The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1911-06-30
a Vicious System.

With all the suits, Investigations and
custer proceedings the United States has
as yet no victory to record in its war
against the trade-controlling trusts, and
the prospects are that another grand
stand play is being made in the suit to
dissolve the steel trust or to convict it
OF violating the Sherman antitrust law.
Such manifestations as these with all
their accompanying declarations and
pyrotechnics offer little encouragement
to the people-the common people
after all the farcical play that has been
made in the name OF justice.
We are on the eve Of another Presi-
dental election, and this grand display
of mock patriotism fits in well with
masquerade President Taft is making
through the country. He starts in the
East with a plea for the trusts and IN the
West he is winding up with denuncia-
ton Of the ill-starred combinations. In
the various localities he assumes posi-
ton that will be acceptable and then
undertakes to defend them ALL The
Presidents itinerary hasn't been very
profitable and at last he laments that
the Republican party is facing crisis.
He knows this too well, or he wouldn' I
be grabbing at straws.
In the suit against the Steel trust the
Government has entrusted its interests
e mighty good lawyer, and it is to be
hoped that the power behind the action
may be sincere, but Isl like hoping against
hope.
The American people are tired OF it
all. The temper Of the masses was
shown in the Congressional elections a
year ago Let no man make the mis-
take that this feeling has abated. That
victory was not strictly triumph for
the Democraticparty 1t was essentially
and fundamentally protest against the
favoritism Of predatory wealth by the
Government 1t was the first notice the
people have served upon the law-making
and law-eniorcing powers that the Gov
eminent must discontinue its attitude Of
fayoring special interests and discrim-
mating agaist the masses. There are
three things which must have attention
in this country. First OF all the tariff
wall must come down. Next the traffic.
and trade controlling trusts must be
dissolved and finally our financial system
must be altered. This is no idle senti-
ment. Other countries have to be
reckoned with when it comes to trade,
and sooner or later there must be recip-
rocal trade relations or war. As to the
trust system the people OF this country
are born free and taught the liberty Of
life and pursuit Of happiness, and there
must be an equitable and fair adjust
ment OF personal and individual rights
or there will be revolt. Last, the trade
relations Of our own country must be
divorced from gambling. That is the
defect in our financial system, and there
is no real reform in our finance which
does not contemplate the reimbursement
Of this condition. Indeed our whole
trade is affected or controlled by Wall
street and the Chicago grain pit gam
bling.
The New York banks, the larger ones,
are like the gold standard, they are the
standard Of credit in this country, and
the smaller banks all over the country
are compelled to deposit with them in
order to secure amedium ofcommercial
exchange. These deposits are used at
will on change for marginal specula-
tions, in other words for gambling. But
for this our financial system would be
good indeed. We would not make an
indiscriminate attack on our banking
system like the socialist, butthese things
are true aud no banker Of iinancier viii
denyit. Thesystem is perfect enough as
it is now, ifCongress would only stop the
gambling 1.-THE Black Fridays, the dark
days IL francial history when como