The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1908-08-27
TRUSTS
Continued from Page one).

ment of a law in harmony with the
democratic platform-a law requiring
every corporation to take out feder-
al license before it is permitted to
control twenty-five per cent of the
business in which it is engaged.
Would this 'eXtirpate and destroy"
the business of the country? AS al
ready stated, but a very small per
cent of the corporations would be af-
fected by the law, and those affected
would be the ones that have been
giving the officers of the law SO much
trouble during the last eighteen years.
AS the licensed corporation increased
its business from twenty-five per cent
to fifty per cent, it would be under the
watchful eye of the government,
would be compelled to make such re-
ports as the government required,
would be prohibited from watering its
stock and would be required to sell
to all customers upon the same terms,
due allowance being made for cost of
transportation. Would it "eXtirpate
and destroy" business to require these
licensed corporations to do business
on an honest basis and to be reason
able in their business methods?
Would not the benefit accruing to the
ninety-nine small corporations thus
protected from constituencies meth
DDS be enough to offset any evil eff
fects that might follow from such
restraint of a few big corporations?
Is business so dependeiN. upon his
honesty and unfairness that it would
be 'eXtirpated and destroyed" If
morals were introduced into it? When
the licensed corporation reached a
point where it controlled one-half of
the business in which It was engaged,
it would, according to the democratic
plan, have to stop expanding. Would
1t "extirpate and destroy" business to
put this limitation upon the greed of
few corporations? Surely our plan
could not injuriously affect corpora
tions that might hereafter seek to es-
tablish a monopoly.
The republican party has gone al
most as far as the socialist party in
the economic defense of the monop-
oily, but it permits the benefits of
monopoly to be enjoyed by compar-
atively few men, who have secured
dominant influence in the govern
ment. I beg to call Mr.. Tafts at
tention to the fact that the republi-
can party has stimulated the growth
of socialism in two ways; First. by
the endorsement that it has given to
the theory that trusts are q natural
and necessary outgrowth of our eco
nomic conditions, and, second, by per-
mitting the development of abuses
which have been charged against in
dividualism. If he will examine the
vote published in the World Almanac,
he will find that in 1900 the republi-
cans polled 7,208,24 votes and that
the socialists polled but IS, 5,991; in the
same almanac, he will find that In
1904 the republicans cast 1925 ,489
votes and the socialists 402, 1856. Not
withstanding the fact that the repub-
licans have boasted of their last ma
tional victory, their party polled but
417,000 more votes that year than
four years before This scarcely more
than covered the natural increase in
the republican portion of the popula-
ton, while the socialist vote increas-
ed more than three hundred per cent,
and the increase in votes was almost
as great as the increase in republi-
can votes.
The republican leaders have been
in the habit of sneering at the social
lists, while blindly Indifferent to the
causes that have contributed to the
growth of socialism. The democrats
recognize that socialists are honestly
seeking a remedy for the known
abuses" admitted by Secretary Taft
Democrats dissent from the remedy
proposed by the socialists, believeing
that socialists are mistaken and that
the democratic remedy is better, but
1t is time for thoughtful people to
recognize that individualism can only
be retained and defended by reme-
dial legislation which will remove
the abuses which have been allowed
to fasten themselves upon the coun-
try The democratic party, believing
in individualism, addresses itself
earnestly to these abuses, and instead
of ridiculing and maligning the so
! cialists, invites them, as 1t does re-
publicans, to examine the democratic
platform and the remedies proposed
therein. 1t submits its plans to the
honest citizenship of the country,
without regard to section or party.
In my notification speech | called
| attention to three demands made by
our party. 1t asks, first, that the
government shall be taken out of the
hands of special interests, and re-
stored to the people as a whole; II
asks, second, for honesty in elections
and publicity in regard to campaign
| funds, that the people may freely
choose representatives in sympathy
with them and pledged to guard their
interests; 1t asks, third. for such a
modification of our governmental
methods as will make the senate an
elective body, and place the control
of the house of representatives in the
HANDS of a majority of its members
A few days ago. in discussing the
tariff question, / dwelt upon the
fourth demand made by our party
namely, that taxation be just, thai
the revenue laws be made for the
purpose of raising revenue and mo-
for the enrichment OF a few at shC
expense of the many, and that the
tariff law be supplemented by an in
come tax which will more nearlg
equalize the governments burdens
Today I present another demand
made in our party platform-the de
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