The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-14

labor and the wage earner will profit greatly through the relief of industry from the shackles of an unjust and artiii- cial system which deny American capital and labor it's appropriate access to the markets of the world, which produces periodical gluts, panics and prostratlons of business, and in general is q hindrance and disturbance to industrial develop ment instead of being an aid to American enterprise and industry
 What a commentary 1t is on the self confidence, the energy and the enterprise of the American people, that the constant effort of one of the great political parties is to foster monopoly by keeping compst- itors out of our markets, when the effort should be to equip our manufacturers so that they may hold the home market and at the same time compete with foreign competitors in the neutral markets of the world.
 Reform Beneficial "The relief which will come to the con sumng masses from the elimination Of monopoly and the reduction of the cost of living will be shared with all other cit- izens. The benefit which will come to our productive industries through participa- ton in the markets of the world will stim-
 ulate all lines of American endeavor and will enable the American manufacturer to employ fewer men, to employ them
 more regularly and with fewer periods of
 suspension or shutdown, and at better average wage.
 The rampant rule of tariff barons has
 resulted in discomfort and in serious loss of national self-respect and the ex- ploiter It has created abuses and crimes against the government, yielding both profit and disgrace to it's benehciaries, It has opened the way to the masters Of l reckless rhetoric with their demagogic appeals to greed and to passion and preJu- dice.
 q believe that the reform of the tariff along the lines of right and justice Will
 be a staggering blow to monopoly that Il will foster economic peace and constitute
 the greatest contribution can possibly make to the solution of existing economic probyms, and the quel1ing of unrest and denssgogic agitation. It will be great day a glad day for America, when, py aboishing the abuses of special privilege we deprive the irresponsible asitator of 1 business by destroying his stock in trade
 Gaynor Speaks
 In introducing Mayor Gaynor MT. Don nelly declared him in every way quali- fled to fill the highest place within the gift of the American people The mayor was given an ovation. The applause was continued at intervals through his speech,
 which was chiefly in criticism of judicial decisions.
 Colonel Bryan was closely attentive to the mayors address and often partici- pated in the appaluse.
 l He spoke in part as follows: Gentlemen of the National Democratic Club:
 What would Jefferson say?' Is the toast you give me. Yes, what would lief ferson say? He was a progressive man, I ttI To f1fplxa1 his
 steps He did nothing headlong. But he was conscious that the world moves if you will but not the kind of radical who wants to pull everything up by the
 roots, or every pillar down, before he
 has something better to plant or put in its stead. He was neither demagogue
 nor humbug, nor self-seeker. He wanted to do good to his fellow men, and knew
 that good in this world was growth, not stagnation. He knew that all good growth physical mental or moral, was
 gradual and often slow growth. How gradually the tree grows and natures, and the blade of wheat. and this body of ours and how long and patiently the Almighty sat breeding over this world of ours before it was fit. And in the same way how gradually things mental and moral grow and mature. He knew that the universal law in all things was either growth or decay. He only smiled at the stupid conversatism which pro claims that everything is right just as It is and has held up the hands and cried out in all ages. Don't disturb the ex- isting order of things" He knew that the existing order of things is often
 bad and sometimes the worst possible order of things.
 Obstructive Court Decisions Yes. what would Jefferson say of things today?
 There is a provision in all of our con stitutions, national and state, that no one shall be deprived of life, liberty or prop erty without due process of la'-, or eX- cept by the law of the land, as il is some times expressed. This safeguard is not new with us. We derived it from Eng land The phrase to deprive one of his liberty had always been understood to mean to interfere with the liberty of the person, to put one under physical restraint by some form of interference, arrest or imprisonment. And to deprive
 one of his property had a similar plain
 meaning. No one in England or in any other place except here has ever thought
 of their having any other meaning, But since 1870 in this country courts have been interpreting these words of the con | stitution in their widest sense. And this | constitutional eXegesis has developed so i
 progress is being blocked by court de-
 cisions. What would Jefferson say to it? l We know what he would say. He op- | posed all forced constitutional inter-
 pretations by the courts while he was | living, and said that if allowed to run I their course the constitution and our
 form of government would be sapped and
 mined by the courts in their natural ten
 dency to aggrandize themselves with \ power over the legislative and executive tbranches of government
 The Trust Question
 y'And what would Jefferson say about tb Q so-called trusts. if I may use that mis Slomer?
 tr,ct Aof Columbia, there are statutes en- ablin < corporations to be formed to own hold and vote on the stock of other cor norati ms without limit. This is what we call th e holding company It is the trust The stock certificates of all the cornorati o11s engaged in the same kind of blsiness such as sugar refining, for ex- annie can sbe transferred to such a hold ing compan N and in that way all of such cornorati tions tare brough under one man agement and Sontrol' and made a single business unit. Thereby doing away with all competition an | rivalry among them and ena abling the | 1lding company to raise prices to the consumer. more or less. What would Jef 'eson say to doing away with competition among corporations in the same line of Abusiness and in that way? I think he would say the holdirg company statutes sl puld never pave been passed and ought ? De repealed by de- grees, or superseded naeonal corpo,-