? They have taken from the
people an unjust income to make up these
mighty fortunes of the present day 1t
is wrong in morals and opposed TO the
rulings of the highest courts. 1t is per-
mitted becau3e YOU send to the United
States senate men who will not vote to
enact statutes to enforce the decisions or
the supreme court.
This mighty organization of capital is
now reaching out to control the legisla-
ton of the country. IL wants Speclal
privileges and exemptions and seeks to
control every state legislature and the
national congress by means of criminal
Hobbies. And l regret to say that men
in my profession will do for a. fee what
they would shrink from doing in their
individual business.
why hasn't legislation given US a rea-
sonabie railroad rate, which the supreme
court has defined as sufficient 10 pay the
operating expenses OF the road and fair
return on the actual investment? 1t is
because the corporations are more power
full than congress and the people
st is a long time since we have had
real. true and pure representative gov
eminent anywhere. ] would 10 God I could
make you 500 his. I know I am not
mistaken. AnC ! appeal TO vOu 20 nut
aside partisan feoling and stanl together
to take care of the government
Every year from 1897 to 1906 congress