James J. HUI, president of the Great Nor...

HILL ON TARIFF, AND TRUST MANAGEMENT.

James J. Hill, president of the Great Northern Railway company, in a speech before a Chicago Manufacturers' association Wednesday evening, said that whatever work there has been for a protective tariff to do has already been accomplished. He declared that so-called infant industries need protection no longer. He said farther that the real cause of the growth of the iron and steel industry of the country is the enormous resources of the country in iron and steel mines.

This sounds refreshing, coming from a man of Mr. Hill's position. We have undoubtedly had all the advantages of a protective tariff, whatever those advantages may be. That certain favored industries have greatly profited thereby no one will question. But there is a serious question as to the amount of advantage to the whole people. There is undoubtedly vastly more to be charged to the favorable conditions here than to the tariff. As Mr. Hill says about the iron and steel industry so with most if not all the other great industries of the country. Just as the great iron and steel industries of the country can be more surely traced to the iron mines of Michigan and Wisconsin than to the protective tariff, so can the prosperity and developments in other lines be traced to natural conditions rather than to the protective tariff. But giving to the tariff whatever credit it may be entitled to, the fact for present consideration is that there is no need for it any longer, in the opinion of Mr. Hill. But there seems to be no move on the part of the beneficiaries of the tariff to have it removed. In fact they are just as tenacious now as ever for their pound of flesh. In fact these protected interests exercise greater influence in the affairs of government today than ever before and it is used to keep up their profits by means of the protective tariff. That the tariff has done all it can legitimately for our infant industries makes no difference with these giant industries. (No inconsiderable part of their profits are wrongfully taken from the people through the tariff which was originally laid to build up infant industries, but now these same industries are strong enough to control the government for their own profit and they hold on to all they have got. The protective tariff now benefits no one only the special interests directly receiving it, but the tax is still collected from the people.

Speaking of trusts, Mr. Hill said it seemed to him the only objection to them was in the method of their organization. He offered this remedy for the evils of trusts:

"If it is the desire of the general government, through congress, to prevent the growth of such corporations, it has always seemed to me that a simple remedy was within their reach. Under the constitutional provision allowing congress to regulate commerce between the states, all companies desiring to transact business outside of the state in which they are incorporated, should be held to a uniform provision of federal law. They should satisfy a commission that their capital stock was actually paid up in cash or in property, at a fair valuation, just as the capital of the national bank is certified to be paid up. With that simple law, the temptation to make companies for the purpose of selling prospective profits would be at an end, and at the same time no legitimate business would suffer."

The Michigan Republican Newspaper association, in meeting at St. Johns Wednesday, passed a resolution in favor of primary election reform. The State Republican league some time ago took a stand for this crying need and the press association endorses that stand. It is one of the most important issues before the people today and it ought to enlist the strenuous efforts of every voter who believes the people should have more voice in the naming of the candidates for the various public offices. It is believed that a primary election law will do as much tor the primaries as the Australian ballot did for the regular elections. That ballot drove the vote buyers out of the business and freed the elections of most of the corrupt practices of former years as well as much of the cause of disturbances at elections. But the bosses and the disreputable element thereupon betook themselves to the primaries and grafted their corrupt practices upon the caucuses. Now the wishes of the people have little to do with the making of party tickets. About all the people have left them in the way of choice is to accept one or the other of two machine made tickets. A primary election law by the provisions of which a voter would go into the booth in secret and vote for the men of his choice for places on the tickets would go a long way toward cutting the ground from under the bosses and bringing nominations nearer the people. This reform is coming also and in the near future. The people will not much longer tolerate the dirty methods by which one or more unscrupulous politicians make up the tickets which the voters are expected to vote.

Senator Hanna has come out squarely for the Panama route for the interoceanic canal, and it must be said that he has given some pretty strong reasons for his position. Among other reasons he mentioned the less danger from seismic disturbances at Panama than at Nicaragua, but this seems not to be the most important reason. The Panama route is but 44 miles long, while the Nicaragua route is 183 miles long. It is claimed a vessel may pass through the entire length of the Panama route in twelve hours. By the Nicaragua route if a ship makes the same speed, and is obliged to tie up at night, the time is greatly lengthened. A fact which tends to enable ships to make better time in the Panama route is that there are fewer curves and locks. Of course there are some geographical advantages in the Nicaragua route, so far as our trade with our own ports is concerned, but this is more than offset by the additional time required to pass through the Nicaragua route. The distance from our Atlantic ports to our Pacific ports by the Panama route would be increased some six hundred miles, but the additional time required to pass through the Nicaragua route would more than offset this.

The liberal terms granted the Boers by the English are due, it is said, in large measure to General Lord Kitchener. It is likewise claimed that the war might have been closed a year ago if Kitchener had been permitted to have his way. Had terms similar to those finally granted been accorded the Boers at that time, a year of the terrible carnage and loss of life and destruction of property might have been averted. Lord Milner is said to have strenuously opposed the language compromise and it is supposed that Colonial Secretary Chamberlain supported him. It is quite generally so. The men who do the fighting are generally less bitter and more willing to grant a brave foe generous terms than the politicians and civilians who do no fighting. The same thing was true at the close of the civil war between the North and South, General Grant was much more liberal than Secretary Stanton.

Again it is announced that the president has changed his position relative to the concessions to be given the Cubans on sugar. It is now reported that he will be satisfied with the rebate if he can not get the other. Of course the rebate plan is not the right way of doing what was promised, but it is the way that suits the special Interests which reap the advantages of the tariff and consequently it is likely to go. The other plan of a direct reduction of the tariff would benefit the people of the United States as well as the Cubans, but the people are not in control of the matter. The president is said to prefer the rebate plan to nothing. He has been right on this question from the start but seems unable to carry the right through congress.

With President Roosevelt and Senator Hanna both determined to take a hand in the coal strike settlement for the advantage to be derived from such settlement in the way of boosting their respective chances for the presidential nomination in 1904, the strike ought not to last very long. Mark settled one some years ago during a political campaign very promptly. Conditions are not now quite so urgent but still both men are bidding for the political capital to be derived from settling the trouble, it ought not to require much time therefore.