14
THE NEBRASKA INDEPENDENT
DECEMBER 25, 1902.
I rusts 1 he Cause and Cure
NATIONAL SUPERVISION.
Trusts are large corporations, doing
business In 'several other states be
sides the one In which they are in
corporated. It seems to me that in
dealing with this problem of the
. trusts, the first is to give somebody
the power to exercise the supervision
and regulation of them. The first
thing is to give the national govern
ment the power. When the national
government has the power, I should
most earnestly advocate that it be
used with the greatest wisdom and
eelf-restraint
My view is that congress should
pass a law that would have under any
circumstance one sovereign to which
the y big corporations should be re
sponsiblea sovereign in whose courts
the corporation could be held account
able for any failure to comply with
the law3 of the legislature of that
sovereign. I do not think a remedy
for trusts can be accomplished by
the efforts of the forty-six sovereigns
of the states. I think it -will have to
be through the national government.
Some states have passed laws if
they had not been ineffective, would
have totally prevented any important
corporate works being -done within
their limits. Other states have such
lax laws that there is no effective
effort made to control any of the
abuses. As a result wo have a sys
tem of divided control whoro the na
tion ha3 Fornething to say, but it is a
little difficult to know exactly how
much and where the different states
have each something to ray; but where
there is no supreme power that can
speak with authority, there is little
accomplished. That is why I advocate
congress passing laws, giving the na
tional government the voice in the
supervision and regulation of trusts.
President Roosevelt has strongly ad
Yocated the necessity of such laws in
his second annual message to con
gress. The president has taken a
determined stand on the question and
has urged the congress to devote its
chief attention to legislation that will
make more effective the existing anti
trust laws. It was not in the nature
of a constitutional amendment, but is
an improved and revised act, strength
ening the efficiency of the Sherman
anti-trust law. I heartily approved of
the president & views and hope that
the present congress will take prompt
action, and get the trusts well under
control. ' GUY F. BOWEN.
Horton's Summit, Va.
PUBLICITY AND GOVERNMENT
OWNERSHIP.
Editor Independent: I believe it is
conceded by the great majority of the
reading public that trusts are or
ganized for the purpose of Increas
ing the incomes of the promoters and
stockholders. This is accomplished
by the reduction of operating expenses
through consolidation, and by rais
ing the price to the consumer when
competition has been destroyed and
the monopoly secured. The moncpoly
is made possible by a system of re
bates granted by carrying corpora
tions, and by underbidding the small
or independent business man and forc
ing him from the market when his
rmall capital will no longer hold out
against the consolidated millions of
the trust. The trust has lost money
during the process of "freezing out"
the small business m'an, but as soon
as it has been accomplished, the
prices go up and the loss is quickly
made up.
The remedy for trust evils is easily
within the reach of the people. First,
I would recommend a bureau of pub
licity, which would embrace a classi
fication of all industries, monopolistic
in their tendencies, and a uniform
system of accounting under the super
vision of paid government officials.
Second, the government ownership of
the railways, which can be. accom
plished through the right of eminent
domain. Whenever it becomes ap
parent from the report of the officials
in charge of the bureau of publicity
that the trusts are exacting exorbitant
prices from the public, or are trans
gressing the laws governing interstate
commerce the government, owning the
railroads, could refuse to carry their
product. Then, indeed, we could
"shackle cunning." "Good trusts"
would be so from necessity, if not
from choice. E. SEIDEL.
Redmond, Wash.
AN AWKWARD PREDICAMEH
Republican Party Returned to Power on
Eve of Commercial CrUU
. , fA long time ago as one often
icounts a number of weeks or months
when events crowd swiftly upon each
other The Independent began to tell
its readers that the enormous bank
.deposits (Sy2 billions) over which ev
ery little republican sheet in America
was singing paeans of joy, merely evi
denced such an enormous expansion of
credits as compared to the increase of
actual money, that sooner or later the
reaction must come. That this expan
sion had played an important part in
producing the prevailing high prices,
and that when contraction begins and
prices begin to fall as they must, in
the very nature of things then the
rfople.will learn why the republican
application Qf populist principles
.brings prosperity that will not last
because -...e republican makeshifts for
money are not enduring like the scien
tific article demanded by the populists.
"Get your house in order and be
ready for the storm," more than once
has The Independent advised its read
ers. But don't be foolish; don't be
cowardly. It will avail you nothing
to fret and fume and fuss. Just be
calm but get out of debt, if you can;
'and keep out of debt as well as may
be.
Don't mortgage that clear eighty
of yours to buy the one adjoining
and' lose both. Keep jour home clear
'of incumbrance. Bo caret'1! about
feeding too many cattle en which
you are paying heavy interest the
-high prices of this year are even now
a thing of the past.
' Far-seeing men in all parties see
the handwriting on ths wall, but one
of the clearest Interpretations we have
seen lately is "The Turning Tide," by
Ernest Untermann in Ai p al to Rea
son, from which we quote:
"For the first time in its history the
republican party has been return- d to
power on the eve of a commercial
crisis. The leading business men of
that party saw the coming danger. The
prominent politicians of that party
were aware of it. They know that it
will crush thousands of small business
men. They foresee that it will swal
low the scant earnings of hundreds of
thousands of farmers. Thev feel that
It will bring want and suffering to
millions of wage-workers. And they
are familiar with the wave of mortal
ity and crime that follows in its wake.
"Yet not one word did the party
press breathe about it before election.
They never ceased dangling the bait
of prosperity under the noses of the
voters. And so they lured them into
the g. o. p. trap.
"True, the commercial papers de
voted to the exclusive interests of the
exploiters sounded a note of warning
long before election. But this cry of
alarm warned only the inner circle to
look to their spoils. It was not ad
dressed,, to the people and did not
reach them. On the contrary. While
the drones were reclining in their
sumptuous cushions and discussing,
between their champagne and oysters,
the financial outlook, the political
press of the ruling party continued to
din "prosperity" into the ears. of. their
highly appreciative working class au
dience. . . . .
"But now a change has come over
tnem. The political agents of the great
exploiters' party will be in power dur
ing a period of industrial depression.
In a short while, the prosperity lie
will be revealed to the whole nation.
Forthwith the republican press- takes
its cue from the business press of their
masters.
' -ney must adjust themselves to the
new conditions. The minds of the
multitude must be prepared for the
next presidential eampar n under such
conditions, as the r -publican" party
has always laid at the door of the
democratic party. What a calamity!
"But nothing is easier for a good
politician than to adapt himself to
circumstances. The republican press
Knows a way out of the difficulty.
"Constitutionally unable to put a
proper valuation on truthfulness," as
Roosevelt sa s with fine self-irony of
Thomas Jefferson, th r publican press
has all the resourcefulness and bra
vado of the liar. It rlmply declares
now, that the r ding political party is
now no longer responsible for Wall
street conditions and'l'or the industrial
situation. Can anything be sininl, r
I and more natural? If the country is
prosperous, the republican party claims
the credit If the land is writhing
in the throes of a commercial crisis,
the republican party shrugs its shoul
ders and can't help it
"The 'colorless high bred gentleman
of no special ability, but well fitted
to act as presidential figurehead,' as
Roosevelt so well characterizes one of
his predecessors, judging others by
himself, will help to shift the burden
of responsibility from the shoulders of
the republican party to those of the
trusts, and carry on a sham battle
against them for the purpose of di
verting the attention from the party
that fostered them."
Mr. Untermann goes oil to say that
neither the republican nor the demo
cratic party will escape the retribu
tion that is drawing near, and believes
that the tide is turning toward social
ism. "The democrats," he say3, "will
make the people radical and steal what
they dare from the socialist platform.
They will favor municipal ownership,
direct legislation, and even nationali
zation of certain industries. They will
only balk at the control of production
by the working class for the use cf
the working class." .:
More About Fusion
Editor Independents. Having been
indulged, -is it asking, too much if I
reply to a few of your comments on
my letter? My faith in man is strong,
but in parties is weak. I once tnougnt
the republican party was grand, yet
it could not stand success, but turned
its back upon the cause of its strength.
The greenback party lost through
compromising. The anti-monopoly, the
union labor and people's party through
fusion. Each of these came to the
front because they were of the people,
but when they catered to a selfishness
they fell.
My "insanity" is the result of a con
science that tens me never io uime
with a thing I condemn after I con
demn it; and you know how at Cm
cinnati we from the north joined
hands with those from the south over
the chasm while we buried the
"bloody shirt," charging the two old
parties with the crime. There the na
tion got new lift and soon men were
standing in the halls of congress pour
ing upon the heads of the two old par
ty criminals such truth and with such
force that consternation took hold of
their sinful representatives. In 189?
nearly .two million freemen joined our
ranks. It was then that republicans
fused with our party in the south and
democrats in the north and in 18DG
when the two sections met in St. Lour,
they found a condition confronting
them. It was just as fair for hose
from the, south to nominate Mr. Mc
Kinley with whose party they had af
filiated, as for us from the north to
nominate Mr. Bryan with whose party
we had affiliated, yet the south yield
ed after making sure that a populist
candidate be a consideration in the
deal. That deal was the result of
greed for office rather than principle
and the result is history. Partisan
politics would have avoided the error.
You say you would be a republican if
.that party would take up our prin
ciples. Did the democratic party do
if? I answer no. True, a large por
tion did in part, yet so tenacious were
they for party name that a monopolist
shipbuilder in Maine received even the
kind consideration of Mr. Bryan. while
Thomas E. Watson, a true, patriotic
man, was ignored. Ah," brother, you
must admit that the object was intend
ed as it has resulted: Our senators
our congressmen and the states of
populism are gone and our organiza
tion so crippled as to be unfit for
duty. Fusion is confusion always. I
am ever ready to take the hand of any
honest voter on a common ground and
yet stand for a freeman's right, but
ho entangling alliances for me.
W. C. STAR KEY.
: Violet, Neb.
: (Conscience is a strange thing. Mr.
StarkeyV tells him "never to unite
with a. tiling" after he has condemned
it. That had reference, of course, to
the democratic party. Yet in the same
sentence he recalls the fact "how at
Cincinnati we from the north joined
hands with those from the south over
the chasm, while we buried the bloody
shirt." Hadn't the south been con
demned.', let here was Mr. Starkev
willing to join hands with it and bury
the bloody shirt.
The fact is, we are all too prone to
call the man dishonest who does a dis
honest, act, and to call a party bad
names instead of concentrating our at
tack upon its policies we condemn.
Viewed at this distance the republican
party was right in the sixties and the
democratic party was 'wrong; but since
lS9f the conditions have been reversed.
Undoubtedly the vice presidential
situation in 18 was little in keeping
with the Chicago platform. It was
certainly a mistake to retain the
Maine shipbuilder as running mate for
Mr. Bryan. But Mr. Bryan could not
control the actions of all members
of his party. He could not eav blunt
ly to Mr. Sewall, "Get off the ticket
and let Watson run." Hundreds of
thousands of populists expected up to
the last moment before election that
Sewall would withdraw as he should
have done but he did not.
The people's party joined hands wlt.U
the democrats in 1896 and 1900 because
a majority believed that was the wis
est thing to do under the circum
stances. Viewed in the abstract from
a populist standpoint perhaps the wis
est thing would have been for the
democratic party to reaffirm its 1892
platform at Chicago In 1S96 because
no populist would have dreamed of
fusion, and the party would have
made an enormous growth in all prob
ability. But the democratic party did
not reaffirm its 1892 platform, and
whether we "fused" or not our party
growth was checked from that ' mo
ment But the people'3 party lacks a
great deal of being dead. It takes
more than a few defeats to kill a party
that stands for government money
and government railroads. Ed. Ind.)
Dawson county is another place
where the populists contracted parti
san insanity and quarrelled with each
other over questions of party policy.
Billy Thompson carried the county by
a bare 9 plurality, while the rest of
the fusion ticket, except her home can
didate, were snowed under. The re
publican state victory costs Dawson.
county $8.)8.8.j enough to pay for al
most 21 months of school teaching at
$40 a month; or for shucking nearly
28.000 bushel-? of corn at 3 cents. The
smalest fusion December apportion
ment (1898) was $3,592.08. This jear
it is $z,753.83.
In reply to two or three letters, the
editor wishes to remark that there are
some democrats who are bigger fools
than the man who gets mad and Slavs
at home on election day because demo
crats insist on voting the populist
ticket At the Kansas City conven
tion one of these kind did not want to
give seats on the platform to the grat
silver republican leaders like Senafor
Teller. They didn't want anvbody but
"democrats." But all democrats .are
not like that, for one of them made a
spirited reply In which he said that
he would rather welcome to that plat
form men who had left their party to
vote the democratic ticket than those
who stayed in the democratic party
and voted the republican ticket Both
of these sorts of men are troubled with
an insanity that leads them to be
lieve that they must not vote for prin
ciples, but for a name. If the wrong
party name is at the head of the
ticket, that settles it.
A movement is on foot in New York
toward forming a new trust composed
of the insurance companies, the clear
ing house banks and trust companies.
When they get the thing completed
the United States treasury will look
like 30 cents in comparison with them
in revenues and financial powers. The
Independent hopes that the nroiect
will succeed. This trust business must
reach r climax and the sooner it is
done the better. It seems that the
fellow who wrote the book some years
ago entitled "The Universal Trust"
"s a sort of prophet. Such a trust
as the one proposed would dominate
everything else. "Stand pat." "Stav
put" "Let well enough alone." All
that is needed is "publicity." Just
let the people know the exact amount
of which they are robbed and thev will
be contented and happy.
Birds and Cats
Editor Independent: Now that win
ter is upon us, and the ground is cov
ered with snow, let us not forget the
Jittie birds and homeless cats that
come to our window begging a crumb
om our table. The man or woman
who can't find a pleasure in aiding
these suffering and helpless creatures,
in such a cheap and easy way. is in
deed a barnacle upon the keel of prog
ress and humanity.
JOHN II. MEANS, Jr.
Dorchester, Mass.
Last week in writ ins: a bend-linn
concerning Professor Hilpreeht's dis
covery of a Babylonian library 10.00
years old, "ten centuries" was writ
ten where one hundred centuries was
intended. This editor has to wade
through the editorial drivel of more
than half a dozen dailies each day and
it is a wonder after three-fourths of
that kind of torture that he can tell
the difference between a century and
a thousand years. The fact that writ
ten records 10,000 years old have been
found in the ruins of Babylon will W
somewhat astonishing to those who
have looked upon the figures placed
in the Bible by Archbishop Usher at
the top of the columns, as part of the
original Bible writings, and as much
inspired as anthing else in it It ig
on account of those figure? that thy
children of several generations of men
have been taught that this world waa
only 6,000 years old.