Show SHERMANS PLEDGE Everybody knows that Senator SHERMAN of Ohio is one of the coolestheaded and most selfpossessed protectionists in the Republican party But perhaps it has been forgotten that in the debate on the tariff bill he hoped that manufacturers would avoid the big contracts and trusts that gave Cause for popular discontent and that on the contrary they would invite fair competition com-petition and give the people the benefit of business rivalry and of cheaper production He declared then that if they did not do this ho would bo as ready to vote for the repeal of the law as ho was at that timo to vote for its passage 7 The immediate matter under discussion when this was said was the duty on binding bind-ing twine and it was a confession that the high duty was an encouragement to the manufacturers to organize trusts to take advantage of the farmers and that the high duties on other manufactures encourages simiav combinations to keep up prices Tho opponents of the tariff have repeatedly charged this and alleged that the high pro lecdvo system is the parent of the trusts and combinations since it discourages the loreixn manufacturers and gives tho home manufacturers a monoply of the market The Ohio Senator two years ago hoped the manufacturers would not do so anymore any-more and yet he voted promptly for a bill which gave them a premium of 50 per cent on the real value of their goods to keep on doing so They have accordingly kept on and the consequence has been that since the passage of the McKiNLEY act thus supported sup-ported and with the mild threats of ouch advocates as SHERMAN before them the I manufacturers have organized more trusts and heavilymonied combinations than were in existence before In no branch havo the cords been bound tighter than in this very cordage trust malting binder twine But where are the remonstrance of the Ohio Senator now Has ha uttered one syllable from his seat in Congress against the grasping designs of these monopolists mon-opolists Has ho given one word of encouragement en-couragement to any proposition to restore twino to the free list Has bo made one protesting gesture to restrain the encroachments encroach-ments of tho rich capitalists No On the other band he indorses the policy ol the President not to disturb the McKINLeY tariff and he cheers the Republicans on the I ways and means committee who by a strict party vote resist reform |