The Democratic banner. (Mt. Vernon, Ohio) 1898-192?, 1911-10-17
VITAL WASHINGTON NEWS
TAvENNER, THINKER" GIVES US THE
FACTS THEY REALLY EXIST.


Washington. Oct. 14.-President
Taft is demanding to know with great
bravado, what single case of combin
alton in restrait of trade which ought
to be condemned could not be reached
under the Supreme courts interpreta-
tion of the antitrust law in the Stand
ard Oil and Tobacco trust cases
There are few who care to take is
sue with the president The average
man believes that the trusts could be
reached" if the government would
set out in good faith to reach them.
The vital issue is not whether the
trusts could be reached. The real
important question is. why is 1t
that not single guilty trust magnate
has been sent to Jail, or even called
to the bar of justice?" The answer is
that the government does not send
trust magnates to Jail nor control the
trusts because the trusts control the
standpat Republican machine, and for
fourteen years the standpat Repub'
lican machine, in recognition of Re-
publican campaign fund donations and
other favors, has permitted special
privilege to name the man to be in
charge of the prosecuting machinery
of the government.
The present attorney general George
Wickersham, whose Hast act before
taking charge of the government pros
ecuting machinery was to draw down
his share of a handsome fee paid his
law firm by the sugar trust. When a
movement was started to bring about
a congressional investigation of the
sugar trust, Mr.. Wickersham headed
1t off by having President Taft send a
message to congress advising against
the investigation on the ground that it
might give immunity to the men high
er up and otherwise embarrass the ad-
ministration. Although the trust prac-
tically admitted having stolen over
$2,O00,000 by returning it after the
crime was discovered, not single one
of the trust magnates into whose poclt-
cts the $2,000,000 would have gone
had not the theft been discovered, was
called to the bar of Justice, much less
punished. Mr.. Wickersham permitted
an underling secretary and few dock
hands alone to stand the vengeance of
the law. When American sugar inter
ests purchased vast tracts of rich
sugar lands in the Philippines in vio-
lation of the law, blr. Wickersham
again came to the rescue with an opin-
ion upholding the sale.
Mr.. Wickersham is now posing as
the great trust buster. He pretends
that he will drive the trusts out of bus
mess, and some of the trusts pretend
that they take his threats seriously
But the record of the attorney general
is not one that gives the people any
reason to hope for enforcement of the
law against criminal trusts or guilty
trust magnates. The first thing Mr..
Wickersham did upon taking Office was
to drop important suits against mem
bers of the beef trust. His explana'
ton was that he didn't believe the
trust officials meant to do wrong.
The extent of Wall Streets great
fear of Mr. Wickersham as prosecu'
tor of trust magnates is indicated by
the remark of j. P. Morgan, who, when
he was asked by newspaper man
what he thought of the attorney gen
erals antitrust speech which had been
delievered more than week previous
replied Il don't think anything about
1t, because | haven't read it,"
What the Farmer Gets,
B. F. Yoakum, president of the Fris
co railroad. has had table of figures
prepared, showing how much the farm
er gets for products sold in New Yorl
In one year, and how much the New
York consumer pays for those same
products. Here are the figures
| Farmer Consumer
| Gets Pays
Eggs .......$ 1898 900 3 2S,75O,OOC
Rice 49,. 1,SS4,OO0 3,l91 ,OOl
Cabbage 80. 1895 900 s,125,Oo'
Onions ,.... 1000 s,2l2,oO
Milk ....... 22.912.OOO 1880 ,OO(
Potatoes ... 3,425 900 10000 90,
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