Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1911-09-22

00vX0AuA 140000% W K0A400y
practised by the trusts. Tue decisions
suggesting no substantial
remedy, have served to inform the
that there is a law that in some
ways at least must be respected ana
that the power exists in the people to
make laws, by which q remedy may
eventually be secured. Trust officials
should be prosecuted criminally and
punished for axtortion. The public is
not benefited by the dissolution of the
Standard Oil into twenty or forty
Standard Oil trusts in lieu of the one
dissolved. That shoots wide Of the mark.
The trusts have proven to be false to
the old doctrine that competition is
the life of trade and established the
economic truth that cooperation is
efficient in making production cheaper.
The problem of bentiting the people in
general must be met on that economic
fact. Legislation must deal with the
problem on that basis. That is why I
suggest the creation OF a national in
dustrial commission to investigate
and make suggestions. The problem
al never be. met by prosecutions to
dissolve organization. We can, how
ever, provide for prosecutions and
punishment for extortion, the same as
we do for other crimes. But otherwise
we must meet the trust problem by a
new system of construction rather than
by destruction of a great means of
economy. But tie construction mutt
be for the people in general instead of
for few to get everything.
Our financial system must be re-
modelled so that money, credits and
banking will respond to the necessities
of commerce without interruption or
even fear of panics. Economically
there is 70 excuse for a financial sys.
TEN that is itself a burden, and in re-
modelling the greatest care is required
to porvent the system employed being
used as a means of further c~entraliza-
tion of wealth.
We have reached the time of the
necessity for control IN some cases -;
government ownership in others, and
there should be no hesitation to meet
the emergency with legislation along
these lines. We have the territory Of
Alaska, a portion of which has been
lost through bad administration.
Alaska was bought, paid for, and is
still principally owned by the govern
ment. Its resources should be de-
veloped by the government for the
people in general.
The right OF woman suffrage, in my
Judgment, is no longer a question for
doubt. When women were uneducated
and wives, mothers, daughters
and sisters only, and war was the
worlds greatest ambition. it was per.
haps wise to keep women home on
elections. But now women are equally
educated with men and are engaged in
like industries, and are confronted
with practically the same problems.
They are therefore as capable OF
judging political and economic pro-
blems.
Revise the tariff downward. The
long delay is inexcusable. The presi-
dent vetoed the best work of the extra
session and put himself behind the
tariff board for his excuse. The people
elected him and he appointed the tariff
board. Congress is charged with the
duty Of passing tariff bills and it is the
presidents duty to sign them unless
be shows them to be wrong. 1t is a
monstrous thing to give the tariff
board power to delay. That board
Collects Tor the people, tor
congress and tor the president, and
was not created to form a wedge be-
tween the people and their direct SER
wants. The board may serve a useful
purpose only by doing its work. 1t it
shall be used as an excuse for delay, it
will soon be abolished, and rightly so.
Tine last congress had all the evidence
taken for the previous extra session
besides that taken at the last session,
and was in good shape to legislate.
A permanent national industrial
commission should be created to study
aud report on industrial conditions,
and to suggest methods Of economic
adjustment as to conserve material ma.
tural resources, and to suggest better
means for regulation of the industries,
so that production may be secured with
the least manual and material waste.'