The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1912-09-05
How Shall | Vote?

To THE EDITOR OF The JOURNAL: The
political situation is so unlike any former
condition that one feels the need of ap-
preaching it from a new viewpoint.
After supporting Mr.. Roosevelt for the
best Of reasons and four years ago regret
ting his refusal to run again, and sup
porting Mr.. Taft, who has done SO little
that is disappointing, and SO much that
proves him to be man of integrity and
careful conservatism, makes it no easy
matter to choose between them and be
candidly just to both. Both have rendered
services to the United States that have
morally and politically elevated this Re-
public and advanced the worlds respect
for republican institutions. We are now
called upon to choose between them and
we want to make this choice upon prin-
ciple.
All of the political parties have made
the great financial and industrial institu-
tions prominent issue in this campaign
and no intelligent person can we'll ignore
the issue. There can be no question but
that great industries have combined for
the suppression Of competition in trade,
and those great trusts have forced an
immense number of smaller concerns out
of business and have filled their places
in a manner not wholly unsatisfactory to
the general public
In economy of production and distri-
button and in developing foreign markets
for home products the great trusts have
clearly outstripped smaller concerns. On
the other hand, all Of the political parties
charge some of the greatest trusts with
acts and results of their acts that are
clearly detrimental to the public welfare.
First, that these great trusts result in
centralizing the bulk Of the nations
wealth in fewer and fewer hands, while
the number who are striving to increase
their own wealth are on the increase but
are over matched by the trusts and are
forced to play losing game.
Second, that the great trusts are by
the dishonorable use of money, corrupt
ing and controlling to an alarming ex-
tent, the legislative, judicial and execu-
tive branches of the several States and
of the federal government. All of these
charges have been too clearly and too
frequently proven to admit of dispute.
Herein we find the gist of the political
problem of this campaign, and four par
ties are in the field, each offering rem
edy, and each party has right to be
proud of the honest purpose and repre-
sentative character of its nominees. The
claim of each party appears to be about
as follows:
The Sherman law, the Republican party
and Mr.. Taft are all in accord. The
policy is to dissolve the large trusts into
their minor units and give the great army
of smaller business men more even
chance.
The Democrats are working for the
same end, but they propose to take all
protection out of the tariff, which they
claim has been the principle factor in
trust monopoly.
These two old parties are bidding for
the popular vote, one with free trade
and the other with the Sherman law.
The Socialists are rejoicing in the in
creasing magnitude, and the increasing
feasibility of great trusts, and also in
their depravitv, because the Socialists
consider this the working out of the need
of Government ownership of all great
interests, and the proof that they can be
worked tremendously and economically in
the greatest bodies, and they would leave
othlng to Individual initiative and per-
sonal enterprise greater than the small
one-man and one-horse concerns.
Between this attitude of the Republi- !
cans and the Socialists, and in direct op
position to the free trade of the Demo-
Gratis, Mr.. Roosevelt and the Progressive
party have taken middle ground, which
he says is corrective for socialism, and
an antidote to anarchism.
Mr.. Roosevelt takes the ground that
socialism would be mildew upon Ameri-
can individuality, which is the very
essence of human progress. He holds
that individual initiative, individual en-
terprise and individual pride in achieve
ments must be maintained at any sacri-
flee. This is his corrective on socialism,
their one great error and un-American
principle. He agrees with the socialists
in the advantages of the great magni-
tude of enterprises, and he agrees with
them in the need of absolute government
control, but he disagrees with the social
lists upon government ownership. He
believes the great enterprises should be
required to issue their stock in small de-
nominations to be sold to their employees
instead of to idle property holders. In
short, he believes the great enterprises
should be owned and controlled mainly
by its employees. First, to stimulate
their individual ambition; and, secondly
because this great body of small owners
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