Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 22, Number 12, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 October 1900 — RECORD ON THE TRUSTS [ARTICLE]

RECORD ON THE TRUSTS

Itopabtfeaas Alone Responsible For Legislation Against Them. Every Use of legislation now on the statute books of fbe United States directed against trusts and unlawful trade ownblnations was placed there ' tn« itqpuhltcans. That there 19 not more stringent law jatos* them ie the fault of the Demo- *■ atltr party. The last occasion on which the parties ae represented in congress went on reeord on the trust question was on June l, 1900. On that day a final vote was taken on a aonstifutional amendment to arrant congress power to “define, regulate, prohibit and dissolve trusts, monopolies and whether existing in the form of corporations or otherwise.” It requires a two-thirds vote of congress to submit a constitutional amendment to the state legislatures for ratification. , t _ rJ The question to so submit it was lost by a vote of 154 yeas to 132 nays. Of the yeas 149 were Republicans and only five were DtMnocrats. The five were Campbell of Montana, Naphen and Taylor of Massachusetts, Scudder of New York and Sibley .of Pennsylvania. Of the 132 nays only two were liepublicans, Loud and McCall. . i Richardson. Lentz. Sulzer. Rapport, Salmon and all the other professional “trust killers” voted nay. They declined to give congress the power to grapple with tin' i/usts. The Democrats indulged in ypa’sms of virtue for two days denot.Jfeing the trusts and then voted to them. In one of Bryan's recent speeches he ifave >me Republican remedy as the final lie would adopt in case he was elcpdwd and all other means failed. words, Mr. Bryan admits Jjrevalue of the Republican idea, but Mvants to try other measures first. He has not said what those measures are to be. Some trusts operate all over the country; others, like the New York ice trust, operate in a single city. The requisite power to reach each and all and bring them within the federal law was denied by a margin of 3'! votes, aU Democratic. denouncing is one thing, doing Is >tber. Mr. Bryan’s trust denunciais, in view of his party’s record, /mise no bettor than the prophecies ne made four years ago, and as a prophet Mr. Bryan has not succeeded. WE ARE NOT THERE TO ESTABLISH AN IMPERIAL GOVERNMENT. BUT WE ARE THERE TO ESTABLISH A GOVERNMENT OP LIBERTY UNDER LAW, PROTECTION TO LIFE AND PROPERTY AND OPPORTUNITY TO ALL WHO DWELL THERE.—William McKinley.