Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1908-03-20
Mr.. Bryan's Platform.
From the Hartford Times.

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In long speech in Brooklyn, subse
quent to his return from his tour around
the world, William j. Bryan announced
that he would undertake to drive out of
the Democratic party any member of it
who did not favor the initiative and ref
erendum. He has been arguing in his
speeches from that day to this in favor
of bringing into universal use in this
country the Swiss communal scheme of
direct government by the people. That
idea and his advocacy of government
ownership of railroads were the two
chief additions to his political program
since 1904. Yet in the platform which he
prepared for the Nebraska democrats,
and which they adopted yesterday, not
u word was said about either of these
nostrums. But his plan for requiring all
corporations doing large business to
take out federal license and fOrbidding
any corporation to control more than
onehalf of the total product in one indus
try reappears in what may be called a
perfected form. This is the most import
ant plank in Mr.. Bryan's latest political
platform:
GA private monopoly is indefensible
and intolerable. We, therefore, favor the
vigorous enforcement of the criminal
law against trusts and trust magnates,
and demand the enactment of such adj
ditional legislation as may be necessary
to make it impossible for private
monopoly to exist in the United States.
Among the additional remedies, we
specify three: First, law preventing
the duplication of directors among com
peting corporations; second, a license
system which will, without abridging the
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tions doing business within its limits,
make it necessary for a manufacturing
or trading corporation engaged in inter
state commerce to take out a federal
license before it shall be permitted to
control as much as 25 per cent. of the
product in which it deals; the license
to protect the public from watered
stock and to prohibit the control by such
corporation of more than so per cent. of
the total amount of any product con-
sumed in the United States; and, third,
a law compelling such licensed corpora
ton to sell to all purchasers in all parts
of the country on the same terms, after
making due allowance for cost of trans
portation.
This may be described as law to limit
the amount of business which any COR
poration may transact. But whether it
could be actually enforced against any
corporation except the Standard Oil
company, it is impossible to say. Prob
ably it is intended as " drive" at the
Standard Oil company alone. 1t could
not apply to the beef concerns, and it is
doubtful whether it would affect the
United States Steel corporation.
Mr.. Bryan's other political principlesr'
are as numerous as ever. He favors:
Election of United States senators by
direct vote.
Immediate reduction of the tariff.
An income tax.
A national inheritance tax.
Reclamation of arid lands and swamps.
Preservation of forests.
Panama canal.
Interior waterways.
Large pension appropriations.
Independence and naturalization of the
Philippines.
No collection of private debts by the
aid of the navy.
Arbitration to prevent war.
Larger powers for national and State
railroad commissions.
Postal savings banks.
Government alone to issue emergency
currency.
The eight-hour day.
Modification of injunction law.
Employers liability law.
Separate statehood for Arizona and
New Mexico.
Taken as a whole, Mr.. Bryan's plat
form bears such close resemblance to
the Roosevelt platform, as put forth in
Ohio. and the Hearst platform, an
nounced at Chicago, as to leave little
room for choice between them.
The average voter, after studying the |
three platforms, will probably give his |
vote to the candidate he prefers on other |
grounds than the platform ON which he
stands.
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