Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1912-10-25

New-party advocates OF legalized mo-
nopoly state the trust problem as II we
must choose between destructive com
petition or regulated monopoly; where
as the alternative actually is between
regulated competition and regulated
monopoly.
C,mpetition is an incident of indus
trial liberty: regulation is essential to
I'M, preservation and best development
nf competition. just as regulation is
necessary to the preservation and best
1,, eloma,ut OF civil and political lb-
city.
To prohibit that destructive c"mpet-
tinu which leads to monopoly-to pro-
r.hit that excess OF liberty of contract
which. through combination, would de
struy industrial liberty-is not at
1enlptiug hy law to make people COM
uete." No one seeks to compel people
to compete. The purpose of the Sher-
man law and of the perf"ctlng amend
meuts proposed by the Laf"llette-Len-
root-Stanley hill is merely to prevent
the killing Of cumpctition-to prevent
comp.titiun being rendered impossible.
We fear it cannot bc successfully de
MED that the new party. i'll its plat
form. in Col. Roosevelt's speeches. in
the declarations of Mr.. George ". Per
kins has very positively committed 1t
self to an abandonment of the demo
cratic principle in industry. 1t relies
upon amelioration Of an evil, instead of
endcaVoring to prevent the evil from
existing and increasing. With much
emphasis it declares for monopoly as
economically and socially efficient and
desirable. There is no other substan-
tial trust issue.
1t might be well to note that the
Stanley referred to is the Democratic
chairman of the committee which in
session of Congress.
Similarly, in an editorial reprinted
in THE WASHINGTON STANDARD for Sep
TENDER 20, Golfers Weekly said in
part:
Without industrial liberty the Ameri-
can ideals of social and industrial JUS
tice are unattainable. We fear that the
new party plan Of legalizing industrial
monopolies would unwittingly become
the instrument of industrial servitude
America seeks for Its workingmen
shorter hours, higher wages and better
working conditions as the fruits of in
dustrial democracy; but the new party
offers them as substitute for indus
1ial democracy. 1t asks us to aban-
don the American ideal of industrial
liberty and to establish the German
practice of benevolent industrial des-
potism-to enthrone monopoly made
good by law.
The country was Mortified recently 10y
the discovery that the steel trust which
had paid fabulous sums to promoters
and stockholders, worked many of Its
employees IL hours a day seven days In
the week-worked them, too, at such
low wages that, even IL a man toiled
his IL hours each of the 365 days In
the year, he could not earn enough tC
provide a decent living for a small fam
ily The doctrine OF legalized monop'
oily threatens to perpetuate the cause
which made such conditions possible
and which must breed similar evils ir
the future That cause is the huge
overwhelming power of the grea'
trusts, the ineXhaustible resources OF
organized capital. which enable 1t tC
prevent the organization Of labor anC
to make the term iron master a realty
America must breed only free men. II
must develop citizens. 1t cannot devel'
op unless the workingman possesse.
industrial liberty; and industrial lib
erty for the workingman is impossible
if the right to organize be denied
f1,n oh IN
hours, high wages. and the best OF
| working conditions, whether introduced
by legislation or by the welfare de-
partments of great corporations. can d.
more than makery slavery luxurious.
When one starts out to account fol
such tactics by United States sena
tor, in wilfully disappearing an op
ponent's position, he strikes one o.
the snags of modern political life. Sen
ator Poindexter knew that he distorted
the facts when he ascribed to the Dem
ocratic party and to Governor Wilson
The position he did, and knowing this
what other reason than the idea of do
ing and saying anything in order t.
win, prompted the senator to MAKE
these misstatements?
4 IL the progressive party Is IOuHuct
upon and permeated with such misrep
resentation, as 1t appears to be wher
ever its principles are expounded, is 1
the party to which the American PEG
pie want to entrust their government
II they will distort the facts in a pc
litical campaign In the hope of win
ming that campaign, how far cry Il
1t, If they win that campaign, to falsi
flying. distortion and misrepresenta
ton in later campaigns to retain tina
lower?