The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1881-12-10
A Great Monopoly.
Atlanta Constitution.


contest is now going on in Golum-
bus, Mississippi, between the mer-
chants of that city and the Stan
dard oil monopoly. The readers
of the Constitution do not need
TO be told what the Standard oil
monopoly is. Mr.. Henry ID. Lloyd,
Of the Chicago Tribune, recently
contributed an elaborate history
of that aggressive concern to the
pages Of the Atlantic, and an alb
straet of this history, embodying
its salient features, was repro
duced in these columns. The
struggle now going on between
the merchants of Columbus and
the Standard oil company is a re-
markable veritication of some of
the more, astounding statements
made in Mr.. Loyd's article, and is
of great interest to the merchants
of other cities and TO the people
ofthe whole conn try.a The history
of the past twenty years has
chronicled various aggressions on
the part of the monopoly interests
of the country, but none have
been quite as bold or as startling
as those which have been progress
sively pushed forward under the
mysteriously powerful manage
ment of the Standard oil monopoly.
BY means of an agreement with
the Pennsylvania railroad com
pany, the Standard monopoly sue.
ceeded in subduing rival interest
in the oil regions, and since that
time its cOnquests have been push
ed on to all parts of the country
so that consumers of oil have
been and are now compelled to
pay an excessive tax to the
monopoly, ~ =" IA. ''aa'' ,
Now, here is a typical case fol
the consideration Of those ultra
conservative people who are dis
posed to regard anti monopoly agi
tation as q branch of communism
Here is the greatest monopoly this
country has ever seen--a mo.
nopoly which has bought the Penn.
sylvania Legislature and whicl
owns judges upon the bench
placing its hand heavily upon ,
little community in Mississippi
and even using its vast power tt
drive individuals ont of business
in order to compel the public t
pay the excessive tolls in the wa,
of profits which it sees fit to levy
In the end the merchants of Go
lumbus will be compelled to sur
render to the power of the Stan
dard oil company. A monopol,
that has conquered railroad presi
dents, legislatures and judges il
not to he defied by one feeble com
munity, nor by twenty strong com
munities. 1t will find means I,
bring them to terms, and then i
will hunt greedily for other oppo
nents. Such a monopoly is no
carrying out it's aims unless it il
engaged in crushing something o.
somebody. tits in the crushing
business, and it will push its con
quests until the people in all part
of the country turn their attention
to the business of electing homes
congressman who can neither b,
bought nor intimidated.
The contest at Columbus Miss
issippi, may appear to be yer,
) small affair, but it touches th'
future of every citizen of this
country, and the principles involv
ed therein are vastly more i'm
portant to the people than any po
, litical issue that has been formula
ted during the past fifteen years
1t is contest in which the peopl,
are endeavoring to maintain thei
: rights against a monopoly tha
would be absolutely without pow
er but for sympathy and coopera
ton of the great railway corpora
.. tions of the north-and therein
lies its suggestiveness.