Jasper County Democrat, Volume 6, Number 1, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 April 1903 — POLITICS OF THE DAY [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

POLITICS OF THE DAY

Farmer, Pnjr the Freisht. Not satisfied with the monopoly and protection they enjoy on laud, the trust magnates have turned their attention to the ocean as another world to conquer. A gigantic combination of steamship lines has been perfected by Mr. Morgan which Is international, as It includes forelgu as well as American ship owners. The farmers will be the principal sufferers from this combjne as the ocean freight rates will be advanced and the price of our surplus corn, wheat, cotton, meats and other agricultural products will still have to be sold lp competition with all the world! Every cent added to the freight charges will reduce the price paid In the primary market. It Is well known that the price of the surplus produce that cannot be consumed in this country fixes the price at which the whole crop Is sold. It Is only when there Is a crop failure and little or no surplus to export that the home price advances beypnd what the foreigner is willing to pay. No protective tariff law can aid the farmer to overcome this law of supply and demand, if he has a surplus to sell he Is obliged to take tbe price the local buyer offers and that price Is fixed, in the markets of the world, .less land and ocean freight charges and the profits of those who handle It. If railroad or ocean charges are Increased the price paid to the farmer decreases accordingly. When the ship trust Is in full working order and a monopoly of ocean carrying Is In Its hands, it will very naturally Increase the charges all the traffic will bear. But the ship trust is not satisfied with this monopoly, it is asking for more. Mr. Morgan and Mr. Grlscom and the other principals of the trust have been for some time demanding a subsidy of Congress and are still intent on obtaining it. The farmers as well as the balance of the taxpayers will have to pay this subsidy. The Republicans in Congress neurly all voted for it, and may be relied upon to do so when it comes up again. With the ship subsidy drawing millions from the United States treasury every year, the farmers will be paying two taxes for the benefit of the ship trust, one directly in Increased freight charges and the other indirectly through the tariff and Internal revenue tsx on what they eat, drink and wear. Every dollar the government expends comes from the people through those taxes. It will be Interesting to see if any effort is made by President Roosevelt, through the new corporation bureau to curb that giant combine, the ship trust. It is to be feared he <wfll not, for Secretary of the. Treasury Shaw in a speech at New Orleans the other day virtually lauded that combine as tbe future master of the ocean nnd hinted that all possible aid must be given it in building up our merchant marine. As the Commissioner of Navigation, who Is the chief of one of the bureaus of the Treasury and therefore under the direction of Secretary Shaw, has been booming the ship subsidy bill, it Is reasonable to suppose that the administration favors helping the sblp trsut Instead of curbing It. It is not monopoly of the ocean that the ship trust relies upon to enable It to distance all competitors, for the high sea is open to the ships of all nations, but the trust owns or controls the wharf and terminal facilities In conjunction with the railroad combine at every harbor of consequence on the Atlantic. The railroads will give the ship trust, both being controlled by the same interests, the bulk of the exports and although other capitalists may see the chance to make large profits by organizing a competing line of steamships, they are at once confronted with the monopoly that the ship trust possesses of the wharfs and harbors at the terminals of the railroads. The growth of monopoly under Republican policies is a problem for tbe farmers to give heed to it. Haunted by Trust*. The Republicans are greatly worried about Congressman Littlefield’s list of 800 trusts, with $14,000,000,000 of capital, published In tbe Congressional Record as an eppendix to his speech of Feb. 0, 1903. No longer can the Republican leaders deny that there are trusts or say that there are only a few, such as exist in England and other free trade countries. This list, quoted by a leading Republican, is twenty times as long as any list of English trusts ever published. How completely this list has flabbergasted tbe old-line Republicans is evident from a column editorial in the New York Sun, headed "The Degredatlon of the Littlefield Butterfly." Much of this editorial Is devoted to criticising Mr. Littlefield’s beautiful autograph. Still, more space Is devoted to "the sordid advertising scheme" hitched to the "Littlefield butterfly"—meaning his autograph. Of course Mr. Littlefield did not prepare this list of 800 trusts. Naturally, when he wished a list of trusts, he applied to the Republican officials in a position to prepare such a list Naturally, also, he did not get it there. He says so in his speech. Naturally then, he turned to what he considered the most reliable private source for inch information, which was the Congressional Information Bureau. This bureau prepared for him what be said

in bis speech was “the most complete list of large corporations in existence.” His list contains only corporations “resulting from tbe combination of other corporations,” and this is his definitlpn of “trust." Neither Mr. Littlefield nor the Bureau which prepared the list for him pretend that this list of trusts Is complete. That It is conservative Is evident from the recent statement of Mr. John Moody, the author and publisher of Moody’s Manual of Industrial Securities, that there are about 850 trusts In this country. Mr. Moody, however, put only 287 trusts, with s7,oo<M>oo,000 capital, Into the list which he prepared for the last Democratic campaign book. Of course Mr. Littlefield will in future be persona non grata to other leading Republicans for letting the trust facts out. He will be ostracized for being too serious in his opposition to trusts. But aren’t the Republicans hard pressed for arguments and badly rattled when they stoop to criticising autographs and pretend to see In this great list of trusts only “a sordid advertising scheme?" For the benefit of those Democrats who care to exhibit this Republican list of trusts to their Republican friends, It may be said that it can probably be obtained, free, of either Mr. Littlefield or the Congressional Information Bureau, Washington, D. C. Promises to Cuba, There is to be an extraordinary session of Congress this fall, so Secretary of State Hay officially informs the Cubans who are balking about the ratification of the reciprocity treaty. It is to be hoped the Cubans will not remember the semi-official promises that were made'to them when the Platt amendment was under consideration and the committee of the Cuban Congress was invited to Washington to consult about it. The promise now made by Secretary Hay is rather evasive, for all he promises is that Congress shall be called together before December, and that may mean November 15th, or later in the mouth. The difference of a week or two in the final ratification of the treaty could be of no advantage to Cuba, for by next fall all of last year’s crop of Bugar will be out of the hands of the growers. If any sugar remains in the island then it will be owned by the sugar trust or its friends or agents, and they would be the sole beneficiaries of the reduction of duty.

Avoiding Publicity. The President is swinging around the circle again on another stumping tour. He calls it, “an unpretentious little outing for the purpose of avoiding publicity," but as the schedule calls for 200 speeches, the tour cannot be for the purpose of avoiding but rather seeking publicity. Why beat around the bush, Mr. President, but tell the facts? The people will like you the better for it. Say you are out for nomination campaign and Intend to win if you can. The preparations for the trip tell the tale, as the party accompanying the President is to consist of two secretaries, one doctor, three stenographers, three messengers, two secret service men, one poetnaturullst, representatives of three illustrated papers, one official photographer and two telegraph operators. If these preparations are not for publicity and political purposes, what can they be for? Personal vanity could not be thought of about a President of the United States. The Ship Subsidy. William E. Curtis, the Washington correspondent Of the Chicago RecordHerald, says that no further attempt will be made to pass the ship subsidy. ,At the same time Mr. Curtis admits that three-fourths of the Republican members of the House are In favor of the measure. He explains that the bill recently before Congress was defeated because the Republicans of the Northwestern States joined with the Democrats. The Louisville Courier-Journal, however, hits the nail on the head when, in commenting upon Mr. Curtis’ statement, It says: “The truth is, it suits the purpose of the ship subsidy grabbers to-create the impression that they have abandoned this raid on the treasury. We have already had experience of that kind of tactics."

Ice Trust—Well! It’s about time for me to wake up; it will be my turn