The Democratic advocate., 1907-08-02
A Live Issue for the Presidential
Campaign.
From the Baltimore Sun.

From the Baltimore Sun.
1t begins to look like the people OF the
land will be treated TO discussion of a cam
pagn issue of real sanity and Importance next
year. In Massachusetts the Democratic lead
ers believe and will insist that the Democratic
party shall press tariff revision as the para.
mount question before the people. Ex.Gov-
ernor Douglas, practical business man, is
insistent upon this policy. The outgiving
from Sycamore Hill has apparently settled
the fact that the stand pat theory shall reign
in Republican councils. and the ''mother OF
trusts will be sustained by her children.
The Democratic perty now has an opportunity
to present to the people remedy for the high
prices extorted by tariff sustained monopoles.
1t is believed by many that the people would
| respond to an appeal for reform which would
| give genuine and not sham relief to American
consumers. There was time, perhaps. when
the term protection" meant the protection
of home industries. Now it means the pro-
| lection of trusts from competition. Mr..
| Charles S. Hamilton. of Boston, said to a
newspaper correspondent that year ago he
made an investigation of the comparative
prices of American goods in the United States
and in Canada. He found that a churn man
ufactured in the United States was sold in the
| United States for So. so, while its makers sold
the same churn in Canada for 81. In the
| United States the firm is safe from competi'
ton, while in Canada it has to compete with
| Canadian factories. Why not let the Canadian
factories compete with it on this side the line
| A horse hoe which the American manufac-
turer sold at home for 80. SO he sold in Canada
for So, and so on with plows and whole list
of enumerated articles.
| The Federal Administration is engaged in
warfare on trusts under the Sherman law,
but without any practical results in decreasing
prices or any relief to the people from the
burden of monopoly. Indeed, according to
Mr.. Charles G. Dawes, o: Chicago. the
Sherman Antitrust law is a failure or worse
than a failure. SIT discriminates," he says,
against purely useful, beneficial agreements
in restraint of trade and encourages-drectly
encourages injurious agreements in restraint
of trade. 1t initiates against the scrupulus
business man; it initiates against good
| trade agreement and in favor of the bad trade
agreement" Congress could break up the
trust monopolies by simply letting in compe'
ton frcm the outside. But the Republican
party is unalterably opposed to this kind OF
''trustbusing' The President is reported
to have said that it must not be so much as
mentioned among us for some years to come.
| II is the business of the Democratic party,
however, to mention it and to keep on men.
tioning it until there is relief.
An antitrust campaign of this kind waged
| next year ought to appeal TO the people. The
| antitrust laws Of the Federal Government
have been on the statute books for years, and
they have helped no one but the lawyers. as
far as the general public is able to judge by a
comparison of housekeeping and living ex'
penses. To make them effective they should
be supplemented by tariff revision, and should
be enforced by party not friendly to the
trusts.
The disposition of the protected trusts to
extort the utmost penny and to resist every
effort for relief is manifested at this time. In
order to prevent a tariff war with Germany
the Administration entered into an agreement
with that country under which goods sent
from Germany to this country, upon which
ad ralorem duties are levied here, are to be
valued at the actual market value in Germany
and not at their market value in this country.
This would result, it is estimated, in some
mitigation of the tariff tax. But the Ameri
can Protective Tariff League objects to even
this small concession to the consumer. and
attacks the agreement made by the Admins
tration as unlawful.