Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1908-09-02
E168262H86 RSH4HE644AFN
@ POL, ITICS aaaa 3
====OF THE DAY 81
EAaaaAaaEaaEB8E

OF THE DAY

Republican Trast Busting.
The claim Of the Roosevelt admin
isttation to popular admiration. has
been Its trust-busting activities and its
cieim Of controlling corporations. The
cry OF the President has been, Let no
guilty man escape But what are the
facts? Has any ,nalefactor Of great
wealth, or any trust magnate, or any
corporation magnate been imprisoned
In consequences OF the activity Of the
administration? s.
The prosecution of the railroad COM
blue, known Us the Northern Securities
Company. WINS successful and the courts
ordered that combine to BIO dissolved,
but the railroad corporations composing
1t are still doing business at the old
stand and controlled by the same men
and are charging sall the traffic will
bear.'
The prosecution of the packers COM
bine resulted In filming some of Its mem.
sbers a small sum. but the beef trust
still exists under another agreement,
and the price of beef is higher than be-
fore the prosecution was commenced.
The Standard OH, Trust was prose
cuted with deal of svigor, and when
Judge Lands inflicted a fine of twenty
nine millions and over, the Administered
tion was .overjoyed. and some people
really believed that the day of their
redemption from the predatory trusts
was nigh at hand and partially accom-
plished. But sensible people were not
fooled by the magnitude OF the fine, and
now: comes the Circuit Court Of the
United States and orders the fine re-
mitted and sends the case hack to the
lower court for a new trial. OF course
in the meantime, kerosene and gasoline
(. 90 up In price and Stanrard OIL shares
are held at $500 a share and pay 40 to
so per cent on their par value.
The fertilizer trust, however, was to
/ be made a shining example. But after
all the most faithful strust.busting att
torneys Of Uncle Sam had spent months
Of time and thousands of dollars IN
bringing that plunderer Of the farmers
into court, 1t was suddenly determined
tby the administration to discontinue the
suit, SO the plunderfng continues
There were some few others, such is
the paper trust, ordered to disband. but
II you want to buy any paper you must
still buy trust products and ply trust
prices. sss
Those proceedings against trusts are
the four shining examples Of whit this
Republican administration has been
able to do In the way of trust busting
and corporation batting, and on which
1T is expected the voter VIII decide to
give the Republican party another lease
OF power The steel trust, the tobacco
trust, the sugar trust, the paper trust,
and all the other predatory trusts are
being .1nvestlgated.n but those who
KNOW the ropes declare they Will new
er be the worse for what Is discovered.
There is "a way, however, to bring
most Of the trusts to time and no one
knows 1t better than the Republican
politicians, but they studiously avoid
attempting 1t. All the trusts have some
form Of monopolS that holsters them ufl
and most of them are specially protect:
ed BY the tariff, but the Republicans de.
clare that the sacred tariff must not be
reduced, but even declare In their plats
form, just adopted, that maximum
tariff must be. enacted, which will pro
tect. the trusts from competition from
the products OF those countries who also
have a high tariff. That Is the promise
OF Republican reform and method Of
reducing trust high prices. 1t is also
proposed to give the corporations a fed
eral license which would give them. a
further lease of power from which even
the States could not dislodge them.
The Democratic plan of controlling
the trusts is simple and effective. BY
reducing or abolishing the tariff on
trust products, the force Of competition
would at once bring down prices, and
the trusts would be compelled to sell Us
cheaply here as abroad, or at. the same
price here as similar foreign products
can be imported and sold for. after pay
Ing all the expenses OF handling and
transportation. Such expenses. Of i'm
porting foreign goods would be more
thansenough to make the difference in
the labor cost here and the labor cost
abroad on which the Republicans dwell
20 much.
~ - :