XVI.

ANTI-TRUST PROVISIONS.

Sections of the New Tariff Law Against Trusts, Combinations, and Companies.

Sec. 73. That every combination, conspiracy, trust, agreement, or contract is hereby declared to be contrary to public policy, illegal and void when the same is made by or between two or more persons or corporations either of whom is engaged in importing any article from any foreign country into the United States, and when such combination, conspiracy, trust, agreement, or contract is intended to operate in restraint of lawful trade, or free competition in lawful trade or commerce, or to increase the maket price in any part of the United States of any article or articles imported or intended to be imported into the United States, or of any manufacture into which such imported article enters or is intended to enter. Every person who is or shall hereafter be engaged in the importation of goods or any commodity from any foreign country in violation of this section of this act, or who shall combine or conspire with another to violate the same, is guilty of a misdemeanor, and, on conviction thereof in any court of the United States, such person shall be fined in a sum not less than one hundred dollars and not exceeding five thousand dollars, and shall be further punished by imprisonment in the discretion of the court, for a term not less than three months nor exceeding twelve months.

Sec. 74. That the several circuit courts of the United States are hereby invested with jurisdiction to prevent and restrain violations of section seventy-three of this act; and it shall be the duty of the several district attorneys of the United States, in their respective districts, under the direction of the Attorney-General, to institute proceedings in equity to prevent and restrain such violations. Such proceedings may be by way of petitions setting forth the case and praying that such violations shall be enjoined or otherwise prohibited. When the parties complained of shall have been duly notified of such petition the court shall proceed, as soon as may be, to the hearing and determination of the case; and pending such petition and before final decree, the court may at any time make such temporary restraining order or prohibition as shall be deemed just in the premises.

Sec. 75. That whenever it shall appear to the court before which any proceeding under the seventy-fourth section of this act may be pending, that the ends of justice require that other parties should be brought before the court, the court may cause them to be summoned, whether they reside in the district in which the court is held or not; and subpoenas to that end may be served in any district by the marshal thereof.

Sec. 76. That any property owned under any contract or by any combi nation, or pursuant to any conspiracy (and being the subject thereof) mentioned in section seventy-three of this act, and being in the course of transportation from one State to another, or to or from a Territory, or the District of Columbia, shall be forfeited to the United States, and may be seized and condemned by like proceedings as those provided by law for the forfeiture, seizure, and condemnation of property imported into the United States contrary to law.

Sec. 77. That any person who shall be injured in his business or property by any other person or corporation by reason of anything forbidden or declared to be unlawful by this act may sue therefor in any circuit court of the United States in the district in which the defendant resides or is found, without respect to the amount in controversy, and shall recover three-fold the damages by him sustained, and the costs of suit, including a reasonable attorney's fee.

It will be seen from the foregoing law enacted by a Democratic Congress against trusts, combines, and agreements made in violation of the laws of trade and in opposition to the best interests of society, that the Democratic party stands ready to do all in its power to protect the interests of the whole people against such combinations. The declaration of its platform of principles is so plain and so emphatic that there need be no doubt where the party stands on this question. There is no doubt but that the best interests of society require not only the enforcement of the broad principle so universally recognized of protecting each citizen in his life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness, but in following out that other principle laid down by Jefferson of "preventing men from injuring one another."

It will not be inappropriate to print in this connection the provision of the Chicago platform on trusts and pools:

"The absorption of wealth by the few, the consolidation of our leading railroad systems, and the formation of trusts and pools require a stricter control by the Federal Government of those arteries of commerce. We demand the enlargement of the powers of the Interstate Commerce Commission and such restriction and guarantees in the control of railroads as will protect the people from robbery and oppression."

The Issuance of Bonds to Maintain the Gold Reserve. One of the most calamitous results which flows from demonetization of silver and our effort to maintain the single gold standard is the issuance of bonds for the purpose of obtaining gold with which to redeem the greenbacks or Treasury warrants. The President recommended the retirement of our greenback circulation to get rid of this trouble, but the people of the United States, through their representatives, have refused in all Congresses to do it. The 53rd Congress, two-thirds Democratic, and the 54th Congress, two-thirds Republican, seemed to be equally averse to this action. So it would seem that the Democratic platform of having the Government continue to issue the money instead of surrendering the prerogative to banks is not an unpopular doctrine with the representatives of the people of either party.

The destruction of Treasury warrants, commonly known as greenbacks, would be no remedy, for the reason that the Sherman notes which both administrations have redeemed in gold would still exist as a vehicle for the drawing of gold out of the Treasury. In addition to this, Secretary Carlisle has this week written a letter, published throughout the land, in which he says that should it become necessary in order to keep gold and silver together he will pay out gold for silver obligations. So it would be as easy to raid the Treasury in one way as the other. It has been raided by those who have forced the issue of bonds when it was overflowing with money. All the trouble comes from the practice inaugurated under Republican administration and kept up under all administrations since of discriminating against silver coin in the redemption of our coin obligations. If the Government exercises its option to redeem in either gold or silver, as it clearly has a right to do, and pay out both gold and silver, all of this mad rush to the Treasury to exhaust the gold reserve in order to force the issue of bonds could be stopped.

To maintain this single gold standard $262,500,000 of bonds have been issued in addition to the $100,000,000 originally issued when resumption was undertaken. It has been an exceedingly costly operation. One contract made with the syndicate for the sale of bonds for gold, if we estimate the bonds at what they were sold at and what in a very few days they were sold to the public at, or quoted to the public at by the purchasers from the Government, netted to the syndicate buying them several millions of dollars. It is absolutely in the power of moneyed syndicates to force bond

issues as long as our policy of redeeming our obligations in gold alone continues. It is the fault of the system and can not be prevented while the system continues. It is true that since this campaign began to turn on these questions the men who forced the other issues of bonds have become frightened unless they would force the election of a President whom they don't want and lest they should do that they are now supplying the Government with gold instead of raiding its gold. The exchange is manipulated for the same purpose, and it is presumed that those great banking establishments on the other side of the water who are joined in the effort to deplete the gold reserve and force bond issues before are also aiding now in sustaining the gold reserve. But it should be remembered that when they pay in gold they take out gold obligations and have nothing to do but to hold them until after the election, and not only come and get their gold again but force another bond issue.

The following, contributed to the National Bimetallist by Mr. Burton T. Doyle, will show the cost and trouble of maintaining the gold reserve:

Maintaining the Gold Standard.

To the National Bimetallist:

In discussing the financial question, one important aspect of it has been apparently overlooked-the aspect presented to the Government's point of view. Both platforms of the two great political parties admit that the free and unlimited coinage of both gold and silver would be the best thing for this country; but there is this broad difference between them: The Republicans want this country to servilely submit to the present monometallic gold standard until England and other nations give their consent to a change -until we are permitted by other nations to do for ourselves what is best for us; while the Democrats claim that we are great enough and strong enough to declare our financial independence of England and the rest of the world, and that we ought to do it-that we ought to prove ourselves worthy of our Revolutionary sires by throwing off England's financial yoke, just as our ancestors threw off her political yoke in 1776. They are willing to pin their faith to the prowess of the United States, and with their Government stand or fall. No servile submission to British financial tyranny for them-they are Americans.

The Republicans want us to wait until our European masters say we are free and may do as we please. But will these masters ever say it? No! a thousand times, no! Why! Because they have too good a thing as it is to ever consent to a change in our financial system. Just look at it for a moment! Let us examine the facts!

From March 1, 1889 (the beginning of the Harrison administration), to July 22, 1896 (the present time), the Government has been steadily losing gold.

It has lost during the above period of seven years, four months, and twentytwo days the enormous sum of $433,530,536.81 in gold, as follows:

This represents an average loss of $86,017,963.69 per year in gold. The highest annual output of all the gold mines in the United States during the same period (March 1, 1889, to July 22, 1896) was during the last fiscal year (1896), when it reached $44,000,000 in round numbers, but that was only a little over half enough to pay the average annual loss alone, even if the Government had owned it all; but the Government did not own one cent of it, except what it bought. The next highest annual output of all the mines in the United States during that period was $39,500,000, during the fiscal year 1894, not half enough to meet the annual loss of the Government since March 1, 1889.

But assuming that the output of gold last year (the highest since 1878) will be the average for the next ten years (when $100,000,000 of the $262,000,000 of gold bonds issued by this Administration will mature), and that the average loss of gold during the last seven years, four and two-thirds months, will be the average loss for the next ten years (when these bonds mature); and, assuming for the sake of argument, that the Government will own every cent of gold that will be mined in the United States during that time-where would it stand at the end of that time under the operation of the present system?

The annual output being $44,000,000, and the annual loss being $86,017,963.69, the annual loss over such annual output during the next ten years would be $42,017,963.69 a year, or $420,179,636.90 in all; but, in addition to this loss the Government must, at that time, redeem $100,000,000 of the $262.000,000 of gold bonds already issued to maintain the present system (not to mention the accumulating interest). But an annual issue of $86,017,963.69 must also be made during that time to meet the annual loss, since the Government has no way of getting gold except by the issue of gold bonds.