Omaha daily bee., 1916-10-07
Wilson smashes Another Sacred Democratic Idol

Wilson Sma6heS Another odCreo DeruoStduS Aooi'
In his Omaha speech, President Wilson agait,
showed his facility for repudating democratic
doctrine and stealing republican thunder Here
is a quotation, slightly condensed, of his exact
language:
We heard a great deal OF talk about big
business getting no sympathy-t.at 'as not
the trouble. Big business had plenty OF sym.
patty, but bad business ought not to have mad
any sympathy. What our law stood in need
of was the definition of what was good and
what was bad definite expression of the
idea that was back of it. That idea was merely
this-unfair competition is wrong, but, II the
competition is fair, the scale upon which It Is
carried on is not only no concern OF the law
maker but the bigger the scale, the more sp en-
did the results always have been.
Now, we do not take issue with this thought,
but we insist that it is not democratic declara-
ton but, on the contrary it is the Roosevelt
preachment. 1t was Roosevelt and the republic
cans in congress back of him who took the posi-
ton that only bad" business was to be restricted
and curtaled and that the mere fact that business
was big" did not make 1t bad, while the demo-
Gratis were constantly contending directly the
opposite. For proof, let us go back to few unim-
peachable democratic witnesses. The democratic
national platform OF 1905 among other pronounce
ments declared:
We favor license system which will make
Il necessary for a manufacturing or trading
corporation, engaged in interstate comnegee,
to take out federal license before it shall be
permitted to control as much as Is per cent OF
the product in which it deals, and to prohibit
the control by such corporation of more than
50 per cent of the total amount OF any product
consumed in the United States
a,;, h.. da,ponyaf;c national platform Of
1912 being the very platform upon which Wood
row Wilson was elected president, reads:
We favor the declaration by law Of the con.
ditions upon which corporations shall be per-
mitted to engage in interstate trade, including,
among others, the prevention OF the control by
any one corporation of so large proportion OF
any industry as to make it menace to COM
petitive conditions.
True the democratic platform of 1916 tries to
get away from the whole question by pretending
that these promises have been fulfilled and by
covering them up with general re-affrmation,
but the record OF the democrats in congress is
lust as contradictory to the presidents present
right-about-face. Our own democratic United
States senator, for example, now seeking re-
election by clinging to the presidents coat tails,
championed an amendment to the revenue law
which, il adopted, would have put big business
completely out of business. He proposed levying
a progressive tax on corporations, increasing with
the size OF the business, the undsguised purpose
being to penaiize business not because II is
bad" but because it is big" Senator Hitch
cocks measure would have the government liter
ally confscatc big business to this extent that
for corporation whose production or sale be
one quarter, and less than one-hrd, OF the total
amount Of any line Of production" its annual tax
Shall be FIVE times the normal tax. to-wit, five
per cent" and if ethird, and lessathan one-haf,
OF the total amount Of any line Of production its
annual tax shall be ten times the normal tax,
to-wit, ten per cent and finally III its produc-
ton or sale as onc-half or more, Of the total
amount Of any line OF production for the whole
country its annual tax shall be twenty times the
normal tax, to-wit, twenty per cent Of the net
income accruing from all sources"
How are democrats like Senator Hitchcock,
whose capital stock has been batting big BUSH
ness without distinguishing between good BUSH
ness and bad business, going to get into the same
wagon now with President Wilson for business
on big scale and the bigger the scale the
more splendid the result" How is President Will
son now going to take back and exchange all
the democratic attacks on Theodore Roosevelt
and republicans generally for upholding business,
big and little, when fairly conducted and fighting
only lawless business, to punish unfair or dis
honest dealing and stop palpably ndefensiblc
abuses.