Devils Lake inter-ocean and Devils Lake free press. (Devils Lake, Ramsey County, N.D.) 1905-1909, 1908-10-02

nuaI products or over S2O0,Q00, 000
could assuredly be counted . iii the
prosperity class. . ' y, y -..
You all look to me like capitalists
and are wearing the smile that won't
come off," said the speaker.
Without further ceremony Judge
Taft turned his attention to the trust
question. He remarked that it is per
fectly legitimate for capital to control
for better accomplishment of business
in which it Is engaged, but when cap
ital combines to stifle competition by
smaller concerns and to drive the lat
ter out of business that is a trust and
| such a combination is punishable as
crime under the Sherman antitrust
law. The capitalists had reached a
position where they had the railroads
in their power and could say to them:
IF you don't give us secret rebates
and determinations in our favor we
will turn our business over to your
competitors Such combinations as
this are clearly illegitimate and so are
| ordinations to control the output of
products.
Combinations of Corporations.
The speaker told of his experience
| in the trial of case in the federal
court in which ample evidence had
been secured of combination Of cor
porations to control the product and
reduce the price of iron pipe in order
to advance the price and when pipe
was needed for instance by a munich
pality for waterworks, the combine
would sell the privilege in secret to
make the low bid and secure the Or
der There was some question whether
this was violation of existing laws,
but it was clearly in defiance of pub
lie interests.
A mere aggregation of capital does
not constitute a trust, but the use of
combination of capital, for instance to
go into a certain section of the coun-
try where competitor is doing bust
ness and put the price of their goods
down on purpose to drive the small
competitor out of business in order to
secure the field is assuredly an unlaw-
which they say to the other party "if
you deal with us exclusively we will
give you a rebate, If not, we can't give
you rebate" Such trust as this is
illegal and can be prevented by in
junction.
Recommended Rate Bill.
When revelations of such transac-
tons as this came to the president,
Roosevelt commended to congress the
passage of the rate bill. This and other
reforms Roosevelt urged with all his
characteristic vigor. That his efforts
have meant much to the people there
is no question. The reforms accom-
plished have been more PRONOUNCED
under the Roosevelt administration
than in half dozen previous admin
istrations together. AS result of
Roosevelt's administration the rail-
roads have actually abolished rebates
and unjust discrimination. And any
railroad man you meet If he can talk
frankly will say that he is glad of it
and he thanks God in his heart that
the railroads have abolished these dis
ordinations and rebates. The railroad
man is an honest man and he likes to
give a man a square deal and he is
glad that he can again do business on
the square. Bryan wants to abolish
the trusts and proposes to utterly
destroy the trust that controls more
than so per cent of a product, but his
plan would destroy more than he
| wants. In old Massachusetts it was
| not many years ago that the Standard
Oil company had the entire field to
itself an then an independent COM
pany had no chance there whatever,
bat under the measures taken by the
present administration the indcpend-
ent companies are now carrying on
successfully business all over the state.
You will find that this administration
has accomplished progressive move
ment that is remarkable. We cannot
hope to rid the country of this evil
except by progressive honorable and
lawful means and by demonstrating
that the capitalists can best have sue
cess by adopting just methods. : &|$j#5
Will Destroy Everything. .
! These are the Roosevelt policies. Mr..
Bryan's method of destroying the trust
will not only destroy the manufactur-
ers comprising it and their millions,
but will at the same time destroy his
employees and put a stop to their earn
ing capacity. ..,. ., ,<.s<. ~ <|a
We don't want that done. f55fs s59
It will also destroy the business tof
the trusts honest competitors. It win
destroy in one. mass the innocent and
the guilty You can't cut Oft the trust
manufacturers fifty per cent without
cutting of something else, too, and
when you have him out Of business,
how is a man who is producing 25
sper cent Of the output to know wheth.
er his creditors will be producing
more or less next MONTH! Such a
plan. is all right perhaps, as a plat
form theory, but there lis nothing
practical about it and it is only good
for platform argument. sSS