The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1884-05-24
MONOPOLY.

Although the word monopoly Is iihulhS
more frquent recurrence in the political
discussions of the day than formerly, anc
even anti.monoly meetings and conven
tons are being held, it is evident that the
general public have no conception OF the
really gigantic proportions the evil compre-
hended under that name is assuming In
this country Mr. Henry ID. Lloyd, in an
impressive article in the June NorM Amert-
can Recte,c, does the public an important
service by directing attention to the real
magnitude of this evil According to his
showing honest competition, that used to
be regarded as "A most healthful stimulus
to trade and the very life of business, has
virtually been eliminated from our leading
trades and pursuits as an active principle,
and combination and monopoly substituted
in its place. He says that national conven-
tons of every class of manufacturers are
called at such times as the executive com.
mittee think ii best for the craft. He
shows that the price of lumber Is not regu-
lated by the supply and demand for that
article, but by the lumbermen's exchange,
which also agrees on the terms of sale and
declares who shall be entitled to purchase
by the car or ship load. The stove makers
and the match manufacturers have the
same sort of combinations that the coal and
wood men have. Lest some kind of fire
should be started without the interference
of monopoly, the coke and oil men have
formed national combinations. There is a
national association for controlling the
price of wrapping, print, writing and wall
paper, and another for fixing the price of
paper stock, including the rate at which the
thrifty housewife shall exchange her saw
ings of rags for tin ware, The men who
make shrouds and collins for the dead have
a national association which holds annual
meetings Their proceedings are kept Sc
cret for fear the price of goods required
for the dead shall discourage mortality.
Every farmer knows that the manufacture
ers Of barbed wire have combination.
Every parent who has children in school
knows that the publishers of books have "A
combination, the object of which is to dis
courage what they call dishonest competi-
ton" In nearly all cities there are comb
nations of milk and ice dealers, while in
the large towns in the east the price of lob
sters, clans, oysters and other kinds Of fish
is regulated by committee of dealers.
The manufacturers or wholesale dealers in
patent or proprietary medicines hBve re-
Gently formed n union to prevent these ar
ticles from being retailed at other than
standard prices. The retail druggists in
many of the larger cities have also formed
a combination for the purpose of maintain
ing uniform prices of all articles they dis
pense. In short, one cannot buy an article
to wear, or eat, or drink, or foot of carpet
or dust brush, or nail, or tack, or claw ham
mer, the price of which is not regulated by
some combination or monopoly
Mr. Lloyd makes no suggestion for the
cure of the evil he describes, but the rene
dy is simple and obvious, The vital prin.
ciple-the life blood--of monopoly in this
country inheres in our system of tariff pro
lection. Strike of the tariff tax from lum-
Der and the monopoly in that Important az
ticle would die forthwith place coal upon
the free list, and the combination of the
coal men ceases; and so with the monopo-
ly Of printing and wrapping paper, wood
pulp, salt, copper nails, stoves burial cases,
&c, &C. to the end of the list. As now
built up and fostered by tariff legislation,
all the labor and unprotected trades and oc-
equations of the country are at the mercy
of these gigantic combinations and are
plundered without stint or hindrance. viii
the laboring masses, against whom this
whole conspiracy is directed and who in
the end bear all the burdens it imposes,
ever come to their senses sufficiently to rise
in their might and shake of this monstrous
incubus?