The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1908-08-26

tect the public from watered stock and
| to prohibit the control by such Corpo-
ration OF more tnan fifty per cent OF
the total amount of any product con
SUmed in the United States: and
third, a law compelling such licensed
corporations TO sell TO all purchasers
in all parts of the country on the same
terms. after making due allowance for
cost Of transportation
Here is a plain. candid statement
of the party's position There Is no
qUibbling, no evasion. no ambiguity.
A private monopoly is indefeusIhlp ana
intOleTable- VI is bad-bad in p-iuCI-
pie, and bad in practice. No apology
can be offered for II. and no people
should endure il. Our party's posi-
ton is entirely in harmony with the
position of Jefferson With a knowL
edge of human nature which few men
have equaIled and none surpassed. and
with extraordinary foresight, he OK
pressed unalterabIe opposition to
every form of private monopoly. The
student of history will find that upon
this subject, as upon other subjects
of government. the great founder OF
the democratic party took his position
upon the side of the whole people and
against those who seek to make a pri-
vate use OF government. or strive to
secure special privileges at the ex-
pense of the public.
A Trust Defined.
a trust can best be defined as a cor
pOration which controls so large a pro-
portion of the total quantity OF any
article used in this country as to be
able to regulate the price and terms OF
sale, and as the proportion controlled
DOT In,
harm, it has seemed best TO use pro
pOrtionate control as the basis OF this
plan, and twenty-five per cent has been
fixed arbitrarily as the proportion at
which the line should be drawn. A
corporation which controls less tnan
twenty-five per cent of the product in
which 1t deals, may, in extraordinary
cases, exert a percepuble influence in
controlling the price of the product
and the terms of sale but as a rule a
corporation must control more than
that percentage Of the total product
before il can exert d hurtfuI influence
on trade Under this plan. the small
corporations are left entirely free and
unhampered. This is not a discrim1-
nation against the larger corpora ton.
but recognition of the fact that
rules are necessary in the case Of cor.
of the product which are not neces-
sary in the case of smaller CORPORA
tons PoTbabIy not one per cent OF
the corporations engaged in interstate
commerce would be required TO take
out a license under this pIan-pOssibIy
not One-half of one per cent-aud vet
what a protection the remaining nine
ty-niue per cent would find in the law
requiring a license in the case of the
larger ones ;
Taft Busy With Excuses.
The trouble with Secretary Taft is
that he spends so much time trv1ns
to discover excuses for inaCtiOn in
trust matters that he has none lett
for the consideration Of effective rene
dies He spends more time utterins
warnings against remedies proposed
than he does in pointing out the evils
to be Temedied or in suggesting rene
dies
Let the issue be made plain. let the
distinction he accurately drawn lei
the respective positions of the parties
be fully understood. The democratic
party does not oppose all corporations;
on the contrary, 1t recognizes that the