The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1910-10-03


guise.
Everyone will now admit that the
Sherman antitrust law, passed TWEEN
ty years ago, and since subjected to
great deal of judicial construction, is
effective for the purpose of breaking
up combinations that result in the
suppression of competition and the
establishment of monopolies.
There are pending in the supreme
court. which 1t is hoped will throw
still greater light on the subject, max
ing even clearer than they are today
the lines between legitimate and
| illegitimate business. 1t has
been thought that those de-
i cisions, if adverse to the
corporations, would greatly disturb f.
nancial centers, would halt general
business, and would bring on financial
81 have proposed to congress in
| this connection a federal incorpora-
ton act which might be taken advan-
! tage of by the largest corporations.
1t would give and it ought to give no
| immunity from the antitrust law.
But it would have this advantage: 1t
would give the government the bene-
| fit of direct supervision of these pow
erful corporations, and it would at
ford to these corporations ample OPP
portunity to do legitimate business
within the state borders.
Bright Business Outlook.
ut gives me the greatest satisfac-
ton to say that in spite of all the
rumors of possible business stagna-
ton, our basic prosperity is assured
! for the coming year, in that the great
| volume Of the corps now being har-
vested, in value will exceed the pro.
ducts of our fields at any period in
the past. Our corn crop, our cotton
crop and our oats crop will equal ap-
proximately three thousand millions
of dollars, and the significance of this
fact in it's bearing on the business of
net year can hardly be overstated.
| THE millionaire, the great manu-
facturer and the capitalist seem to
derive more benefit measured in dol
i lars and cents from prosperity than
do the individual workmen, farmer,
small merchant, clerk and profession
/ al man But in actual human comfort
and happiness, prosperity is vastly
more important to the wage Garner
than to the wealthy
Hence it is legitimate office OF
| = aI,n ~,-.& fa1 va
sponsibility to do what they can to
/ prevent the spreading of fears which
will drive capital to its boarding
place and prevent the investments
necessary to carry on the widely-ex.
banded business of this country from
which our people derive their liveli.
hood. Business men now view with
favor rather than with alarm a
strict enforcement of law.
Extension Of Merit System.
1 There are other directions in
| which governmental progress can be
made The extension OF the merit sys-
tenn has on the whole greatly improv-
ed conditions in the government. For
week placed $500 assistant postmas-
tiers and clerks, appointees of post.
masters on the classified list OF the
civil service. Fourth class postmas-
tiers, not requiring confirmation, are,
many OF them, already in the classiti-
ed service, but postmasters of the
first, second and third class, collec-
tors of internal revenue, collectors of
customs, surveyors of customs and
appraisers are not in the classified
service and now receive their ap-
pointments on the recommendation
of either the senators or the con-
gressmen in whose district they re-
side. All of those offices ought ulti-
mately to be in the classified service.
They would then be more efficiently
and economically administered.
The giving of the power of con-
firmation Is a great concession from
the senate and we can perhaps not
expect it to be made in respect to all
local offices at once. ! shall urge up
on the congress a change in the
method of appointing postmasters so
that at least the 1913 second and
third class postmasters can be CLASH
fed and taken out of the category of
political patronage. We can then pa.
i tiently push on for further progress
! toward an elimination of all local off,
ces from the field of politics.
This is, however, but the begin
4 ming of civil service reform. The prob.
lem is not merely to taxs on the EN-.
ploye through honest competitive ex.
animation, but to maintain and to
improve If possible the initial eff
cheney of that employe; to infuse into
his work the same zeal which he
4 would display in private business We
4 must also be ON our guard against
! certain evils that have accompanied
the giving of permanent tenure to
large classes of civil servants. Useful
associations of classified civil ser.
wants have been at times perverted
into combinations to force the con-
4 gress and the executive against their