The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1909-01-28
A Black Eye For
The Taliaferro Bill.

ID ny no means IN sympathy with tn
Commercial Club of Mobile, whose di
rectors recently passed a resolution
endorsing the Taliaferro naval store,
bill and asking the support of tht
congressional delegation of the state
Mr.. Taylor, in fact, has written to the
club and administered such a blow a.
might have been expected from SC
true a democrat. His letter follows:
Washington, Jan. "a, 1903.
| Benz. b. Cox. Secretary Commercial
Club, Mobile, Ala:
| Dear Sir-YOur telegram an
nouncing resolution requesting SUD-
port of the Taliaferro bill on turpen-
tine and naval stores, at hand this
| Sunday morning. The matter was
brought TO my attention and that OF
| our senators and my colleagues len
| days ago. | attended hearings and
| became satisfied that the abuses
| sought TO be abated were matters of
| state regulation and that the bill as
now drawn is without merit | so
advised the Mobile Chamber of Com
| MERGE and various other parties from
your city who had requested me to
| look into it. i shall call attention of
senators and colleagues to your teIe-
gram and will give your resolution
the most careful consideration when
the bill comes up in the house. pro-
Vlded 1t is amended sufficiently.
Yours very respectfully,
GEO w. TAYLOR.
Just how the bill is capable of '.suf
fcient' amendment TO make it A
righteous one The Journal is not pre-
pared TO say. That must be left to
congress-to Senator Taliaferro, in
deed, who may awaken to the fact
that he has caused no little astouish-
ment among his democratic constitu-
ents by ever having introduced A
measure so plainly and radically OBJ
posed TO the rights of states and the
best interests of the people.
Mr.. Taylor is very frank in his ut
terance. After attending the hear
ings on the bill he became satisfied
that the abuses sought to be abated
were matters for state regulation and
that the bill as now drawn is With
out merit" He doubtless felt a great
deal more than he said. The bill is
not only without merit" 1t is
positive affront to the states within
whose borders the naval stores indus
try is carried on. It as much as tells
the people of these states that they
arc incapable of passing and enforcing
saiutary measures and that they must
submit to the invasion and control of |
a government more honest and more |
than theirs.
In a recent dispatch Senator TaIia- |
terTo is quoted at length in what has i
been called an explanation" of his 1
cratic bill. He makes, as an espe- /
cially strong point, the statement
that the trust" has complete con-
troll or fixing the price of naval stores
and that this works great DAMAGE to
operators. The journal has no svm-
pathy with any trust" or other
agency which seeks to interfere in
restraint of trade, and would follow |
where any dare lead to defeat such
an enort; but why may not Georgia
and Florida call any trust" that is
guilty Of such an outrage to a strict
accounting? These states have full
and unlimited power to do so. as has
recently been determined by the
United states supreme court in the
case OF Texas against the Waters
Pierce tor Standard Oil companv
indeed the greatest effort of the fed
eraI government at trust busting
he memorable suit against the same
'ascaiiy oil combination-proved sucb
4 dismal failure that no one can sin
serely say it is not wiser to leave
such suits to the states. to saw ,
nothing with regard to the democratic :
principle Of patriotism involved u
Just how Senator TaIiaferro arrived i
It the conclusion that his bin does :
Tot impose any additional burdens or f.
expense upon the producer" does NOT :
Lppear on the surface. The senator I
las the reputation of being a man of Y
BUSINESS knowledge far beyond the {
verage, and he may possess some :
secrets unknown to us Z
two by four mortals. But /
While he was talking he should in | :
ommon charity have told us who will | I
'ay the extra fee to be charged by the a
government inspectors. On whom Ii