The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-08-21
TAFT's KEYNOTE SPEECH.

TkFT'S KEYNOTE SPEECH.
Secretary Tafts Columbus speech is
doubly interesting and significant only
because it comes after consultation
with the president; it contains Tafts
own platform in his campaign for the
presidential nomination of next year,
and it foreshadows the attitude of the
administration on big questions at the
approaching session of congress.
Broadly speaking, the issues covered
by Mr.. Taft are the railroads. the trusts
and the tariff He uphOIds the rate law
and favors the extension of its jurisdic-
ton far enough TO permit federal re-
strictiOn of capitalization, a grant of
power to the interstate commerce COM
sission enabling it to make classical
tions of freight as well as rates. and
suggests that agreements be authorized
for the maintenance of rates and divi-
sion of traffic. Mr. BTyans appeal for
a physical valuation of the railroads as
one factor in the determination of rates
does not meet with Mr.. Taft's approval,
because, he says, physical value is only
one of numerous and complex elements
in total value.
On this subject the speaker said:
The Importance of fixing rates, COM
selves, is much exaggerated, for the
overwhelming evidence is that on the
whole rates in this country. especially
as compared with those of all Eu-
ropean railroads. many of which are
owned and operated by the government,
are low. The chief evil consists in I'M
just discrimination in rates between in
divIduals and localities. I do not OBJ
ject TO valuation, if thought relevant
TO any issue, but I merely deprecate the
assumption that it is to be the chief
means Of a great reform in rates.
Two forms of unlawful monopoly ex-
ist. "One." he says. lis by an agree
ment among a number of different man.
ufacturers of an article for the main
tenance of the price of the article and
the suppression of competition. This is
denounced when the contract is in re-
straint of interstate trade as a criminal
offense against the United States, pun
ishable by fine and Imprisonment, and a
conspiracy which may be restrained by
Injunction in a civil suit The other
form is denounced with similar rene
dies against it, as a monopoly of inter
state trade. and covers the union of the
conspiring companies into one compa-
ny which. by owning all the plant or
nearly all the plant engaged in the
manufacture of the products and by use
of other devices, controls the prices.
The supreme court of the United States
has not decided what a monopoly under
this section of the antitrust law is"
Following this he Celebrates on the
difference between a lawful and unlaw-
full trust and points with pride to the
prosecutions that have taken place I'M
der the law of 1890 and by direction of
this administration.
He fails, however, to dwell upon the
obvious fact that every one of the I'M
lawful trusts originated under and has
flourished by favor of Republican ad-
ministrations, and these trusts were the
principal factors in the Republican VIC
tories of 1896, 1900 and 1904. Nor does
he emphasize the fact that such trusts
as the paper trust, which was forced to
liouidate and dissolve its organization,
vas permitted to go unpublished and
has found means for the attainment of
it's illegal objects by another method.
He believes an amendment to the anti
trust law may be needed defining in
more detail the evils at which it is
aimed. making clearer the distinction
between lawful agreements reasonably
restraining trade and those which are
pernicious in their effect, and particu-
larly denouncing the various devices for
monopolizing trade which prosecutions
and investigations have shown to be in
actual practice" He does not believe
in federal license of corporations doing
interstate business as a means of re-
straining unlawful trusts.
X X x
Touching swollen fortunes" the
speaker suggests that some time in the
far-distant future when the govern
ment has to meet a financial emergen-
>ey. it may be well to provide a federal
Aheritance tax, and possibly an income
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