Evening journal., 1912-05-23
NEW NEWS NEWS OF YESTERDAY
The Remark That Led Ulti-
mately to Our Antitrust
Legislation
Rv HoIlnnd
BY Holland

In the month Of April, 1884 ] spent
a week at Old Point Comfort at a time
when several members Of Congress-
among them Senator John n. Reagan
Of Texas--were also taking brief va
cation at that place.
knew Senator Reagan slightly
having had several conversations
with him upon matter in which he
was greatly interested That was the
framing of national legislation which
would serve to control what he be-
lieved to be a monopolstic tendency
on the part of large corporation capi-
tai. incidentally II may be said that it
was due in great measure to the work
done by Senator Reagan that the at
tention Of Congress was at last TO-
cused upon the subject of the so-call-
ed trusts resulting ultimately in the
passage of the Sherman antitrust
law.
In the course Of the conversation at
Old Point Comfort with Senator Rea-
gan | asked him how II happened that
he who represented what at that time
was almost exclusively an agricultur-
al State should have taken so great
interest In fiscal and corporation
questions
"As ] look back upon my career"
said Senator Reagan Il recall certain
incidents In connection with the
Southern Confederacy which / be-
lieve first turned my attention to econ
omic and fiscal subjects"
was somewhat surprised at this
remark since practically all of Mr..
Reagans official connection with the
Confederacy was as Postmaster Cen
eral in the cabinet of jefferson Davis
There seemed to me to be no special
reason in the postal service for direct
ing statesman's thought to fiscal and
economic questions.
Il suppose there was not a man in
the south, excepting, possibly Alex
ander II. Stephens, who did not be-
lieve that tho cotton production of the
south, which was so greatly relied
upon by the manufacturers Of Eng
land for their raw product, would fur
nish the most pertinent of the argu-
ments in favor of the successful fnan-
cling Of the Confederate cause know
that was my opinion. 1t was the opin-
ion proclaimed in Congress before the
Confederacy was established. Cotton
was called the king, and it was re-
garded as Of kingly power by the lead
ers In the south We felt that as Eng
land must have cotton she would
either demand that she have the free
access TO our ports or else would be
compelled to recognize the Confed-
eracy. 2
Now. one of the strangest of many
strange things that happened in the
south during the life of the Confed-
eracy was the fact that one of the
foremost minds Of the south. William
L. Yancey, the very man who offered
the resolution declaring for secession
at the convention of the Southern
States held at Montgomery. Alabama,
in 1860. was the man who first OPEN
ed the eyes of the south to the fact
that mistake had been made in pro-
claiming cotton as king
Mr.. Davis sent Senator Yancey 10
| England IN 1861, before war broke
out, as a commissioner representing
the Confederate States. II was ex-
pected that he would be able greatly
to influence English opinion. Mr..
! 7
summer of 1862 and receptions we're
rendered to him by the citizens of sew
eral of the leading cities Of the south.
| At one of these receptions think at
Savannah, but it may have been at
Charleston; my recollection Is not
clear on that point-Senator Yancey
declared that he had been mistaken
about the kingship of cotton He as
serted that while cotton was king In
financial and trade sense, it was
not king In a political sense. He had
learned that much he declared. during
/ his soiourn in Great Britain.
when I heard OF this statement
was greatly impressed. As | thought
more and more about it ! became con-
vinced that we had made a mistake,
and that while cotton was king so far
as American International commerce
was concerned. Il had no kingly au-
| thority so far as international politics
was concerned. In that single state
ment Of Senator Yancey's as ] now
look back, is to be found, I think, the
first premonition that the Confeder-
acy could not succeed. At all events
the statement led me to devote more
and more of my attention to fiscal and
economic subjects. and with these
have been chiefly occupied since l re-
entered the Federal Congress"
Copyright. 1912, by 2. j. Edwards
All rights reserved)
Tomorrow MT Edwards will tell OF
"A Great Scientists Greatest Tri-
| ,tsarh