The Democratic advocate., 1908-09-04
BRYAN ON THE TRUSTS
EOES NOT PROPOSE TO INTERFERE
WITH PRODUCTION ON A LARGE SCALE
Industrial independence Necessary to
Political independence

Following are some of the more
forceful sentences in Mr. Bryan
speech on the trusts:
The President has done something
, toward the enforcement OF the law
but not nearly enough, and the Repup-
lican leaders have thwarted MIN al
levery point
The Democratic party has been urg-
ing, year after year, the strict en-
forcement of the Sherman law, and
the Republican party has been ex-
planning year after year why IL was
impossible to enforce it.
1t is Mr.. Taft's party and not the
Democratic party which has given en-
lcouragement to socialism. While pro-
Tossing to abhor socialism, the Re
publican party has gone half way to-
ward socialism in indorsing its funda-
mental principle. The Socialist bases
his contention on the theory that COM
petition is bad, and that an economic
advance is 10 be found in monopoly.
The trouble with Secretary Taft is
that he spends SO much time trying
to discover excuses for inaction in
trust matters that he has none left
for the consideration of effective
iIehSulcS- ne SpGuuS AictC tihiC ""
tering warnings against remedies
proposed than he does in pointing
out the evils TO be remedied or in sug-
gesting remedies.
If, in the presence of an aroused
people, and in the heat OF campaign.
the Republican party contents itself
with a coIorless platform on the sub
ject, what can we expect in the way
n u-h
the campaign are passed?
He (Mr. Taft says: ITO super
wise the business Of corporations in
such a way as to fix the price of COM
modities and compel the sale at such
price is as absurd and socialistie a
plank as was ever inserted in Dem
ocratic political platform" In what
respect is our plan more socialisttc
than the plan which Mr.. Taft in
dorses? Merely in the fact that ours
can be enforced. According to Mr..
Taft's logic, plan is not socialistic
which is not effective, but the same
would be sociaIistic if made effective.
1 beg to call Dir. Taft's attention
to the fact that the Republican
party has stimulated the growth of
socialism in two ways: First, by the
Endorsement that it has given to the
theory that trusts are a natural and
necessary oUtgrowth of our economic
conditions, and, second, by permit
ting the development of abuses which
| have been cha sged against individual
| ism.
| The very convention that spoke in
| it's platform of the administration as
"a wise and fearless one" was compos-
| ed largely of the senators and mem
bers of Congress who boldly opposed
every effort to free the people from
| the clutches of the favor-seeking
corporations.
1t is Impossible for the Republi-
can party 60 enforce The present GRIM
inaI law against trust officials; these
officials are intimately connected with
the Republican party in the present
campaign. Take, tor instance, the
chairman OF the Republican Speak
er's committee. Mr. DUPONT of Della
ware He is the defendant in suit
which the government brought and
| is NOW prosecuting.
The Democratic party tAJes not con-
tent itself with a definition of the
wrs1g or with a denuncEation of it.
1t proceeds to outline reEEedfes.
Is business So dependent upon dis
honesty and u1TEaii'ness' that it would
be- ''extirpatHd and: destroyed" if
morals were intuduced inSS it?
Cur platform, does not stop with
the enforcement OF the Ew; it de-
masdS the enactment of such addi
tionaH legislatioNi as may be neces-
sary to make it impossible for a pri
vate monopoly tED exist I'M the United
| States
There is no easier way of sitting
competition than to make one board
Of directors serve, for number OF
competing corporaUi Uions-
| A corporation which controls less
than 25 per cent of the product in
which it deals may, in extraordinary
cases exert per9eptibfe influence in
controlling the price OF the product
and the terms Of sale, but as rule
a corporation must control more
than that percentage of the total pro-
duct Before it can exert hurtful in
fuenee ON trade
Democrats dissent from the remedy
proposed by the Socialists, believing
THAI Socialists are mistaken and that
the Democratic remedy is better, but
it rs time for thoughtful people to
| SS~A
be retained and defended by remedial
legislation which will remove the
abuses which have been allowed to
fasten themselves upon the country.
Congress has already exercised this
power of federal regulation to ex-
terminate lotteries. Why not exer-
Eefse it to make private monopolfes
impossible?
No one proposes to interfere with
production on large scale. No one
objects to production on a SCALE suf-
f1ciently large to enable the producer
to utilize by-products and take ad-
vantage of all tie economies that
large production makes possible. 1t
is just here that the trust magnates
attempt to confuse the public mind.
Industrial independence is neces-
sary to political independence. The
free exercise of the rights OF citizen
ship is impossible when a few men
control the industries in which mill
lions are employed.
The plan proposed in the Demo
cratic platform brings the corpo-
ration under the surveillance of the