Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1907-10-02
Especial Washington Correspondence of
The ArruS)


The Argus.)
The power of the rrnss irrespective
of political affiliations on the part of
any newspaper seems likely to be CIV
en- an Interesting test in the next six
months. Aside from the power of the
press, the sincerity and the unselfish-
ness of newspaper owners and editors
are likely to be given like test.
Among the many trusts existing and
fiourishing in the United States today
is the paper trust. That of coarse is
not its name. 1t may be the General
Paper company or the International
Paper company or the Manufacturers
Paper company or half dozen other
companies differing in names, but all
alike in their purpose. which is to mo-
nopolize the supply of paper or of the
material out of which paper is made
and to compel newspaper publishers to
pay the highest prices that can be ex-
torted.
At New York the newspaper owners,
members of the American Publishers
association, who control Republican or
Democratic papers, recently adopted
practically with a unanimous vote this
resolution:
Resolved, That 1t is the sense of this
meeting that the duty on printing paper,
| wood pulp and all material entering into
the manufacture of printing paper be i'm
| mediately repealed.
1t would take too much space to give
| the names of the owners, publishers
| or editors of Republican newspapers
l'who voted in favor of this resolution.
| Enough it is to say that practically all
| who attended the meeting did so.
! Now. it will be interesting to observe
what they are going to do when the
SiXtieth congress meets and their idol
Joe Cannon. returns with his determi-
| nation that the tariff must not he
touched and his gavel to enforce that
determination.
If wood pulp is to be taken off the
| list of protected material for the bene-
| fit of newspapers. why shouldn't lum-
| Der be taken off for the benefit of the
people in the untimbered plains of Ne
| ~ anu -Nol III anu bNOulll
| Dakota? If that which is necessary
only TO newspapers is to be thrown
open to the competition of the world
| why shouldn't the goods, whatever
| they may be. that are necessary to the
| health, comfort and even livelihood OF
| the people who subscribe to these
| newspapers also be made free of duty!
1t is very we'll to say and it is absolute
ly true that the paper trust, founded
upon an Ubiquitous tariff, is practical
| ly destroying the profits of the news
paper business in this country. The
| Democratic papers can logically insist
| upon this fact, but what are the Re
publican papers going to do?
When any Republican newspaper
or any editor of a Republican newspa
per denounces the duty on printing
paper, wood pulp and all material en-
tering into the manufacture of print
ing paper as all the Republican ed
itOrS or proprietorS did in New York
they are morally bound to denounc(
every other form of tariff ON raw ma
tcrials that affects an American in
dustry.
In brief, it is fair to ask whether
the action of the American NewSpape
Publishers association represents onl!
the desire of its members to revise tn,
tariff for their own benefit and to lie
it stand as it is for the injury of othe
industries. This cannot be charged
against Democratic editors, for tn,
Democratic press stands pledged to tar
If revision, but the Republican pres
does not today offer any candidate 70
any office from that of president t
that of representative in congress VIII,
has not pledged himself either to tn
policy of stand pat or to that of an In
definite postponement Of any sort of re
vision of the tariff.
Tho Vice Presidency.
1t seems to be well assured that MI
BRYAN viii be the nominee for presi