The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1880-08-28

We doubtless have readers who favor trade
combinations and doubtless many who do not
| but 1t will harm neither to read what a paper
that opposes combinations has to say upon the
subject. The New York CommerciaL bulletin
| OF the "a inst. contains an editorial upon this
theme, which it closes as follows: "For the
time being the principle of combination pro.
tects the industry adopting il and gives it an
appearance of prosperity; but its permanency
cannot be trusted; and If 1t he maintained in
Iperpetulty 1t necessarily brings ultimate decay
| to the interest adopting it. If it elevates a
| given branch Of business from a state of suf
ferng from excessive competition to that of
prosperity the prosperity thus artifcally pro.
duced gradually begets an expansion of the
means of production, both by drawing new
producers into the guild and by causing the
older members to extend their works. That
stage beng reached, the members are found
no longer willing to keep their production so
largely below their capacity as the compact
requires; competition therefore breaks out
again; the combination is broken; the indus
try Is then found in a more over-done condi-
ton than when combination was first adopted
as cure, and the natural process of a weed.
ing out OF the least competent has at last to be
submitted to the remedy that should have been
permitted 10 have its sway in the first instance
ihhS tohipiilutioH, ilOuBnt W Ut SuCu per
feet cure for an Over-cXpanded industry, proves
to be only Il temporary paliation; a brief
postponement of the inevitable result that nat
ural law DEGREES
There may be, however, and are exception
al cases IN which this artificial regulation
proves more than temporary; but such eXemp-
ton from the natural breaking down of com
blnatlon Is won at the expense of the vitality
.ol the interest y monopoly OF this Kind ne
cessarily tends towards narrowing of its lin
It's. 1t loses much Of its enterprise. 1t de-
ponds tor It's success upon the maintenance of
unnaturally high prices. High prices mill
tate AGAINST demand or bring IN competition
from foreign sources, or induce resort 10 sub
stitutes for the article thus protected; and IN
the long run it is found that the productive
capacity of the guild rs far exceeds the wants
OF It's customers as when combination was
adopted to remedy such a state of things. In
either case, therefore, combination ends just
where 1t bcgan-in that very evil of ovcr-pro-
ductlon II was intended To remedy.
Trade combination Is opposed TO every in
tuence that tends to enlarge the commerce OF
a nation 1t cripples the spirit Of enterprise
that animates every free community: it ncu-
traliZes the inducements to effect economies 10
production; it discOurages the spirit of inven.
ton; it keeps alive industrial methods that
are no longer fit TO live; it puts the best indus
trial appliances on level with the worst; it
antaCunizes the law which provides for the
survival of the tittest; in short it is a reversal
of every force that tends to develop and
strengthen the industry of a nation. Nothing
can more surely sap the vitality Of a coun,rys
and expose it to successful foreign
than the resort of its industries to
this pernicious method of socalled regulation ::
and Its increasing adoption in the United
States is therefore to be regarded as seriously
imperiling our commercial future