The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1888-03-03
NoNoPoIrKsASD "rRusrs." /"

To the Editor Of the ADvoCArE: As per
your request, will send you few lines
upon this subject. The question Of mon
opolIes and so-called "Trusts" has for some
time past received considerable amount
Of attention by the people Of all grades and
conditions. The rich and powerful few
have combined and schemed as to the most |
effective methods Of squeezing every cent |
possible out Of every branch Of legitimate
business and labor,--to crush out competi- |
tion and ignore the law of supply and de-
mand; while the laborers and business men |
Of small means have been seriously con-
eerned ss to whether there is no remedy |
under eur system Of Democratic govern
neni, TO prevent by peaceable and legal
means, this apparent purpose 10 bleed and
rob the people by these mercenary combin- |
stions of unlimited powers and means, called
trusts. Is 1t, the people ask, ineYitable
that they must forever pay tribute to these
gigantic combinations and trusts, in such
amounts as the conspirators think the peo-
pie can bear. think the times are ripen-
Ing and the people are becoming sufficient
~ squeezed and educated for an astonish-
ing uprising against all sorts of monopolies
and trusts. This is evident from the fact
that bills have been recently introduced in
some Of the State Legislatures and In Con-
gress to check the growth Of these so-called
"trusts." It remains to be seen whether
the chosen representatives Of the people
have the nerve and backbone TO legislate
for the true interests Of the people at large,
or whether the influence of corporations
and money will cause 1t all to end in talk
and Hzzle.
A congressional committee is examining
into the cause OF the coal strike In Penn
sylyania, and the New York Senate, just
before Its recent adjournment, ordered its
committee on general laws to make search
ing examination into the methods and or
CARNATIONS of "Trusts," and report a law to
wipe them out. The investigation is at
present going on. 1t Is significant fact
worthy to note, that all the corporation
Senators were opposed to the resolution Of
inquiry, and yet when 1t was pressed by
few to vote, they did not dare to vote
against It. This affords the very best evil
dence that the servants Of the corporations
in the New York Senate have clear con-
vietion that public opinion is now aroused
10 such an extent that they are threatened
with the loss Of their seats II they openly
eide with monopoly.
1t is interesting to watch the newspapers
that are in sympathy with the corporations
and to note how they belittle these inyesti-
cations and call them farces; and all those
engaged in pushing these inquiries forward
are called demagogues. In this State all
that class of newspapers are poking fun at
the congressional committee, now engaged
In investigating the great coal strike. And
when one Of them gets off a supposed good
thing in the line of disparagement all the
rest Of them eagerly copy it and spread IT
broadcast This often deceiYes honest,
well-neaning people.
In our State the party majority is SO one
sided that 1t may take some time yet before
our legislators will bow to the will OF tn,
people. For instance, when corporations
haye such firm grip upon the Executive
Legislative and judicial departments O.
the State government, that they can with
tmpunity violate the letter and spirit of th,
constitution of our commonwealth, as the.
have done since It's adoption in 1873, theI
what can we reasonably expect in the wa.
Of relief from the rapacity Of these ney
eombinationsa The people have not ye
been able to elect legislature that woul,
pass such laws as are imperatively necessar
10 put in force and operation some of tn
most salutary features Of their own Stat
Constitution. Fifteen years should hav
heea sufficient time TO arouse the peopl
upon such an important matter, but it wa
not.
These dangerous combinations by NOR
opolists who sigh for new worlds to cor
quor. is but the natural elimination Of th
system or tendency of late years toward
concentration, Capitalization and ''stron
government" wiping out all small busine.
men, reducing the wages of labor to tt
lowest point Of subsistence, and "makin
the rich richer and the poor poorer"
middle class is not congenial to these ray
ishing aggregations and soulless entitie
and necessity compels them to crush ol
competition regardless of the law Of supp
and demand in the most arbitrary and de
potic manner, In order to enable them
grind and squeeze out means from legit
mate business and labor to pay dividend
on stocks and bonds that have been watert
and diluted time and again. have n
thstime nor space to 20 into this matter
detail, but / will call your attention to tV
notable instances where this squeeziI
could have been avoided by proper legisl
tion. The first telegraph line ever built
this country was largely built by mon
furnished by the United States GoYer
mSnt, but with the eYolutions OF cur graz
and gleriously free country, Jay Gould al
his associates have gobbled it up, togeth
With other lines built with other peopl,
money,an after having thoroughly water
tia goOdly number of times by increasi
lts stock and bonds, without putting in
dollAr, the people must now pay large I
butte TO q corporate trust combination
It's use-not an honest, fair rate, but j.
exactly what the plunderers choose to Al
II the government had bought out 4
Morse at that early period of our histo
the people might just as well have a te
graph system of their own to-day as pc
once system. Instead of paying big di
dends for the benefit of few mlllionai
on fictitious capital, we could send te
grams Of ten words for about hYe cents
stead Of paying twenty FIVE cents as
now must, when We are obliged to use
The Pacific railroads were built by priv
parties with money realized from the s
Of government bonds and lands, and al
nyinR themselves fabulous salaries