The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1908-09-29

the passage Of the rate bill, in order
that the railroads might be brought
under closer supervision. He insti-
tuted an action In the form Of bring
ing prosecution against all Of the
trusts. and more prosecutions have
been begun under President Roose-
velt's administration than under all
other administrations put together
since the passage Of the antitrust
law. The result has been that the
railroads have actually abolished re-
bates and unjust determinations, and
any railroadman you meet, If he talks
frankly, will thank God in his heart
that Theodore Roosevelt brought
about the adjustment of these dis
ordinations and rebates. Because q
railroad man IL an honest man, and
he wants to look you in the face and
say that he Is conducting an honest
business. They have been subjected
to the necessities. but believe a
power has been brought about where
by they can now do business on the
square. But they must keep within
the law. Mr.. Bryan wants to destroy
the tariff. He wants first to destroy
the tariff on iron. Because, l want
you to understand; that as soon as
these rebates are abolished, compete
tors Of the trusts have turned up all
over the country. Under the old sys-
TEN, you could not do an oil business
in Massachusetts, at all, because the
rates were so arranged that no inde-
pendent oil company could live there
at all. Now Massachusetts is full of
Independent oil companies. They are
there and carrying on the occupation
with the greatest of all, the Standard
Oil company.
when you come to examine the
facts, you will find that this admins
tration has made progress that
stamps out the evil that grows out of
these rebates and which we cannot
hope to rid ourselves of except by
continued honest methods, by hard
earnest prosecution Of the violations
of the law when we find them, and by
demonstrating to them that II they
would have success, they must keep
within the law. Those are the Roose-
welt policies. The proposition is that
the wealthy man, the corporation and
the railroads must obey the law as
much as the poor or unsuccessful
man. And he proposes to carry that
into practice. In other words we
propose to get rid of these rebate
evils. They will not only destroy the
man who owns the so-called trusts,
but will drive out of business all these
wage earnere. But not only that ia
will destroy the business of the hon
est and smaller competitors, but you
will be buried in one destructive
mass, and the innocent must suffer
for the guilty. I say that is the de-
structive effort, and one that ought
not to be followed under any circum-
stances. Bryan says We will just cut
of these trusts and not any of them
who produce more than fifty per cent
shall be punished by indictment
Fifty per cent of the product How
are you going to classify? Is it going
to be particular class Of articles or
what will be fifty per cent? Then
how is man who 10 producing this
month forty-f1ve per cent of the pro-
duct to know whether his competitors
are going to produce less or more
next month? HOW can he tell, when
it depends upon what somebdy else
does? In other words, that PROPOSE.
ton is alright to deliver from the
platform, but when you come to in.
vestigate such a thing as that is
wholly impractical and fit for only
platform discussion. The govern.
ment Of today is not supplied with
sufficient Offices, with sufficient prose.
cutting lawyers, with sufficient agents
of any kind, to keep the business Of
this country straight 1t is true we
can prosecute cases and lay down the
law, and we have done it, and we have
frightened men into obedience with
the law. We have better standard
Of business integrity now and more
conformity to the law. but human ma.
ture is such that 1t is liable to drift
backwards, ami therefore what we
have to do is to get as near to per.
lection as possible. Clinch the prog.
ress that Theodore Roosevelt has
made in the destruction of these evils
growing out of the two great com.
binations and rebatea
II will only say in conclusion that
If am elected president 1 shall con.
slider 1t my chief duty to recommend 8
measure to congress that will put the
government in position to enable ii
to make the wealthy, the corporations