The Ellensburg dawn. [volume] (Ellensburg, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1912-10-10
TWO BIC ISSUES,
SAYS GOLFERS
The Tariff and the Proper Treat
ment Of M0n0po|ieS.
WON'T TIE TO ROOSEVELT.

"Actively Oisagrees" With His Views
About Trusts and WASTES of Com
petition" and Supports the Candi-
dacy of Wilson and Marshall.
Golfers is out for Wilson and Mar
shall 1t refuses to support Theodore
Roosevelt, plus George w. Perkins.
Elbridge H. Gary and the rest of the
steel trust-harvester trust magnates.
Its open opposition to the third term
ticket was indicated in the issue Of
Sept. IA. In the issue of Sept. 81 its
reasons for espousing the Democratic
cause are clear and forceful
The leading editorial. The Wastes of
Competition" says:
More and more the campaign is
coming down to two pressing issues,
the tariff and the proper treatment of
monopoies Golfers actively dis
agrees with the view of monopoly be
ing urged by Messrs. Roosevelt, Per
kins and Gary.
uts tuih a Stttt uN"i 'cCut eAN
wastes Of competition. The necessary
wastes of competition are relatively in
significant and the wastes of unfair
and destructive competition are wholly
unnecessary. They will be largely
eliminated when competition is regu-
lated.
THE La Follette-Lenroot and the
Stanley bills to perfect the Sherman
law and the Newlands-Cummins pro-
posas for an interstate trade commits
sion are all directed in part to that end.
The remaining wastes of competition
may be likened TO the wastes of de-
mOcracy. These are obvious, but we
know also that democracy has COM
pensations which render it more eff
Gent than absolutism. So it is in in
dustry. The margin between what
men naturally do and what they can
do is so great that the system which
urges men on to effort is the best sys-
TEN.
1.-THE necessary wastes of monopoly,
on the other hand are enormous. Some
of these can. of course. be eliminated
by regulation. An efficient interstate
trade commission. acting under appro-
pirate legislation. could put an end to
much Of the oppression of which trusts
have been guilty. 1t could prevent I'M
just discrimination. 1t could prevent
ruthless and unfair use of power; but
government commission would be
powerless to secure for the people the
low prices commonly attendant upon
competition.
'As no means exist for determining
whether greater net earnings are due
to greater efficiency in management or
to excessive profits, large net earnings
would be followed by compulsory re-
duction of prices. which in turn would
create sense Of injustice suffered.
paralyze individual enterprise and pro
duce unprogressive. slipshod manage
ment. The attempt to secure lon prices
through price firing UOuld prore as i'm
potent as the statutes which hare sought
to protect the public in railroad rates Jy
limiting the diridends
'The interstate commerce commits
sion has been invoked as an argument
In favor of licensing monopoly. That
commission has stopped many abuses
1t has practically put an end to cor
rupt and corrupting discrimination in
rates; it has protected the shipper
from oppression and arrogance and in
Justice: it has prevented unreasonable
0drances in rates: but it has secured
comparatively few notable reduttions
In rates. except those involved in stop
ping discrimination between persons
places or articles. 1t has been porerless
TO reduce operating costs and greater re
auctions In rates can come only Nth re
auctions in the cost of producing trans
porfaffon. The injustice and corruption
attending the earlier railroad period
were extremely serious. But we mus
not forget that the siceepin0 reductions
IN american operating costs and rate
0eiong to the earlier period Of competition
among railroads. In the ten years from
1889 to 1899. while competition among
the railroads was active. the freight
rate per ton per mile was gradually re
~SN AiOh -'fi " IN. lie year.
lS@-19OO marked the great movement
Tor combination or community of in
terest In the railroad world as wei
as In the industrial world The frcigh
rate per ton per mile beam to rise II
each of the eleven succeeding years i
was higher than in 1909. and in 1911
1t was 753
THE deadening effect Of monopol,
IL illustrated by its arrest of inven
tion The shoe machinery trust. form
ed In 1899. resulted in combining. di
rectly and indirectly. more than l0
shoe machinery concerns. 1t acquired
substantially monopoly of all the es
sential machinery used in bOttomin'
boots and shoes. as well as many 9th
err machines 1t believed itself una>
sailable. and shoe manufacturers ha
come to regard their subsection to tn
trust as unavoidable Nevertheless. il
lSlo the trust found its prestige sud
ueniy threatened and its huge profit
imperiled. 1t was confronted with
competitor so formidable that tn
trust. In fragrant violation of law. pal
So.o0o.oOO to buy him ont Thomas 6
rant had actually succeeded in deve
oping in about five years. while tn
trust was stolid from monopoly,