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Show CONGRESS BACKS THEM. The country will view with much interest in-terest Presidont Taft's proposition to send a special message to Congress on tho trusts. And 3'ot thoro will bo misgivings. mis-givings. It i6 almost impossible to imagine im-agine that Cnngross will do anything adverse to tho interests of tho trusts. Tlio "trusts" and tho "inforests" appear ap-pear to be in complcto dominance of tho prcsont Congress. Tho Houso in the special session passed a reasonably fair tariff bill, one that met in a partial, although not, thorough, thor-ough, manner the Republican pledges on "tariff rovision downward." The Scnato procodod. to framo a bill of its own without any regard to tho Houso bill. This Senate bill was entirely in the interests of tho trusts and combines. com-bines. That bill was pnsscd by the Scnato after months of wrangling. A number of Republican Senators became what was called "insurgents." They wanted to koep tho partj pledges. Thoy wanted to relieve tho public from the oppressions of tho old tariff bill which bad boon outgrown. But at tho demand de-mand of the trusts a majority of tbo 3onators insisted not only on keeping things as they were, but on materially raising some of tho tariff rates. Whero changes were made at all the rovision was usually upward. But for the most part, tho old rates were allowed to remain. re-main. Under these circumstances, the sending send-ing of a message to Congress by President Pres-ident Taft seems a good deal liko the guilolcss effort of a well-meaning official offi-cial who is simply depositing a roll of mnnuscript in a pouch from which it will never again get out. A Congress so completely dominated by tho trusts as tho present ono is not in the least likely to take- seriously a message from tlio President that it is their duty to attack tho trusts and do something for tho relief of tho people. Tho peoplo feel in their daily lives tho operations of the various trusts and combines far more than they do nn.y tariff dues, pro vidod thosp tariff dues wero allowed to act as they naturally would do without tho interposition of tho trusts. But thoy are not so allowed. Tho trusts accentuate tho tariff oxactions and make them seem small by comparison, with thoir own extortions. Wo admire President Taft's courage in purposing to send a message of this kind to Congress; but wo can hardly accord ac-cord very much admirutiou to his discretion dis-cretion in so doing undor tho circumstances; circum-stances; for ho is a busy man, and it is not worth whilo for a busy man to spend his timo in mere boating ot the air or on any labor which he knows in reason will bo fruitless. |