Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1908-08-08

land The big trusts that honeycoii'o
that country today would hold up ooth
hands in favor Of it. The last CENSUS
showed that only 13 per cent. OF Ali'er-
lean products are produced by lrps''
-eighty-seven per cent. OF them coh''
from independent producers scattered
ND and down the length and pfeao'h
CT this great country of ours. II Is
these Independent factories, ana i'ii''S
and shops of this country, vastly nio'e
than those of the trusts that form ING
nucleus OF thousands of American eei'-
tiers Of population, and furnish the
markets for the agricultural products
of the surrounding country. IL IS an
error to suppose that Trusts invariably
crush out competition-for thousands
of these Independent mills, factories
and shops are successfully mahulac'-
urinp articles that are also manufact-
urcd by Trusts. This is a great couh-
try, possessing the finest market III
the world, and great indeed must be
the Trust that can control the "iole
of it in any article OF common con-
sumntion. Now what would be the
result of an attempt to destroy the
trlsts by putting their products upon
tho free list-thereby putting them
and their empoyes and the producers
who supply them with raw material
into unrestricted competition with the
big trusts, their employees. and pro-
dncers Of foreign countries? IT 1t IS
true that the Trust can. at the pinch,
produce it's products cheaper than It's
Independent competitors is 1t not
equally true that these Independent
mills would be the first to be wiped
out of existence by Mr.. Bryans pan
acea of free trade? The big Trust
would alone be left to contend against
the competition of the foreign Trust.
How could it do this.
Isl. by 6olh6 ouS VI '''0 "
leaving the American market to the
foreign producers.
End. BY reducing its scale of wages
| to the level of those paid by the for
eign trust.
3rd. By entering into combination
| with the foreign trusts for the control
Of prices and the division of territory
| What would the American people as
a whole have to gain from any of these
methods of meeting an unrestricted
competition with the pauper made
products Of foreign lands?
What would we say of a surgeon
| who undertook to cure sore toe by
| cutting off the patients leg? Wouldn't
we respect him more if he were salts
fled to apply some healing remedy di-
rectly to the infected part?
THIS IS THE POLICY PURSUED
BY THEODORE ROOSEVELT ANT
WHICH WILL BE MAINTAINED BY
| WILLIAM II. TAFT. THEY HAVE
APPLIED, AND WILL CONTINUE
TO APPLY THE REMEDY DIRECT
LY TO THE DISEASE.
In order to reach the evils that may
exist in trusts producing 10 per cent. o
American products, they have never
deemed it necessary to destroy thu
whole superstructure of American in
drstry, to beggar American labor, an(
reduce the great American market t.
its lowest possible level of consump
ton. They have a more direct ant
more ef1icacious method of dealing
With the Trust evil. They believe, an'
will continue to. believe that it is bet
ter to meet an evil of our economic sys
tenn by applying a remedy directly t.
that evil itself, rather than to under
take to reach it by butchering tn
body polite. In that view of the sit
uation they have had, and we believ'
that they will continue to have, tn
hearty endorsement and support of tn
American people.