The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1914-07-20
PROUTYs PLATFORM COVERS
MANY BIG ISSUES
Continued from First Page

| pecldlly touching the Melldio VI W.
| men and children" favor tail
employers liability act both state
and national am also in favor OF
! Legislation protecting women ana
children from burdensome conditions
| of service.
6. presidential Primaries | ia
vor a primary for every elective Of
flee, including that of President OF
| the United States.
T. The remaining three subjects
mentioned in your letter are the
tariff, the control of big business and
prospective railroad legislation.
While to my mind these are the mat
| tiers which today intimately concern
the voters of this country, and which
are of more pressing importance than
| the subjects already referred to, l.
must be evident to you that cannot
enter upon a discussion of these mat
tiers within the limits of this letter
(a). The Tariff. | have always
been an earnest believer in a protoc-
tive tariff but not always in the p~o-
tective tariff then in effect. Our
tariff legislation in the past has been
too much dictated by certain special
interests which have Thereby obtain
ed an unwarranted advantage. In a
commercial contest between this ma
ton and other countries of the void
the tariff should to my mind be a
potent weapon of offence and de-
fence. Reciprocity as the idea was
being developed by President McKin-
ley at the time of his death meets
my own view of this situation. !
need not add that do not approve
that reciprocity which sacrifices the
farmer to the steel trust. Manifestly
subject like the tariff cannot AIDE
quately be dealt with by Congress.
We should have non-partisan tariff
board with such powers and OF such
quality thai its recommendations will
ordinarily be accepted
CO. Railroad regulation. The
regulation OF cur railroads should he
effective for the public protection
and it fhould also be fair to ihe rail
road itself. At the present time the
federal government has complete an
thority in some particula-s while in
oshers il has no authority whatever
have for the last fifteen years been
an advocate OF legislation which
would have absolutely prevented
happenings of the las, ten years in
New England, but that provision has
not yet been adopted although many
o.her things for which l have been
contendng have become the law.
In my opinion the Act TO regulate
commerce should be so revised as to
make it a complete and comprehen.
sive scheme OF regulation. but it
should be so written and so admins
tered as to leave the railroad the
eatest freedom of action consistent
with adequate protection to the pub
lie. Taking the state and nation to
gether there is danger of too much
rather than too little railroad legis
lation.
(c). The regulation of business
There is no more delicate question
before tho county today than the
proper treatment of business The
method bv which railroad monopoly
can be efrcctually regulated is plain
The government can lay its hand up
on the thing itself; it can say when
ihe train shall be run and what rae
shall be charged With business OK
actly the reverse is true Competi
ticn must be relied upon to fix the
quality and the price.
IN the pas. there have been two
main troubles in the business situa
ton.
First: The great concern, typifcd
by the Standard Oil Company has
driven its small competitor to the
wall by &C tain unfair practices.
Second. Uncertainty has interior
ed with legitimate business invest.
ment. No man could know whether
his enterprise we're legal or illegal
until the money had been invested
and protacted period Of litigation
had ensued
Some three or fou. years ago ! sug
gested in a public address that "A
trade commission be created tor the
regulation of business. having au-
thority to prohibit these unfair prac-
ticcs. and that It should be possible
to apply to this body in advance and
ascertain whethc- given undertake
ing was in violation of law. The
idea of the commission seems to
have been generally accepted; the
authority which this body should
possess is in dispute. feel that
this subject will finally be worked
out along these lines.
In the second paragraph OF your
letter YOU ask for my thought touch
ing that political mechanism known
as party enrolment for primaries"
! have never given sufficient consid-
Grafton 10 the details of a primary
law so that care to express an opin-
ion upon that subject II does seem
clear TO me that the right TO vote in
the primary for the nominee of
particular party should not carry
with IL a pledge TO support whom
ever that party may finally nominate.