Nebraska's Delegation to Chicago Anti-Trust Conference
LORENZO CROUNSn
PRANK T. RANSOM.
The Anti-Trust Con
vention at Chicago
Nebraska will bo represented at ttio anti
trust conference In Chicago by a delegation
of men who have distinguished themselves
In state and national politics ; men who have
had considerable to do with the shaping of
the policy of political parties within the
state and whose influence tins been felt in
the making of national platform declara
tions.
Governor Poynter has named the following
delegation : Colonel William J. Bryan , Hon.
William V. Allen , Hon. Edward Rosowater.
Hon. Lorenzo Crounee , Hon. R. D. Suther
land , lion Frank T. Ransom and Hon. A.
Hugh Hippie.
The attitude of Colonel Bryan toward the
trust Is well known , as Is that of ex-Senator
Allen. Hon. Edward Rosewater first be
came prominent for his advocacy of anti-
it onopoly measures twenty-five years ago ,
and has ever been a foe of trusts organized
for stock Jobbing and extortion. Ex-Gov
ernor Crcunso has Teen prominently Identi
fied with the anti-monopoly wing of the re
publican party and was called to the gov-
cinor's clialr because of his known senti
ments along these lines.
It goes without saying that Nebraska will
bo heard from at the anti-trust conference
In Chicago In September. Expressions of
opinion have been secured from all the dele
gates and are hero given :
Colonel W. J. Bryan says : ' 'I have not
tlmo to wrlto an extended sentiment in re
gard to the trusts , but you can quote mo
as saying : An Industrial aristocracy Is as
dangerous to free Institutions ( is a landed
aristocracy would bo. Monopoly means the
bondage of the many to the few. "
In his book "Tlio Last Bottle" Mr. Bryan
has this to say concerning trusts :
"If trusts exist in violation of law they
can bo exterminated only by the enforce
ment of the law. If present laws are In
sufficient , now and sufficient laws can be
devised , If the constitution , willed has been
so construed as to prevent the taxation of
the incomes of corporations , can bo so con
strued as to protect trusts It Is high time
for a constitutional amendment which will
unable the American people to protect theni-
se.vcri from trusts. * * I believe that the
continued existence of the trust Is largely
duo to the fact that many public officials ,
\\Htiout openly defending it , arc at heart
friendly to It. "
Concerning the forthcoming anti-trust con
vention Hon. Edward Rosewater said :
"The first national Anti-trust convention
convened at the instance of the legislature
ut Minnesota In the city of Chicago , in June ,
1895 , and was presided over by then gov
ernor , now Senator Knute Nelson. The con
vention formulated a eot of resolutions em
bodying the consensus of conclusions reached
and recommendations made for national
legislation. As chairman of the committee
of resolutions , I was in position to compare
and digest the various views entertained by
the leading members of the convention , and
when the resolutions were presented , It was
Incumbent upon mo to champion and defend
and secure Its adoption. While tbo radical
anti-monopoly and anti-corporation clement
WILLIAM J. BRYAN.
sought to commit the convention to a de
mand for tbo abolition of all corporations ,
the conservative element , which simply de
sired to curb the power of corporations and
to curtail the most pernicious methods of
the trusts , prevailed. The resolutions as
adopted recommended the creation
by congress of a new bureau of
supervision of corporations engaged
In interstate commerce , very much
on the same lines as the bureau of
the treasury In charge of the comptroller of
the currency.
"Tho aim and purpose of this measure waste
to place the trusts under the surveillance
and control of the government ; to pi'ace the
government In position to prevent the over
capitalization of these corporations , by re
quiring ( them to register all stocks and
bonds wl h the bureau of control and making
Illegal alZ ISSUCB that did not represent
actual value. It stands to reason that cor
porations honestly conducted would cheer-
fulJy have all their securities registered by
the comptroller , and securities thus certified
to would sell In the market llko municipal
bonds or other securities registered and
certified by municipal or state authority.
On the other hand , corporations that have
been Inflated and fraudulently capitalized
would cvado and resist Inquiry into their
affairs , but in the end would be forced to
submit or be closed out.
"I have thought a great deal on this subject
slnco the Chicago convention and have not
changed my views as regards the propriety
of this course. The only other check which
congress can put on the operation of trusts ,
and without seriously Interfering with the
operations of competitive commerce Is the
abrogation of patents upon all devices by
which trusts are enabled 10 have an abso
lute monopoly of certain Industries. The
abolition of patents would open the door
wide for competition and make the trusts
harmless. "
Congressman R. D. Sutherland said : "All
political parties , in their party platforms at
least , are committed against the trusts. We
are informed that the capitalization of the
trusts at this tlmo exceeds $7,500,000,000.
Naturally the Intelligent and patriotic citi
zen is filled with alarm at the almost be
wildering formation of great corporations ,
called trusts , the objects of the formation
of which are to destroy competition and
control tbo output and price of products.
Mr. Havomeyer , the head of the Sugar trust ,
before the Industrial commission at Wash
ington , said : 'Tho day of the Individual has
passed. If the mass of the people profit
at the expense of the individual the indi
vidual must and should go. It Is a good
business proposition to get out of the con
sumer all you can. Wo are not In business
for philanthropic motives. If wo sell
cheaply It Is for the purpose of crushing
competition , and wo will oven up afterward. '
If these are the sentiments hold by all who
are connected with the trusts , and there Is
W. V. ALLEN.
no reason to believe otherwise , then it is
high tlmo to protect the citizen and con
sumer against the trusts that have no regard
for God or man. The supreme court of In
diana very recently passed upon the ques
tion of trusts in the Interest of the people ,
and the supreme court of the United States ,
in the Joint Traffic association case , upheld
the constitutionality of the anti-trust act
and held that the Joint Traffic association
was Illegal. I have no doubt but that a
remedy can bo found for the trust evil and
that the conference at Chicago in September
among other things will propose and discuss
remedies for that which every thinking per
son in our country today believes to be one
of the most serious evils confronting our
people. "
Dr. A. Hugh 'Hippie ' expresses this view
of the subject : "The producers of raw ma
terial , the consumers of finished products ,
the workmen who transform the one into the
other and the tradesmen who handle them
are all feeling the effects of a disturbing in
fluence which they attribute to trusts. All
are clamoring for legislation. They want
a law that will destroy the paw or of the
trusts throughout the country , or In the
particular state in which they live , for
getting that the stringent laws now upon
the statute books which it was hoped would
have such an effect have been found to be
practically valueless. It will bo one of the
chief duties of the anti-trust convention to
make clear to the people the fact that all
trusts have not a common origin , and that
different classes of trusts must be dealt with
In different ways. Some trusts depend upon
tariffs for their existence and can best be
reached through tariff legislation ; some ,
llko the Standard Oil company , have been
built up ' through discriminations in freight
rates ; s'omo owe their monopoly to fran
chises granted by states and municipalities ;
some control the source of supply of some
natural product , -while still others exist
simply by virtue of agreements among manu
facturers and dealers as to prices and meth
ods of doing business. A clear understand
ing of these distinctions is needed In order
to prepare the way for effective legislation. "
The New Cass School
The new Cass Street school , a likeness of
which as it will appear when completed Is
produced in this Issue , will bo one of the
model schools of the country. Every con
venience which has been found of advantage
in other cities will bo found In this build
ing.
ing.The
The bids for the building were opened dur
ing the last of May of this year and the
work began early In June. It Is expected
that the school will be ready for occupancy
about December 1. The building will have
two stories and a basement and contain
sixteen rooms. The cost of the school com
plete will bo about $50,000. It will bo prac
tically fireproof , all Interior walls being of
salid brick and the lathing of tbo ceilings
A. HUGH HIPPLE.
of metal. It will be heated by steam
throughout iby what Is known as the gravity
system , iwhich has been found to bo the
most successful for buildings of this char
acter. No building In the city will have a
more perfect sssteni of ventilation and
lighting. To the lighting especially particu
lar attention has been given and the rooms
have been so arranged that they will all be
lighted alike. The same number of windows
dews have been placed In each room and the
desks and blackboards will bo arranged so
that the denominating light will be from
the ileft. By this method the eyes of the
pupils are not subjected to any glaring light
while facing the teacher and the black
boards and no shadow Is thrown on the work
on their desks.
When completed the Cass school will un
doubtedly be the best built and most per
fectly arranged school building In the city
The plumbing and sanitation has been care
fully studied and no more perfect system
of either can bo found anywhere.
When ready for occupancy the new build
ing will take the place of the old Dodge
street school , now used as a jail , and the
present Cass Street school , which will be
torn down.
Ride with the President
The wise general manager of the great
railroad said : "I am never nervous except
when I have charge of the president of the
United States. "
We were sitting in the manager's car ,
the last one of the long train that was
carrying the president and a party of dis
tinguished Americans from Omaha to Wash
ington , relates a writer In the Philadelphia
Evening Post. The superintendent was
there , along with half a dozen minor of
ficials , all under Instruction as to some
phase of the journey then under way.
iMr. Brown , the general manager of the
northern lines of the Burlington , the com
pany then In control of the president's train ,
was in consultation with Mr. Elliott , gen
eral manager of the southern lines , to which
the train was to pass at the city of Qulncy.
The Pennsylvania Railroad company , fur
nishing the extensive and luxurious equi
page , was represented on board , but the Im
mediate conduct of the important work of
moving the president and his party was , as
it always is , In the hands of the railroad
over whose rails the train was moving.
IMr. Brown and Mr. Elliott glanced at the
speed indicator. The train was going forty-
eight miles an hour. "Soo Mr. Cortelyou , "
said one of them , "and ask him if the
president wants to stop at "
The preeidont smilingly said that there
ought to be a little stop at the place.
"Ono of my old congressional friends
lives there , " ho said.
When the train stopped there was the
usual scurrying of celebrities to the rear
platform. The unotieorvlng would have
THE NEW CASS STREET SCHOOL.
HOWARD ROSEWATUR.
R. D. SUTHERLAND.
thought that everything was centered there ;
but the general managers and the superin
tendents were busy with other duties. Doz
ens of telegrams were taken up some for
the train force , aome for the secretaries ,
and some for the president himself.
Municipal authorities were asking for an
extension of time from ten to twenty min
utes , from ouo hour to two. Other tele
grams were put off , some asking for la-
furmation as to details of arrangements ,
some as answers to previously received ques
tions , some positive iustiuctlons as to a
cleaicd track , others messages of caution ,
to olllclals 100 miles farther on.
Men who have in hand the management
of a presidential train find the crowds hard
to manage. Thousands of eager citizens
swaim acioss the tracks and interfere with
schedule time. So , keeping In mind the
rights of all , the railroad managers some
times find it necessary to resort to innocent
trickery. For Instance , at Burlington , no
ono save a wise telegraph operator knew
lust what ono of scores of tracks the presi
dential train would take. Of course It was
not the track in the people's inlud. So it
was possible for the cars to slip Into their
berths without the slightest delay. The
president and his companions were in car
riages on the way to the public speaking
stand before the crowds at the station were
sure of his arrival. They were fooled , of
course , but the llttlo trick was necessary ,
or the program would have been seriously
delayed , not for Burlington alone , but for
other towns far ahead.
This particular day had been a hard one.
Dozens of speeches had been made in a
strong wind. Still others were to bo rnado
In tlio evening as late as 11 o'clock. The
next day the piosldcnt wne to speak in a
largo city.
Ono of his secretaries was manifestly wor
lest the executive would not have feut-
llclent rest. Tito general managers talked
It over. It was decided to speed the train
uarly In the evening , In order that it might
bo run more slowly after the president had
rt'tircd. Then there was yet another thing
to do completely cliango the route , como
cno suggested that certain towns would 1m
licenly disappointed ,
"Not after midnight , " said ono of the
general managers. "On the other hand ,
there may be small crowds at same of the
towns on the advertised route , and thetiu
will bo sure , with bands and shouting , to
keep the presidential party awake. " ,
The wisdom of the course was pTaln to bo
boon So there was more telegraphing , to
the end that through the late hours of the
nlghti the presidential train ran over an un-
advortlEcd route , only to get back to the
scheduled tracks by the time the party had
breakfaEitod , All night long ono of the
general managers sat at his desk reading
and writing telegrams , receiving officials of
the train and watching the speed Indicator.
When , at noon the next day , the train
passed to the hands of another railroad com
pany , the general manager of the night be
fore was sleepless , but ho had a rc.sted fool
ing as ho saw the great train safe and sound
under the sheds , and the president , bright-
eyed and refreshed , bowing from a carriage
that worked its tedious way through n
crowded street.