Omaha daily bee., 1908-08-27


The democratic party has been
urging, year after year, the strict en-
torcement OF the sherman antitrust
law said Mr.. Bryan In his speech at
indianapolis on occasion of the notifi.
cation OF Candidate Kern. and the
statement is in keeping with most of
the arguments and declarations made
through the rest of. his speech. The
Sherman antitrust law has been on
the statute books for eighteen years.
In four years of that time the demo-
Gratis we're in complete control of both
branches Of congress. OF which Mr..
Bryan was a member. yet the record
fails to disclose one effoFt of the party
to secure the enforcement of the law.
The first real step in that direction
vas taken under a republican ad-
m~inistration, which, by an amendment
to the law, covering the rebate fea-
ture of trust abuses, made effective
enforcement of the law possible.
In arguing in favor Of the Denver
platforms proposition to prohibit a
corporation from controlling more than
SO per cent OF the total amount of any
product consumed in the United States
Mr.. Bryan declares that when a cor
poration controls so per cent Of a
product It supplies 40, 700, 600 people
with that product" This might be
important, II it were true. But when
ever such a condition has wen been
approached experience has proven that
the field is sufficiently inviting to in
duce independent concerns to combat
the trust. The alleged monopolies of
which Mr.. Bryan complains are theo-
retically useful, but are practically
impossible. No one knows this better
than MIR. Bryan, who prefers to deal
in theories rather than established
facts.
deep concern on Mr.. Bryan's part. In
1896 Mr.. Bryan exudeds volumes Of
o~ratory and rhetoric to prove that IL
the free silver fad was rejected by the
III lCdn NONSIS lhV lldFCliu6 hdu
would have to pack his grip and hunt
another job, as the country would go
to the bow-wows and people would not
have the money with which to buy
goods, even IL they wanted them. This
year MIR. Bryan is predicting that the
travelling salesman will have to quit
the road unless the democratic posi-
tion on trusts is ratified by democratic
success at the polls in November. The
mere fact that there are more travel
ing men on the road today, working
for better wages than ever before and
pushing the products OF competing
manufacturers and jobbers in every
line of commodities, does not bother
Mr.. Bryan at ell,
On the proposition that trusts. or
licensed corporations, should sell their
products ito all purchasers in all parts
of the country at the same terms,
after making due allowance for the
cost of transportation" Mr.. Bryan
runs directly counter to a proposition
laid down by him in his address be-
fore the Chicago conference on trusts
In 1899. This would absolutely de-
stroy competition and make the travel
Ing man, for whom Mr.. Bryan is so
keenly concerned, wholly Unnecessary
In his Chicago speech Mr.. Bryan de-
nounced the trusts because they COM
PEELED the man who owned an article,
wool, for instance, to sell to one man
at one price all over the United States.
If Mr.. Bryan would have the corpora
lions sell their products at one price
everywhere why should he not allow
them to buy their raw materials at
one uniform price all owe the country?
No one will argue with MIR. Bryan
on the necessity of controlling and
regulating corporations of all kinds
in their relations to the public, but
thinking men will be slow to agree
with the remedies he proposes. The
remedy will come through the correc-
ton of abuses that grow out of opera
lions of the so-calied trusts. in any
attempt to stife industry oil prevent
competition, and cannot be found, as
Mr.. Bryan suggests, in an effort to
limit ownership in corporations to rs
per cent OF stock, or production to
so per cent. The evil is one that will
have to be settled by regulation, &C
cording to the republican plan, and not
by platitudes or mathematics, as sug-
gested by Mr.. Bryan.