Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1913-07-10


crime been undiscovered were even
called TO the bar of justice, let alone
prosecuted.
Conducting a lobby in Washington
by the sugar interests is a business
proposition strictly. The multimillion-
aire sugar magnates, who are every
year adding to their colossal fortunes
by millions through the kindness of
Uncle Sam in giving them a protective
, tariff which guarantees them a monop-
oily of American markets with power
to charge consumers what they please
for sugar, can well afford TO spend
few hundreds of thousands in the
form of $1,000 a month salaries to
slick-tongued lobbyists, if by doing so
( they can prevent their monopolies and
profits from being interfered with.
/ To hear the wall now going up from
/ the s1,000-a-month men one would
/ imagine congress had not given the
sugar people any opportunity whatever
/ to be heard. The fact is a committee
of q members of the house of repre-
sentatives-the ways and means COM
mittee-sat in session for weeks, lis
tening to the arguments of those de-
string protection. The sugar people
were permitted to say any and every
thing they desired The members of
the ways and means committee sat
somewhat as a court. They considered
all the testimony, and then brought in
their verdict in the form of the Under
wood bill. After having had a fair
deal in open court the sugar trust is
now trying to win, as usual, by the
underhand method of approaching
members of congress in private or
working in the dark.
The people are at a disadvantage in
the face of this kind of warfare, be-
cause they have no knowledge of the
pressure and kind of arguments
brought 10 bear on congressman by
special privilege. There are no lobby
lists to present the viewpoint of the
consumers or to disprove the false
statements which may be poured into
the cOngressmen's ears by the able
and resourceful Representatives of the
. sugar trust.
! If man living in California had a
lawsuit before a judge in far-away
= New York, and knew that his rival
, in the litigation was in the habit OF
/ dining with the court and spending an
) hour or two daily in private converse
: ton with him in chambers he would
if he was an average human being
) be inclined to be little nervous over
the situation. And that is about the
iC Of he
United States. They are Just a little
, bit nervous over the fact that special
r privilege is paying men $1,000 a month
to persuade their representatives tc
, vote for the interests of the tariff
: trusts instead of the interests of the
consumers.
: By his recent speech in the senate
exposing the methods used by the beef
. sugar trust to manufacture false and
p, artificial public sentiment against the
tariff bill, Senator Thomas of Colora
do, has performed a public service
! second only to that of the president
in calling attention to the insidious
tariff lobby, the most powerful which
ever operated in Washington
+ Senator Thomas's speech gives the
. public some idea of the pressure ma
! tional legislators must Withstand wheI
a they attempt to pass laws which tn,
: special interests oppose but which tn,
q people want.
e Senator Thomas and his colleague
q Senator Shafroth, as well as two rep
q resentatives at large, Edward Keatin,
e and Z. 7. Taylor, were elected in Colo
p RADIO last fall on the democratic ticke
o by pluralities ranging from $4,000 t
$4,000 votes. While the platform di
y not specifically indorse the remova
n of the duty on sugar, it Endorsed al
c. the actions of the last Democrat
t. house, one Of which was TO pass
Is free sugar bill, and Representativ
r Heating ran on a straight free suga
d platform. 1t appears evident that ColC
ID rado, with its extensive sugar indu.
is try, voted for free sugar by a piura
a ity of $4,000.
Ie The special session of congress me
re The tariff BILL providing for free 81
S gar, was introduced. And then wha
ut happened? From all parts OF Col,
N rado letters began pouring in on thu
E. states senators and representative
e. protesting against free sugar. So nj
a merous and vehement were these lie
tiers and kilograms that they appa
c emily indicated a tremendous revulsio
10 of feeling in the state toward tn
m sugar tariff. Any honest legislatc
N might well hesitate before he vote
IL against such an overwhelming e.
preston Of public opinion.
10 Senator Thomas, however. went b
10 hind the returns. He got in commun
v cation with Thomas S. Price, an il
- telligent man formerly employed b
-, ~ the Great Western Sugar company {
- Longmont, Colo, who told the senate
- how the fictitious public sentiment wa
manufactured. He wrote:
You will no doubt receive letter
80 from employees OF the factory here, &
- they are compelled in an underhande
M way either to write them or taE
N. chances of losing their jobs by refu
80 ing.
y. Price inclosed a form letter whic
II the sugar companies ordered their en-
&C. ployees to copy, sign, and mail :