3
&
An. 15, 1903
report the facta to the president; setting forth
specifically each and every auch aricle. It was then
to be made the president's duty to issue a proclam
ation "placing each and every auch artidle when
imported Into the United States upon the free
list;" and the president was authorized to "fix a
.lime not exceeding thirty days from the receipt of
the findings of the court at which such article or
articles shall be admitted free of duty, and on
and after the date fixed by said proclamation, such
article or articles shall, when imported Into the
United States, be admitted free of duty.' It was
provided, also, that whenever such articles are
subjected to a tax under the internal revenue laws,
the duty on such articles should bo equal to such
internal revenue tax and that from and after the
'date fixed by the proclamation, such articles should
be admitted, whon imported into the United
States, subject to a duty equal to the internal
revenue tax.
JJJ
A Piece of Political Trickery.
That eminent financial publication, the New
lYork Journal of Commerce, does not take serious
ly the president's so-called anti-trust campaign.
The Journal of Commerce says that this campaign
can "servo only to excite amusement." This finan
cial publication says that tho trust issue-has come
to be "a political football to be kicked about by
both parties at every succeeding election," and it
reads this interesting lecture:
"The effort to make it appear that some
a thing is being done when no serious steps
against combinations have been taken, and
none are likely to be, is a piece of political
trickery which is unhappily too frequently
practiced. The vague, misleading pledges of
party platforms, the meaningless rhetoric of
4 the stump, the introduction of bills in con-
gress designed only to 'show interest' in the
5 trust question and never intended to be passed,
( or even actively supported, are phenomena
.with which experience has made us so fa-
miliar that we no longer wonder. For the
i sake of political' honesty work of this kind
ought never to be tolerated. But, entirely
( apart from its general bearing as a political
question, the danger of this method of be
swildering the public mind deserves earnest
thought. It inevitably results in antagonism
Vand class prejudice so bitter that many years
1 may be required to undo the evil caused in a
I short time by the stimulus given to ignorant
1 prejudice simply through the lack of ordinary
sincerity and truth in facing a public ques-
tion.'r
r There has been nothing vague in democratic
platforms, and nothing meaningless in the rhetoric
of democratic stump speakers during the past six
years; and no greater tribute was ever paid to a
party's sincerity on a great question than the
tribute paid to the democratic party by the trusts
of the country whon they bent every energy to ac
pomplish the defeat of that party and unlocked
jtheir treasure-chests in order to provide the re
publican party with its campaign funds.
When one observes the devotion shown to the
(republican party and to republican candidates by
jthe trust managers, one is not at all at a loss to
(understand why republican officials are so fearful
lest they do something In a campaign against the
jtrust system that might seriously disturb the busi
ness interests of the country. And when one ob
serves the good offices which the republican lead
ers are, on their part, performing for the .trusts,
jDne is not at all at a loss to understand which of
jthe two parties makes vague, misleading pledges,
;which of the two' parties indulges in meaningless
rhetoric, and which of the two parties the trust
magnates would keep out of power.
The Journal of Commerce makes timely criti
cism of tho practice of indulging In vague, mis
leading pledges and meaningless rhetoric. But its
Objection that these things "result in antagonism
land class prejudice so bitter that many years may
Jbe required to undo the evil," is, we think, not the
Xnost serious objection. Indeed it may be doubted
whether the practice of Indulging in these mean
ingless phrases, these vague, misleading pledges,
The Commoner.
if Indulged in by all political parties, would re
sult in antagonism or class prejudice. Rather
would it result in the people losing all confidence
In the pledges of any political party and abandon
ing, for a time at least, their Interest In public
affairs. - Political part'ea should state their posi
tion on public questions clearly and explicitly and
their pledges should be faithfully fulfilled after
victory has been won.
Tho Journal of Commerce does well to desig
nate as a pioco of political trickery "an effort to
make it appear that something is being done when
no serioit3 steps against combinations have takon
place and none are likely to be." But this finan
cial pubMcation should have the courage and tho
candor to place the blame where it belongs. Tho
republican party is responsible for this piece of
political trickery. Tho republican party is tho
beneficiary of the trusts and tho trusts are tho
protegees of the republican party.
Whatever particular objection may have been
advanced against the election of tho democratic
ticket, the fact remains that tho one great ob
jection was that tho men who are interested in
perpetuating tho trust system believed that if tho
democratic party were victorious, democratic
pledges would bo fulfilled to tho letter, and the
trust system would be destroyed if there was
power enough in the arm of the government to
effect its destruction. And even today when the
republican administration is pretending to engage
in an anti-trust campaign, tho trust magnates are
providing tho republican party with tho sinews of
war, and these representatives of class interests
are as determined as ever that the republican
party shall remain in power.
Tho New York Journal of Commerce having
recognized this "piece of political trickery," should
have tho courage to placo tho blame where It
belongs.
JJJ
" s All Imaginary
It is a little amusing to read republican editor
ials apologizing for and defending the trusts and
then read glowing accounts of how Mr. Littlefleld
is going to annihilate all the trusts with his little
bill after the election. One is reminded of the
monr-208 story. A little boy sat down In a railroad
train and soon attracted attention by taking an
occasional peep into a box which he held in his
hand. "What have you "there, my little fellow?"
asked a fellow passenger. "A mongoos," replied
tho boy. "And what are you going to do with it?"
Inquired the stranger. The boy went on to relate
how his uncle, living at the next station, had been
seeing snakes and he was taking the mongoos up
to catch the snakes. "But," said the stranger,
"those are not real snakes that your uncle sees,
they are only imaginary snakes." "Well," re
joined .the boy, "this is only an imaginary mon
goos." If, after all, the trust evils are only imaginary
the Littlefleld bill must be only an imaginary
remedy.
JJJ
Trust Breeding Tariff.
The Philadelphia Press, commenting on the
statement recently issued by Mr. Griggs, chairman
of the democratic congressional committee, which
statement showed that goods manufactured in
American were being sold abroad at prices aver
aging 40 per cent less than the home prices, said:
As the United States exported only a few
dollars' worth of tin plate in the last fiscal
year, while it imported nearly $6,000,000 worth,
it may be seen what a wonderful argument
Chairman Griggs has brought, therefore, on
this question of the price of tin plate.
In reply to this Mr. Griggs admits that for ten
months ending April, 1892, the exports in domestic
tin plate amounted only to 1,535,977 pounds valued
at $62,940; but he declares that this does not dis
turb the fact that the tin plate trust makes a
standing offer on tin plate of $3.19 a hundred
pounds to exporters and charges $4.it Pr Hundred
pounds to American consumers.
The Press asked Mr. Griggs to explain how It
is that our local producers can afford to sell lead
abroad at one-half the price they ask at home,
and forci&uers can export over 200,000,000 pounds
to the United States, paying the duty on H, and
sell it at a profit. . .
Mr, Griggs roplies:
"Tho duty on load is 2 1-8 cents a pound.
Tho smelter trust keeps tho prico of lead here
aip to tho tariff lovel of imported lead, hence
it is not strange that importers bring in great
quantities of lead and sell it at a profit. Tho
fact that we exported about $300,000 worth of
lead last year shows what exorbitant profits
the trust must bo making on lead sold in our
raarkots at 4 cents a pound,"
Mr. Griggs further points out that the wire
rope trust, which is said to have givon tho republi
can committee $100,000 In 1896 and got tho tariff
schedule fixed to suit Itself, is exporting wire rope
to all parts of tho world, whilo selling in our
markets at prices from 100 per cent to 300 per cent
above its forolgn prices. Thus are tho foreign
trusts milking tho American consumers.
It is difficult for the republican leaders" to
provide Intelligent defense for the trust-breeding
tariff. "
JJJ
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'j
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