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Show HE DREADS BRYAN'S OWNERSHIP SCHEME OMAHA, Feb. 23.In a Washington's Washing-ton's birthday address here, Dr. Jacob Gould Schurman of Cornell, said: "I suppose there is little doubt that in tome industries not. I think. In many, monopoly actually exists and oppression is actually practiced by making- the public pay extortionate prices." He added: "There are remedies within reach which may be used at any time. In the first place trusts which are monopolistic mo-nopolistic and oppressive may be deprived de-prived of the advantages which they now enjoy as a result of tariff or other legislation. legisla-tion. If any tariff schedule doe. actually enable a trust to exploit the people for Us own enrichment, that tariff schedule is doomed, no matter how much talk there may be of the sanctity of the tariff or the solemn duty of standing pat. "A second remedy is a better regulation of corporations and trusts in the Interest of the public. Perhaps we may see the big corporations legally enjoined from charging markedly different prices for the same commodity in different parts of the country for the sole purpose of freezing out independent rivals." The speaker then referred to the more radical remedies proposed for existing evils. He denied that so far, the experiments ex-periments in State and municipal ownership owner-ship of public utilities had resulted in any appreciable benefit, although he did not oppose that system. He said, how-ever: how-ever: "I dread government ownership of American railroads (as proposed by W. J. Bryan). No government in tfce world is qualified to go Into the railroad business busi-ness and least of all the government of the United States, which draws its life from the party politics and In which all administrations are necessarily shortlived." short-lived." . The speaker said he could not agree with President Roosevelt as to the threatened threat-ened danger from "swollen fortunes." "The danger I see." he said. "come, not from swollen fortunes, but from stolen fortunes." |