Evening star., 1912-08-29
Explains Hamilton idea.

Explains Hamilton 1dca.
"TIamilton believed that the common
run of men had little qualification for
such business: that it could be really COM
pretended and wisely directed only by
those who led in commercial and indus
trial enterprises and owned the chief
bodies Of property in the country. And in
our time the leaders Of the republican
party have consciously or unconsclously
adopted his notion.
THESE men financed campaigns ana
We're always on the inside when party
policy was to be determined. Tariff sched-
ules, the foreign policy of the country.
the chief expenditures of the government
everything-went as they suggested, while
the rank and file OF us Jared as we might
and were happy If we had any small
share in the prosperity which they or
ganized for themselves. They We're the
trustees, we were their wards, and took
part in the common life as they planned
and directed What went on In the trustee
meetings we were very seldom allowed to
learn-learned indeed only by impertinent
inquiry. only by congressional investiga-
tons or trials in court. which. the trustees
complained, sadly interfered with the reg
ular course of business.
Roosevelt as "Convert."
"Mr Roosevelt has proclaimed himself
a convert to the protective policy-I say
a convert, because he at one time very
frankly avowed different opinion-and
has said that while we admitted that no
doubt, some duties were too high and
ought to be lowered. on the whole the pol
icy pursued by republican administrations
had been the right one. and he thought
the prize money which had been received
under that system by the manufacturers
of the country was legitimate booty.
1.-The analogy is very interesting one.
Prize money is generally acquired py
capture and not by any process OF earn
ing, but Mr.. Roosevelt is always frank
and says that his only objection to the
system is that too much OF the prize
money remains in the hands of the Off
GERS and too little of it is distributed to
the crew. His own object he avows to be
to see to it that more of the prize money
gets into the pay envelopes or those
whom the freebooters employ. The inter-
esting point / wish to raise now Is who
supplies the plunder-from whom Is the
prize money taken?
"The present democratic Congress had
the old-fashoned idea of government.
They supposed that it's benefits and pro-
tections were to he distributed and equal
ly shared. 1t introduced and passed a
bill which became known as the farmers
free list bill. That bill put many ind,s-
pensable things on the free list. Most
prominent among them were agricultural
implements, because the American farm
er pays more for his agricultural imple-
mentS than any other farmer In the
world.
Alleges Discrimination.
'The American manufacturers who
make agricultural implements sell them
much cheaper on the other side Of the
water. On the other side they undersell
the local manufacturers of agricultural
implements, and prove by their eagerness
for the foreign business and their rapid
expansion of 1t that they can afford to do
SO even at the additional cost OF the
ocean freights 1t was very natural
act on the part of the democratic Con-
gress. therefore. to put agricultural i'm
plements on the free list, to put fence
wire also on the free list and the bagging
and ties which the southern farmer needs
and uses for his cotton. It added lum-
ber and laths and shingles and leather
and shoes, and salts, and meats, think
ing not Of the farmer alone, but OF all of
us who are struggling to live and pay our
bills. But such changes did not comport
with the ideas and plans OF the trustees.
and the President vetoed the free list. I
dare say he was right from his pOint-of
view, for he represented the trustees and
not the people.
Interest Of Big Bankers.
Tho trustees represent also the big
bankers in whose hands our banking sys-
TEN lies to be manipulated. and no re-
publican administration, no republican
Congress. has attempted to serve the
farmer as he ought to be served in the
matter of credit. It is practically i'm
possible for the farmer to borrow money
on the kind OF securities ordinarily de-
manded at the banks. 1t does not serve
his purpose to borrow it for the short
periods insisted upon by most bankers.
He needs, rather, long credits. and he
needs them on his own kind of security.
He can't be mortgaging his farm every
time he needs little money. Other
countries have discovered how to assist
him.
An admirable system Of agricultural
societies has been developed in Ireland.
and an excellent one in Germany, and
the present democratic Congress has
done nothing better than to provide
for a careful investigation OF this subject
with a view to early action. so that the
law may be fitted to the creation Of these
new instruments Of business which the
farmer so much needs and ought to
have