The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1916-10-05
to the hell of the antitrust

purgatory to the hell of the antitrust
law"
! can not find that the trade COM
mission has SO far judicially passed
upon any case involving unfair meth
DDS of competition in commerce, or
that it has, by it's action in any case,
| put a stop to unfair methods of COM
petition or granted substantial relief.
l can find no information bearing
directly on this matter in the first
annual report of the commission of
June 80, 1915. On the goth day of
August, last, addressed and mailed
| to the commission a letter asking
for further information as to it's work.
| This information has not yet been
| furnished.
Child Labor Law.
Another matter of legislation for
which the Democracy will claim great
credit is the so-called child-labor act.
In reference to this, it can be said
that there are only some three or
| four states in the Union that did not
have on their statute books suitable
and adequate child-labor laws, and in
these few states, where the laws were
imperfect and deficient, 1 have nc
doubt but what they would in due
time have enacted the necessary laws.
1t is very serious question, to my
mind, whether this law is consti-
tutional, or if constitutional, whether
it will afford the remedy sought.
voted for it with the utmost reluc-
was anxious to have the supreme
court pass upon this important ques-
ton for if such legislation is valid,
the limits to which the interstate
commerce clause of the constitution
can be applied are we'll nigh bound.
less.
The Shipping Law.
The next matter of Democratic leg
islation, to which l will call your
attention, is the so-called shipping
law passed at the last session OF
congress. 1t provides for the pur-
chase, leasing, and operation of ships
expense of $5O,O00,O0O, exclusive of
salaries, to be obtained from the sale
of so-called Panama bonds. This leg
islation, the administration claims,
was urgently needed because of the
scarcity of ocean shipping and the
high rates prevailing in consequence
of the war. 1t is novel scheme, and
puts the government in direct com
| petition with private enterprise and
private effort, and will tend to en-
barrass and retard the growth of our
ocean shipping, now on the high road
to healthy expansion and growth. But
waving all this, l pointed out in
the debate in the senate on this bill
that it was utterly impossible for the
government to procure any ships
within the next two or three years.
Panama Canal Bonds.
| In providing for the building of the
for the issuance of bonds to secure
funds for that purpose. The cost of
| the canal to date has been approx
mately 100000 The administra-
| ton of the Republican party was SO
businesslike, prudent and economical
that all but $13O,00O,OOO of the cost
of the canal was paid out of the cur
| rent revenues of the government
/ Only S130.000,000 in bonds were is
sued And now the Democratic party
! in their skirmishing around for rev
fenue to meet their eXtravagant ap-
preparations, has resorted to the
/ Panama bonds for the purpose OF
buying and operating ships, and for
the purpose of constructing a nitrate
plant for the manufacture of some
power and lot of fertilizers. The
| Panama bonds were in their origin
devoted to a specific and a sacred
purpose. and now 100000 of these
bonds are to be devoted to two
schemes of state socialism, the like
of which could only spring from the
womb of a Democracy intoxicated by
the power temporarily placed in their
hands.
Philippine Islands.
AS an incident of the war with
Spain we acquired the Philippine is
lands. The people of these islands
for more than three hundred years
| languished under the despotic tyran
ny of Spain. Spain had during ali
those years failed to develop the
people or the resources of the islands
She had failed to provide for their
education and had utterly failed to
| give them a decent. government. Such
a government as theyt had was not q
government of law but a government
Of the army and of the monks. We
found these poor people in 9 most
wretched and deplorable condition,
utterly inexperienced in self-govern-
nent, or in any form Of government
regulated by law. 1t would >have been
i still more cruel, in their then con
lition, to have cast them adrift to
shift for themselves. That would have
led to chaos and destruction, or to