Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1908-04-01
.FLAYED THE TRUSTS
Senator LaFo!lette Finishes an
Abs Speech
CAPITAL TOO MUCH CENTERED
Wisconsin Senator Concludes Three
Days Speech Showing Up the Ini-
quities of Our Financial System.

Wisconsin Senator Concludes Three
Days Speech Showing Up the mi
quities of Our Financial System.
Washington, Special.-Upon the
conclusion Of Senator LaFollette' IS
speech on the Aldrich currency bill
in the Senate plan was decided up
on by which Senator Aldrich will
mmove to take up the bill and con-
tinue its consideration until it has
been disposed of.
Mr.. Aldrich also asked for unani-
nous consent to take up the bill at
once and to dispose of it before ad-
journment Thursday, but to that
proposition Senator LaFolllette OBJ
jected on the ground that he feared
debate would be curtailed by such a
procedure.
The colloquy which resulted in this
announcement followed the conclu-
sion of the third and last installment
of Senator LaFollette's speech in
opposition to The Aldrich bill. He
spoke for two hours. Resuming his
speech Mr.. LaFollette declared that
his statement that the industries OF
this country were controlled by less
than one hundred men had been at
tackled as sensational. Declaring
that such was not the case he said
that he had been too conservative
and that in fact a much smaller mum.
Der of men dominate the industries,
"Along with this enormous in.
crease in trust power has gone q
steady process of Capitalization in
the control of that power. Until now
the entire situation is dominated by
the Standard Oil-Morgan combina.
tion," he declared. "The old fights
between these two great powers have
been laid aside. Mr.. Morgan's pic.
lure adorns the wall of the inner
room of the Rockefellers at No. &c
Broadway. In combination today
they are working together to Catcher
in the smaller powers. Mr.. Hill has
been taught that he must not oppose
The big ones. Standard Oil got ir
on the Great Northern ore deal. The
Could interest are being swallowed
up by the combine. Morse and
Hcinze were neatly pocketed during
the recent panic. The smaller trust
was given drubbing and started ii
the same direction. Vanderbilts car
no longer retain their important con
troll and themselves see the handwrit
ing on the wall.'
Growth of Trusts.
The Senator quoted John Moody
to show an enormous growth in trust
consolidation and capitalization II
four years. In 1904 Mr.. Moody
placed the capitalization of the in
dustrial franchises and railroad
trusts at over $2O,OOONOO,OOO. Tha
amount had increased more thar
$11 900, 100000 or more than IS pei
cent. The $31.000,000,000, he said
did not represent the financial com
binations, banks, trust and Insurance.
companies.
Mr.. LaFollette read several lists o:
eminent financiers to whom he ac
corded various degrees Of power il
the control Of industries. He in
cluded Senator Depew, of New York
as among those who exercised large
power and held many dictatorship:
in the form of delegated power exer
cised by them in a mere representa-
tive capacity. Mr.. Depew was in hi:
seat and general laughter followed.
Mr.. LaFollette named as next af
ter Morgan and the Rockefellers ;
group of fourteen men who he sait
were "big operators and men Of
largo power and interests in theil
own rights" These men, he said
find their best interests "in workint
in harmony with Morgan and Stand
ard OIL" No combination which
they could form among themselves ot
others could cope with that power
he declared. In this list of fourteen
he placed the following men: W. X
Vanderbilt, August Belmont, Frede
rick Wyerhauser. Henry c. Frick, ]
Ogden Armour, George j. Gould, Ja
rob Schiff. E. H. Hartman. Thoma:
F. Ryan, Louis S. Swift, John Jacol
Astor, James Speyer, james J. Hill
and w. Fl. Moore.
The Lesser Stars.
A second class Of men in the list
were the "stars of lesser magni
tude" but men Of wealth and power
who work in with the combine and {
few of the higher rank of attorney:
and bank presidents of the system
Of the third group including the
balance of the lists Senator LaFol
lette said: "While some Of them cx
ercised large power and held many
directorships, it was a delegated pow.
er exercised ny them in mere rep
resentative capacity"
MI. LaFollette concluded hi:
speech with q strong appeal to the
progressive men" in the Senate tc
stand together and beat the bill.
He spoke of the activities of the
president and Mr.. Bryan in com
batting with wrong doing among high
financiers
"Whatever difference there may
be in party policy or personality be,
tween the President and Mr. Bryan
they are striving, each in his own
way, for certain fundamental truths
Whatever mistakes Mr.. Bryan may
have made in policy, whatever mis-.
takes the President may have made
in compromising legislation, they are
believed in by the people because
they arc fighting to preserve the
principle that the nation should be
governed by the people" +"