Mr. Wilson must know that every monopoly in the United States opposes the Progressive party.  If he challenges this statement, I challenge him in return (as is clearly my right) to name the monopoly that did support the Progressive party, whether it was the Sugar Trust, the Steel Trust, the Harvester Trust, the Standard Oil Trust, the Tobacco Trust, or any other.  Every sane man in the country knows well that there is not one word of justification that can truthfully be adduced for Mr. Wilson’s statement that the Progressive programme was agreeable to the monopolies.  Ours was the only programme to which they objected, and they supported either Mr. Wilson or Mr. Taft against me, indifferent as to which of them might be elected so long as I was defeated.  Mr. Wilson says that I got my “idea with regard to the regulation of monopoly from the gentlemen who form the United States Steel Corporation.”  Does Mr. Wilson pretend that Mr. Van Hise and Mr. Croly got their ideas from the Steel Corporation?  Is Mr. Wilson unaware of the elementary fact that most modern economists believe that unlimited, unregulated competition is the source of evils which all men now concede must be remedied if this civilization of ours is to survive?  Is he ignorant of the fact that the Socialist party has long been against unlimited competition?  This statement of Mr. Wilson cannot be characterized properly with any degree of regard for the office Mr. Wilson holds.  Why, the ideas that I have championed as to controlling and regulating both competition and combination in the interest of the people, so that the people shall be masters over both, have been in the air in this country for a quarter of a century.  I was merely the first prominent candidate for President who took them up.  They are the progressive ideas, and progressive business men must in the end come to them, for I firmly believe that in the end all wise and honest business men, big and little, will support our programme.  Mr. Wilson in opposing them is the mere apostle of reaction.  He says that I got my “ideas from the gentlemen who form the Steel Corporation.”  I did not.  But I will point out to him something in return.  It was he himself, and Mr. Taft, who got the votes and the money of these same gentlemen, and of those in the Harvester Trust.

Mr. Wilson has promised to break up all trusts.  He can do so only by proceeding at law.  If he proceeds at law, he can hope for success only by taking what I have done as a precedent.  In fact, what I did as President is the base of every action now taken or that can be now taken looking toward the control of corporations, or the suppression of monopolies.  The decisions rendered in various cases brought by my direction constitute the authority on which Mr. Wilson must base any action that he may bring to curb monopolistic control.  Will Mr. Wilson deny this, or question it in any way?  With what grace can he describe my Administration as satisfactory to the