davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Mexico weekly ledger., 1910-08-04

lions serve to prove the truth of this
assertion:
Borax. that finds its use in every
home and is extensively employed in
manufacture. is found in unlimited
quantities in the waters OF certain
lakes in California and Nevada. II can
be produced from these waters cheap
er than any other place on earth. For
many years, American borax nas sold
n world around. Prior to the Ding
ley bill. english and American prices
we're the same and a in the neigh
borhood of two cents per pound. The
Pacific Coast Borax Company owned
the California and Nevada deposits.
Senator Stewart, OF Nevada, and Sen
ator White. OF California. at the de
mand OF this concern. procured in the
Dingiey bill a duty OF five cents a
pound. Immediately, the American
company sold its holdings to The Bo-
rax Consolidated WORKS, Limited
an English Company, for an almost
fabulous price. At once the English
syndicate advanced the price of borax
TO American consumers IRON approx
mately "a cents to Z cents a pound.
All these years. the English people
have been buying American borax for
from "a to 3 cents per pOund-while
the American people have paid them
ga TO IL cents.
Mexico weekly ledger., 1910-08-04
Enrich the Foreigner.

The American people nave been tax.
ed 10 put exorbitant profits into the
pockets OF foreign ~millionaires, who
probably never cas- eyes upon the
American coast. 1t is difficult to be.
lieVe h a such a plan and scheme OF
loci as this, unpalliated by a single cir
eumstance and unpropped y a solitary
sophistry, could be thus brought to con.
summation unless corruption had en-
tered into legislative halls.
one more example. and then | quit
the theme:
vast deposits of copper were dis.
covered in our country. The people
londly hoped that this great store OF
metal, placed in the earth BY the Al.
mighty generous land. might result
IN some benefit to them. The Calumet
Z heeia Mining Company speedily ac.
CURED all OF these immense bodies OF
ore So rich the ore beds OF
thls country that American coppet
was sold in every land. The Calume,
q fiecla Company determined to oh.
tAin a monopoly OF the American mar
keL They had a duty of ) cents ne,
pound placed on all copper imported
n at once advanced the price 10 the
American consumer. From that day
on, Americans have been compelled
to pay substantially 5 cents per pound
than was paid by the foreigneI
iof copper gathered from the same
mine. '
Inc advantage to the English manu-
iaeturer in being able to buy his copper
cheaper than the American brass
manufacturer tbrass being made from
copper and zincJ was such that the
latter was practically driven from
business. ~Thereupon. the American
Drass manufacturer hit upon the de-.
wee OF buying his copper through
English agents-having it exported Ia
tnat country and rebilled to America
IN the original package-thus escan.
ing the payment of the American duty
n gaining the advantage of the En-.
glisn price plus the freight charges
incident to the long journey across The
waters and back.
Mexico weekly ledger., 1910-08-04

any Instance in all history, OF monope-
lies continuing to clamor Tor pro
lection against foreign competition at
the very moment they we're undersei-
ling the foreigner in mis- own Market
Surely. the patience OF the American
people -passeth all understanding
The mind can conceive of no prop
osition more monstrous. more absurd.
more u~nthinkable. than that by Jaw
we should compel
The American farmer to pay the
International Harvester Company p
per cent. more than the Canadian farm
er pays II for his agricultural nipple
ments;
The American mechanic to pay from
10 TO 30 per cent. more than the me
chanlc of other lands pays for the
same tools;
The American railroad to pay to the
steel trust from $500 to $500 per ton
more for steel rails than the price at
which the trust sells in foreign parts:
The home purchasers of the great
steel beams and girders which form
the framework of modern buildings
and span the creeks and rivers OF our
lands to pay an advance of 20 to ~
per cent. over that charged when pur-
chased for use in other countries;
The American farmers and business
men to submit to a tax Of from GO to
80 per cent. upon every wooden gar
ment they wear;
The laboring mar to endure the
enormous increase of the Payne-Ald-
rich bill upon the cheap cotton under
wear he uses to protect himself from
the cold:
The poor man to pay 100 per cent
to a trust before he a be permitted
to cover himself with a wooden blan'
ket on a winters night.
All these must buy in a monopoly
controlled market at monopoly prices!
| They are denied the benefit, but are
forced to bear the burden Of compe'
tition.
All of them compete, each with the
other. The working man sells his
days labor at whatever price he can
obtain, after bidding against the many
who seek the same Job.
Mexico weekly ledger., 1910-08-04

In demonstration. laDor never did
receive a single benefit irom all these
laws-We only need TO contemplate the
fact that If benefits did really How,
they would be first felt by those who
toiled IN the protected industries.
Who is there who does not know that
of all skilled labor, the poorest paid is
the vast army of pale-iaced men and
women and nnhealthful children toll
ing in the great mills whose owners
clamor for PROTECTION in the name
Of their employees
Nay. more, The argument is re-
duced to the absurd when We consider
that the total cost of labor on an aver
age entering into manufactured prod
ucts is but l7hg per cent. of their to-
tai value, while the tariff tax ranges
beyond so per cent? An ordinary tar
if. levied for revenue purposes alone,
will more than equal the entire cost of
labor entering into the finished prod
uct.
The American laborer in protected
mills. because of superior machinery
and the possession of greater intelli-
gence, energy and skill, produces so
much more than can the man of other
lands. that, measured by the product
of his toll, he actually receives the
lowest wage paid upon the earth. In
sharp competition with him each day,
ready to take his place, stand hundreds
waiting for his iob-willing to work at
any price If it but yield the bare ne
eessities of life and keep starvation
from the home.
Thus the old cry by which our enc
mics conjured the votes of those who
knew they felt the pangs of want and
hoped for succor from some source,
has lost its potency among the men
who TOLL
Mexico weekly ledger., 1910-08-04
Plain Statutes Ignored.

Here is the ~absurdity of our sys'
TEN: we pass a law to protect home
manufacturers from foreign competi'
ton; we then authorize the formation
Of a corporation large enough to mo
nopolize the home market and destroy
domestic competition; we follow this
by the enactment of a penal statute
declaring all monopolies Illegal; we
then fail to enforce the penal statute.
In a word. we create a condition
which naturally produces a brood Of
trusts and then engage in mimic war
fare against them.
Manifestly, the course of wisdom is
to begin at the other end. Remove
he condition which produce monopoly
and 1t will cease to exist.
Reduce the tariff to a eyenu basis
and competition from abroad will at
least in part relieve us from the ex-
actions of domestic combines.
Mexico weekly ledger., 1910-08-04
Limit Capital Of Corporations.

A reasonable limit placed upon the
capital of corporations will render the
existence of monopolies impossible.
This proposition is neither novel
nor radical.
Our own state. until recently, linn
tied the capital of private corporations
to SO, 200, 5000 {. The majority OF
the states have for years written sim
liar wholesome provisions into their
laws. This, because it has always
been recognized that unlimited CAPT
tai means unlimited power. and unlim.
tied power is invariably followed by
great wrongs.
Hence the wise lawmakers of many
states place a limit to the capital
which can be possessed by any single
corporation
Their efforts have been nullified by
the fact that in a few states and ter
ritories, corporations were allowed to
be created with unlimited capital.
Under the provisions of the Inter
state Commerce Act, these concerns
are permitted to invade, do business
n the various states, and enjoy sub
stantially all the rights of, although
they could not exist as domestic cor.
porations.
Mexico weekly ledger., 1910-08-04
States Robbed Of Power.

1t will reduce the powers of the
sovereign states SO that they will
scarcely exceed those now possessed
by county governments.
The plain purpose is to give to the
monopolies Of this country a habitat
in the City Of Washington. and 10
place them beyond the control of the
various states. To enable them to in.
wade the territory OF these states-se,
at defiance the will OF the people there
o. and to exercise the powers of com
plete and criminal monopoly under toe
wings OF the federal government.
o what condition will this lead ?
LIST. These institutions, GENERATING
under a federal license, can enter n
states against our will and can rans.
act business despite u protest We
VIII be compelled to grant them The
protection of our laws-througb our
police and officers to protect their
property. We will be forced To do an
THIS, even though their objects nnr.
poses and methods may be IN CON.
n'ct with those which (under Inc
policies OF u laws) are denounced
as illegal or even criminal.
IND These concerns will bs nor,
Mexico weekly ledger., 1910-08-04
Infant Industries"

Republican leaders raised the cry
protection for Infant Industries," In
ms gnlse a tax was levied Tor the
benefit Of industries established before
the republic was born and which were
prosperous in the days of Washington,
we have seen these infants combine
together until within their mighty
arms they embrace the continent and
with insatiate fingers gather the toll
OF monopoly in every home. The peo.
pie are beginning to understand tina;
they have permitted the creation OF
monsters more dangerous than a horde
OF foreign enemies coming in armed In.
yasioni
Declaring its love for the laborine
man. the Republican party insisted
ne should not be brought into competi,
ton with the pauper labor of other
lands-boasted the wages ne recely.
'ed-and asserted that the benefits 70
now from tariff would lnure TO Labor's
benefit
Mexico weekly ledger., 1910-08-04

Then came the organization of tae
Suggenheim combination to take in
new deposits, keep the market m com.
plete control. perpetuate graft and
force our people to submit to william.
Gus extortions, while foreign purcbas.
ers are supplied at reasonable prices
Ihese are but samples of the gener.
al Acknowledging of the vast mar,
IN which each great concern is ioin.
ed-by which they glut their greedy
appetite,
For all these evils, the Republican
party has been sponsor, defender, and
willing tool.
1t has sought to Justify its legIsla.
flYe outrages by various sophistries
ana CLOSED them over by the thin We.
neer OF a pretended patriotism!
Mexico weekly ledger., 1910-08-04
MonopoIy's Black Shadow.

The people realize that monopoly Is
here with all the ugly features which
made it oppressive when created by
the royal grants OF Queen Elizabeth
and Charles |. Its black shadow rests
upon the land. Its blighting presence
is felt in every home. One class Of
combinations arbitrarily advance the
price of all the people consume. An
other system of monopoly fixes an
equally arbitrary value upon all the
farms produce. APPLY we may en-
ploy in characterization Of present con.
ditions the quaint language OF Sir John
C%ulpepper, when. In the long Parlia.
ment, more than two centuries ago. he
Indignantly inveighed against the pari-
sites of the court who held ~monopolies
by royal grant, in the following terms:
They are a nest Of wasps-a
" swarm of vermin which have over
" swept the land. Like the frogs
of Egypt, they have gotten pos
" session of our dwellings. They sup
" In our cup. They dip into our
" dish. They sit by our fires. We
d" find them in the dye pot, wash-bowl
" and powdering tub. They share with
:" the butler in his box. They will no,
a" bait us a pin. We may not buy our
" clothes without their brokerage.
" These are the leeches that have
" sucked the commonwealth SO that 1t
" is hecticali
"Mr. Speaker, | have echoed to you
" the cries of the community. | will
=" tell you their hopes. They look for
a blessing on this Parliament"
Mexico weekly ledger., 1910-08-04
Taft's Startling Message.

But on January It'll, 1910, there came
from the pen of President Taft, The
most startling paper of this decade, II
not of our country's history. This
message embodied the following prop
ositions:-
LIST. That under the present law a
corporation may grow SO large as TO
occupy the entire field, to the exelu-
sion Of all others. and yet be perfectly
loyal, unless II resort to coercive or
unfair business methods In order to
crush or prevent rivalry.
End That the Department Of JUS
.tice Is powerful enough TO ascertain
whether a corporation Is pursuing lie.
gal methods, and to punish those In.
situations which have violated the law.
II these statements are true, then
the present condition ought to satisfy
the most ultra-believer in the wisdom
OF large combinations, provided he is
satisfied to have such combinations
limited to fair and honest methods.
Having thus declared that under the
law a corporation may grow to any
size, yet be immune from punishment
so long as its methods be honest-the
President proceeds to recommend a
change Of the law, not as might be
Imagined to limit the size Of the cor.
poration so that it cannot grow into
the proportions Of a monopoly. On
the contrary. the purpose of the Pres
ident, plainly, is to relieve from prose-
cution that class of corporations which
are because of their unfair OF Illegal
methods) now subject to the laws pen.
alties.
The sole purpose of the President,
necessarily, is to extend the powers
of these combinations-make safer the
field Of commercial aggression, and set
at defiance the efforts of state govern
ments to protect their people. This
is demonstrated beyond all cavil in
his language, which | quote:
81 therefore recommend the enact
ment of a General Law providing for
the formation of corporations to en-
gage in trade and commerce among
these states and with foreign nations
Protecting them from un-
due Interference by the states and reg
ulating their activities so as to pre-
vent the recurrence. under national
auspices, of these abuses which have
arisen under State con .rol.
The conflicting laws of the different
States of the Union with respect to
foreign corporations, make 1t difficult
If not impossible. for one corporation
to comply with their requirements SO
as to carry on business in a number of
different States"
Mexico weekly ledger., 1910-08-04
Purpose of the Message.

And now, stripped of all gloss and
pretense, we arrive at the object of
the administration.
/. That the purpose Is to lay the
heavy hand OF the national govern
ment on the respective states. To
deprive them Of that power which they
now possess OF declaring the condl-
tons upon which business may be
done within their borders by foreign
corporations.
2. To arrest the efforts of the va.
rious states to protect their people
against the aggressions of criminal mo.
%nopolles.
3. To enable monopoly to pursue
methods, which, under the decisions
Of the Federal courts, are now de.
clared to be Illegal.
4. To make of the capital of the ma.
ton a city of refuge to which every
criminal conspiring against free and
open trade-every scoundrel who de-
slres. through the power Of aggregat.
ed money to crush individual or cor.
porate enterprise, can fee and CRY
Sanctuary"
1t is the last step toward centrallza.
ton.
Mexico weekly ledger., 1910-08-04
Announces Candidacy.

A candidate for the United States
senate ought to declare his policies,
and has the right to refer to his party
history.
Believing that the government can.
not IN justice levy a tax upon one man
for the benefit Of another, | stand for
a tarin for ven only.
Recognizing the fact that the bur.
dens OF taxation should rest most
lishtly on those least able to bear
them' would, as far as possible, gath.
or the tariff revenue from Injuries.
rather than necessities.
In order that there may be real
relief from tariff exactions, and for
other good reasons, | favor a tax mon
rations.
The powers Of the Interstate Com.
meree Commission should be so OK.
tended as to enable that body to com.
pei fair and Just rates upon ali In.
terstate Commerce.
discrimination by public carriers
against either individuals or commun.
tiles Is unjustiaable, and ought 10 no
no longer tolerated.
The Integrity and powers Of the ya.
Mexico weekly ledger., 1910-08-04
Copper Trust Dividends.

NO sooner was this fact learned
than the copper trust exacted from
every foreign purchaser a bond ina
ne would not resell copper to an
american. This condition has been
70 all intents and purposes, main.
tanned through the years. The insatl.
ate appetite of this concern could MOI
be satisfied with normal profits. n
insisted that legislative robbery be
perpetrated upon the citizens of the
country which gave it corporate life,
lhe government of the people, appoint.
ed to protect their rights, became part.
ner in the scheme of loot.
Upon its capital stock the Calumet
& Heela maid vidand az fnIiour-I
Mexico weekly ledger., 1910-08-04
History Repeats Itself.

How aptly these words describe the
condition of to-day! How %fervently
the people looked to the last Republi-
can congress for relief! To what a
shameful betrayal were they led.
History repeats itself. The angry
commons battered at the doors of Par,
lament in the days of Elizabeth and
were promised relief. Monopolies
were declared Illegal by sweeping and
generous provisions, and then excep.
tons written into the statutes which
preserved in tact the license of many
a titled roguel
So the last congress was assembled
in extraordinary session. We were
promised immediate relief. But it was
demonstrated that the little finger
Of the trusts was thicker than the
Presidents loin." The voice of the
people and the cry of conscience and
duty were alike silenced by demands
Of "the interests"
The paper trust was found more
powerful than the united press Of the
country;
The copper combination more poten.
tial than the protest OF eighty million
consumers;
The wooden monopoly wrote its own
schedule and perpetrated its own
graft;
The steel trust was able to keep the
field and bar all competition;
Every combination was successful.
The tariff was actually raised.
THE people asked for bread and
were given a stone"
They prayed for fish and we're Civ.
en- a serpent"
Against this betrayal has arisen a
cry of universal protest.
Mexico weekly ledger., 1910-08-04

The combinations which control the
price OF all the American people con,
sumo are rapidly extending their
power owe the markets in which the
people must sell their labor and the
products Of their industry.
Just in proportion as factories com
bine under one management, they cir.
cumscribe the chance men have to
sell their labor. The man who finds 200
small manufacturers competing Tor
his labor is INDEPENDENT. The
laborer who must apply to a single
great factory and finds 200 men clam
oring for the same job is DEPEND.
ENT.
Mexico weekly ledger., 1910-08-04
Betrayal of the People.

question whether there has ever
been presented an example parallellng
the betrayal Of the people by the Re
publican party. Neither do | know OF
Mexico weekly ledger., 1910-08-04
False to American Labor.

In proof that this was but a sham
and false pretense. / call attention to
the fact that for two-score years, the
Grand Old Party" permitted and the
protected Industries practiced the i'm.
Dorta' ion OF foreigners under contract
TO take the places Of American clti,
zens who were ~contending for a living
wage.
Mexico weekly ledger., 1910-08-04
The Presidents Vain Promise.

The President blandly promises us
the government will be good. that the
government will not permit monopoly
And yet the very purpose of this bill
is to permit monopoly
The President tells US that the bust.
ness Of these institutions viii be
wisely regulated by the government.
The experience of all the years demon.
strates that instead of the govern.
ments wisely regulating these lnsti.
tutions' the concentrated lobby Of all
the predatory interests of the country
VIII regulate the government.
The proposition appalls the magma
ton and arouses the opposition of
every patriot, regardless Of party. II
Is at war with the history OF our
country. 1t is yiolative of the funda.
mentals of the constitution as they
have always been understood in the
past 1t proposes a commercial. n.
nancial and governmental revolution.
II can only be accomplished by assas.
mating the liberties Of the respective
states and by annihilating the pripci.
pies of local self-government.
Mexico weekly ledger., 1910-08-04

mitted to have the protection OF our
courts when they desire; to use oui
machinery of Justice; 10 enforce claims
against any of our citizens.
But II a citizen OF the state mas
complaint to make against them. he
can be dragged into federal courts to
there litigate his rights.
3rd. The Federal incorporation Act
will either be drawn so that all con
Germs engaged in interstate commerce
must, or at least may avail them
selves of its privileges; or, 1t VIII be
so drawn as to apply only to a certain
class of corporations; or. again. the
right to grant or refuse incorporation
will be vested in some federal ONCE
holder.
Mexico weekly ledger., 1910-08-04
Birth Of insurgency.

Welded as they we're to party
bound by the ties holding them to the
organization they have so long served,
yet not utterly lost to the demands
Of decency nor entirely forgetful OF
the sanctity Of pIedges-a few brave
Republican Senators have dared tn
keep faith with the public.
When rogues fall out, Just men get
their dues"
| shall not apply this maxim to the
Republican insurrectionists. A more
proper statement is found in the ex.
preston that-Honest men quit the
company OF thieves" So we find the
greatest men In the Republican party
In open revolt against the wicked be-
trayal OF the people. They have sim.
ply undertaken to carry out in good
faith anti-election promises.
We had the right to believe that the
President, who, on a hundred plat.
forms pledged tariff reform, would
have welcomed to his heart those who
championed the redemption of HIS
plighted word. On the contrary. he
seeks TO drive them from his home
They are politically ex-communicate,
They stand as conspicuous evidence
Of the fact that the machine ~organfza.
ton Of the Republican party can never
be trusted to relieve against the INF.
quities IT has so long fostered and in
which many Of its leaders are financial.
~ interested.
Mexico weekly ledger., 1910-08-04
Federal office Holders Power.

To place this discretion in a federal
office holder is to grant to him the
power to specify which particular
trust or combination shall be licensed
to prev upon the people OF the United
States-a power greater than that
possessed by any monarch Of modern
times.
II the act be so drawn as to apply
only to certain classes Of corporations
what shall this classification be
Shall 1t be only those corporations
possessing a certain amount OF capi-
tai? Or those which exercise a more
or less complete monopoly
Shall we solemnly ascertain first,
that a concern is so large as to be
dangerous, and then grant 1t a special
prerogatiye and privilege not granted
to or exercised by those institutions
which are smaller and less dangerous?
Shall we remove the great and pow
erful from the purview OF state con-
troll. yet subject the small and strug'
Cling institutions to state legislation
The mere statement Of such a prOpo-
sition is so appalling as to shock the
dull sensibilities OF the special plead
err" OF monopoly, even though he be
President OF the United States.
The only remaining condition. there
fore. Is that the law shall be so framed
as to permit all institutions engaged In
Interstate m to avail them.
selves OF its privileges and protection.
This being the case, let us see to what
extent It viii affect the business OF
our country ?