Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1908-07-15
Campaign
Comment.
The Denver Platform.
journal of Commerce.)

worthy of its origin. 1t touches super
ficially upon every topic that its author
thought might be turned to account
Il for catching votes, regardless Oh
whether there was anything to be done
about it or not. If anything were to
be attempted in line with all it's vague
suggestions the Government would be
| overwhelmed with impossible tasks.
While deprecating the Capitalization OF
power and denouncing large appro-
priations and the employment of a
multitude of persons in the public ser
vice, it would make the Government
vastly more complex and costly than
it is now, for it assumes that pretty
much everything in business that eX-
| tends from state to state should be
infinitely regulated and supervised by
| Governemnt employees.
| Take, for instance, railroad regula-
ton, which SO many think has already
| gone too far. 1t asserts the right of
Congress to exercise complete control
over interstate commerce. demands
| the enlargement of the powers of the
| Interstate Commerce Commission"
| and would require a valuation of all
railroad property, taking into consid-
Grafton physical value" original cost,
cost of reproduction and call elements
of value that will render valuation
fair and just" give the Commission
| the initiative in determining what
| rates should be charged, have all
schedules ''inspected'' by it before they
| are filed, and all agreements and claSSi
iications subject to it's approval before
| they take effect. Considering the eX-
tent of our railroad system, the multi
| plicity of interests affected, the need
| of expert knowledge and close study
| for adjusting these matters on single
| line with its branches and connections,
| it is evident that this would impose
an impossible task, and cause hopeless
| confusion if an attempt were made to
perform it. The Commission would
have many other things to look after,
| including prohibition of railroads en-
gaging in any business which "brings
| them into competition with their
| shippers The task of regulating
| rates alone would be beyond the power
| of man, for legislation is demanded to
| assure such reduction in transporta-
| ton rates as conditions will permit,
| care being taken to avoid reductions
| that would compel a reduction Of
| wages, prevent adequate service or do
| injustice to legitimate investments"
| The infinite knowledge, wisdom and
power that this would require makes
such a declaration devoid of practical
| sense and reduces it to sheer clap
| trap.
| But it is not only the railroad bust
| ness that the platform, if it's utterances
- =
| bring under close supervision. requir-
| ing horde of inspectors and spies and
of executive officials to give it effect,
| if effect were within the bounds of
human possibility. Among the "rem-
| edies" proposed for trusts, no defini-
| ton of the term being given, is a "sys-
tenn making it necessary for "a
manufacturing or trading corporation
engaged in interstate commerce to
take out Federal license before it
shall be permitted to control as, much
| as % per cent. of the product in which
it deals the license to protect the pub
lie from Watered Stock" prohibiting
the control by such corporation of
more than SO per cent of the total
| amount of any product consumed in
the United States" and compelling
such corporations to sell to all pur-
chascrs in all parts of the country on
the same terms, after making due al
lowance for cost of transportation.
This would impose upon some author
ity with an army of employees a task
of obtaining information, watching
operations of business and passing
judgment, far beyond human capacity,
and would ovcrwhelm executive and
judiciary with labors that no earthly
power could perform. 1t would make
the laws still-born if they were ever
bcSOtten at all. If such stuff as this
is not intended to be pure claptrap it
assumes that all that is necessary to
give it effect Is to pass laws and leave
them to execute themselves
Those features of the platform that
have relation to sane issues are for the
most part either meaningless or I'M
sound. That relating to injunctions is
partly one and partly the other. No
body denies that parties to all judi
Cial proceedings should be treated with
rigid imrartiality," but what does this
mean: "InjunctionS should not be is
sued in any cases in which injunc-
tions would not issue if no industrial
dispute were involved" If Gompers is
satisfied with that, it must be because
he thinks he sees something in it that
1t does not contain. A possible sense
may be extracted from the statement
that trial by jury should be provided
in cases of indirect contempt" of
court, though defiance of injunction
orders is sufficiently direct to be
promptly and summarily punished if
injunctions are to have any effect.
The so-called anti-injunction plank is
simply rotten.
On the tariff is seems to have been
| impossible for the platform juggler to
talk Straight and clear. A tariff should
neither foster nor sustain trust" but
1t must have a general application in
accordance with some definite prIncl-
pic 1t is not possible to adjust du-
ties SO as to discriminate between
"trust-contTolled articles and others
of the same kind, or between those
sold abroad more cheaply than at
home aud those that are not. This
would imply scrutiny in lcvyng and
collecting duties and a decision as to
swim