The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1915-07-01
REPUBLICANS AND ECONOMIC
PROSPERITY.

REPUBLICANS AND ECONOMIC
PROSPERITY.
Our friends the republicans are re-
ported to be confident of winning the
election of 1916 on platform de-
manding that Hostility to business
come to an end and that Legislation
tending to the nations economic de-
velopment be passed by congress.
There is no issue on which the cleo
ton could be fought which the DEM
ocracy will more willingly meet.
What has the republican party
done for the economic development
of the country that the nation should
think of turning to it? II there is one
thing in which that party has shown
more abject hclplessness than IN
framing legislation to aid in national
economic development it has been in
commanding popular confidence in
it's own honesty and sincerity where
such legislation is concerned.
But one piece OF economic leglsia-
ton Of the past quarter century mas
been hailed with approval by all
sorts and conditions OF men in these
United States-radicals and conser-
vatives, bankers and farmers. Wall
street and the west. That is the Fed
eral Reserve Act, framed by demo-
cratic congress and signed by demo-
cratic president. 1t put an end to 80
years of financial 'muddling along,
SO years of statutory violation OF ev-
cry natural law of finance, so years
during which the measure of our fin
ancial peril was the extent OF our
economic prosperity, and every great
harvest threatened US with strin-
gency. The Federal Reserve Act has
made it possible, for the first time in
our history, that we should compete
in the markets OF the world with 9TH
er nations, whose manufacturers and
merchants are greatly helped abroad
by foreign branches of domestic
banks. There are few current discus
sions of plans for new business enter
prises which do not contain frequent
incidental reference to the new pos
sibilities open before business by rea-
son of the passing of the monument
tai piece of legislation.
Is the democracy hostile to bust
ness? II so, what strange way OF
showing it, to pass law which does
more to take the shackles off Amerl-
can enterprise than all the economic
legislation Of the 6 preceding years
put together!
The great difficulty in the way OF
development OF the northwestern sec
ton Of the national domain and the
vast territory beyond it which troub-
led American business from the time
of the Klondike rush to the end of
Taft's administration was a closed
Alaska. With vast resources there,
the property OF the whole people, the
republicans could think of no alter
native except to give them to the
grasping few in return for "devel
opment' such as the small boys de-
velopment of a jar Of jam or currant
jelly, or to leave them locked up,
benefting no one. 1t remained for
the Wilson administration to arrange
to build railroads into the interior
may now be developed to the nations
profit.
The Sherman antitrust oct was
passed in 1890. The history of its
passage is amusing, for it was run
in as stop to critics of the ill-star-
red Mckinley tariff bill, but we have
not time for that story now. For the
next % years the Sherman law was
sort of black cloud on the business
horizon. The big corporations
thought it meant storm; the small
fellows whose business was being
dried up by unfair methods thought
it promised rain-but nothing much
really came out of it but vague and
distant thunderings. The reason was
that no one knew exactly what it
meant, and no congress had courage
enough to pass supplementary legis-
lation in order to tell. Afraid of the
currency, afraid of the Alaskan ques-
ton, successive republican congress
es were likewise afraid of the Sher-
man act. The democracy has passed
q supplementary act to make it clear
and created Federal Trade Commits
sion to help in the Interpretation.
Now all this constructive legisla-
ton has been passed with the enthus-
iastic approval Of the general public.
1t has been passed in recognition of
the fact that doubt and uncertainty
are the worst factors of business dis
organization. 1t has been passed in
recognition of the fact that republi- |
can inability to decide anything or to
do anything upon such questions as
the currency, Alaska and the dark
places in the Sherman act was breed
ing distrust between different parts
Of the business community and
such class strife as ought
not even to be known by name in
democracy. The questions that the
Reeds, the Hannahs, the Roosevelts,
the Aldriches, the Cannons, the Bal
fingers, the Tafts, the Shoots were
merely talked about, either buster
ngly or weakly, the democracy has
Begun to solve. We are doing no
special pleading. We simply chal-
enge American voters to say wheth-
II they want to return to the party