Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1910-07-23
The Charge Against Aldrich.

Senator Aldrich has refused to COM
ment on the charge directed against
him by Senator Bristow. The latter
said in a speech at home, referring to
AIdrich, Elkins and Penrose, that "un-
der the leadership of these men, In
stead of revising the tariff, as was
promised, duties were fixed for
| the purpose of promoting the financial
| interests of certain individuals, ~
! Senator Bristow proceeded with bill
| of specifications, charging as follows:
THAT under the Dingley law there
was 80 per cent duty on manufac-
lures of rubber, and crude rubber was
free; that the present tariff law passed
the house without any change in the
duty on either crude or manufactured
rubber; that Mr.. Aldrich's senate COM
mittee increased the duty On manufac-
tured rubber from 10 to So per cent:
that during the session, or Immediately
after adjournment, he, in connection
with the Guggenheims and Ryan, Or
ganized a rubber trust known as the
Inter Continental Rubber company,
with $40,000,000 capital stock; that Mr..
Aldrich's son became vice president
and general manager of the company;
that Immediately there was large adj
vances in the price of rubber, and that
during the first three months of the
existence of this trust it paid dividends
aggregating 1872 per cent on the pre-
ferred stock"
Among the directors OF the Inter
Continental Rubber company are Sen
ator Aldrich and his son, Senator Gug-
genheim, the lattee's brother and a son
of Thomas F. Ryan. No denial of
single charge made by Senator Bristow
is entered. Senator Aldrich rests COM
pIacently under the odium of having
used his official position to increase
the duties on rubber and thus to i'm
pose a tax upon every consumer for
the enrichment of himself and his asso-
ciates in the rubber industry.
The only word of defense of Aldrich
has come from Joe Cannon:
"If Senator Aldrich and others are
guilty of forming a rubber trust, Sena-
tor Bristow fell far short of his duty
in not presenting the facts and his
proofs to the attorney general rather
than make a political speech on the
subject. If there is such a trust, it is
in violation of the antitrust law, and
all offenders violating it should be
prosecuted.
''Bristow either ignorantly or art
fully misrepresented the facts as to
the importation of manufactured rub
Der since the 5 per cent increase in
duty. He is reported to have said that
~ no CHI 10 i'm
ports. According to the statistical alb
stracts of the department of commerce
and labor, manufactured rubber has in
creased in imports more than half n
million dollars under the Payne bill,
and raw rubber, which is on the free
list, has increased almost so per cent
in price in the last four months"
Reading carefully Cannon's defense
one finds no denial that as the tariff bill
passed the house there WAS only 80
per cent duty on manufactures of rub
Der. and that the senate committee,
headed by Aldrich, added per cent to
this duty. Aldrich and his son, the
Guggenheims-one a senator-are in
the Inter-Continental Rubber company,
and that it absorbed the Continental
within three months after the Payne
Aldrich bill was passed. There is no
denial that the dividends were paid
and the price of rubber advanced. Can
non missed wholly the great scandalOus
fact that AIdrich used his official power
for his own enrichment. The question
of whether there is trust in rubber is
for the attorney general of the United |
States to decide. Poor's Manual sup
plies the facts bearing on the corpora |
ton. The matter of AldTich's guilt or I
innocence of misusing his power is for |
the senate of the United States and the |
to decide. Significant of his !
guilt is that his champion should make |
no denial of the convieting record as |
presented by Senator Bristow.
And yet the Bristow charge has crea-
ted no furore, aroused no passionate |
The country is not sur
prised at the charge. 1t rather sus-
poets that such scandals are frequent.
It considers the facts complacently. |
And this is the great danger to repre-
sentative government, that the proof
Of corruption in the very highest legis-
Iative branch should be viewed with
out general alarm, and should elicit
no more comment than a mere Il
thought So"