Democratic messenger., 1888-08-25
Mr.. Blaine.s Flighty Utterances.

After contending in his Portland
speech that trusts are "largely private
affairs" with which nobody "has any
particular right to interfere" Mr.
BlaiLe proceeded to combat the pre-.
valent idea that trusts are the out
growth Of the protestant high tariff by
declaring that they Aourished more in
England than they do here. "A pro
tective policy" he said, "no more
breeds what the President considers
the pestilence of trusts than does the
veriest free.trade country in the world,
which is England, for England is liter.
ally plastered over, under the free.trade
system, with trusts The audacity OF
this assertion amazed a great many
people who could not comprehend how
trusts to restrict production and put up
prices could exist in a country where
foreign competition is without re.
straint. It was placed side by side with
his other assertion that the deposits in
all the savings banks Of the United
Kingdom Of Great Britain and Ireland
were less than those in the single State
Of Massachusetts,. Inquiry into the facts
shows that both assertions were OF a
wild and flighty character, and not a,
all in keeping with the reputation for
intelligence possessed by Mr.. Blaine in
former years. when his faculties were at
their best. 1t is shown by an inves,i.
CATION and inquiry instituted in Eng
land by the London correspondent Of
the New York Times that not only are
there no trusts in the United Kingdom,
but that even the pane is unfamiliar
There are positively no such combina
tions in England to restrict production
and advance prices at all resembling our
trusts as respects mode of organizations
extent Of operations or practical results
Inquiry was first made Of some forty
business men-bankers, lawyers, audi.
tors, railroad officials, manufacturers,
miners and directors of enterprises Of
various kinds. Without exception they
denied fatty that there was any trust
in England, or any equivalent for it.
Mr.. Alfred Miner, an official occu
pying a position analogous to iha, Of
our Assistant Secretary OF the Treas
ury. said: "Thc statement that trust
or anything like trust is common in
England is absolutely false. marvel
at any man committing himself to an
assertion so capable Of prompt and
complete refutation." Mr.. Miner adj
mitted that there were from time to
time "small local combinations" Of the
nature of ''corners," but he denied
that there were any permanently organ.
lied monopolies" /" Mr. Ba,eman, OF
the statistical department Of the Board
Of Trade and secretary Of the Royal
Statistical Society, used the language in
reply to inquiries Of the Times: "We
scarcely know what "trusis" means
over here. Practically such thing as
a trust does not exist here. There are
commodities like tin, where the sources
Of production are SO limited that half
a dozen men can control them
but these combinations are more ana.
logous to your concerns in wheat or
coffee than to permanent, openly.or-
ganized trusts. They are really stock
speculations." II is to Germany, said
Mr.. Bateman, that Mr.. Blaine must
look for powerful trusts like those OF
America. The German high tariff. by
excluding foreign competition, has ere.
ated conditions favorable to the
growth Of trusts. with the result that
Germany has in successful operation
iron rail plate and other trusts in great
number. Mr. Blaine's savings banks
statistics are very wide Of the mark.
In 1887 the.savings banks deposits of
Massachusetts aggregated s29I,I97,.
goo. The savings banks deposits of the
United Kingdom in 1886 aggregated
S4o9,s4S,7 7o7, or, including the accu.
mutations Of the friendly and building
societies, $7s6,s33,a66 The savings
institutions Of the United Kingdom
have thus on deposit an average OF
Sac 81 per inhabi,ant. The aggregate
deposits in the savings banks of the
United States in 1887 were SI,Is7..
S67. 7.S43 or an average OF SIS &c per
inhabitant. Our high tariff policy is
not, therefore, vindicted by compari.
son Of savings banks deposits --Balti.
more Sun.