Waterbury evening Democrat., 1888-01-26
TRUSTS AND M0N0P0LIES
WILL BE CLOSELY INVESTIGATED BY
 CONGRESS.
MT. Mason's Resolution is Favorab1y Con- sidered by the House, After MT. Ran dall Offers Amendments to Extend the Inquiry-The Miners Strike is Included.

udAt oACIb Oo '>AtO''S~ ~-~ Inquiry-The Miners Strike is Included. WASHINGTON, Jan. 26-Mr. Bacon, of New York, yesterday obtained the unanimous con- sent of the house for the consideration of the resolution directing the committee on manu- factures to investigate trusts and pools. MT. Randall said that when the resolution was first offered he objected to its immediate con sideraton because he thought it was not com prehensive enough. He would like to have it amended so as to apply to the Standard Oil company, perhaps, the whisky trust and every trust of any kind in the United States. MT. Brumm, of Pennsylvania, wanted the inquiry extended so as to apply to anthracite coal combinations.
 Mir. Mason, of Illinois, the author of the resolution, said it's object was the ascertain ment of the effect which combinations hadon the price of necessaries, and to ascertain whether, by reason of the tariff, those com binations were able to raise the price of neces- saries. There were some industrious men in our country who would like to have corner on the sunshine and levy a tax of $1 ,0O0 day upon it. His object was to prevent the tariff laws, which he believed in, being perverted and turned against the people,
 MT. Nelson, of Minnesota, inquired whether the gentleman had any doubt that the tariff
 
 MT. Mason replied that he had no doubt that there was a class of men who took ad- vantage of the tariff laws, and therefore those who believed in high protective tariff thought that there ought to be some way to prevent those laws being perverted. If there was way to protect the people against these trusts except by a revision of the tariff, he was ready to vote that question now.
 MT. Rayner, of Maryland, said the resolu- tion was not broad enough. It would not include the Western Union Telegraph com- pany which had swallowed up every other telegraph company for the purpose of con- trolling the business. It would not affect the Standard Oil company. That was not com bination Of individuals. It was a cOmbina- tion of different corporations, each one of which, was created by the sovereignty of a particular state. The resolution would not Happily to that. The Reading coal strike was great question which was agitating the public mind. The Reading company was incorpo- rated by Pennsylvania, but it shipped it's commerce all over the country. That com pany, which had entered into a conspiracy to strike down labor in the Lehigh and Schuyl- kill regions in order to increase the price of coal would not be affected by the investiga- tion. To extend the scope of the inquiry, he moved to strike out the clause which confines the inquiry to trusts not incorporated under the laws of any state. The motion was agreed to-
 On motion of MT. Randall several amend ments tending to broaden the scope of the inquiry were agreed to, and then the resoll,- tion was adopted, as follows:
 Whereas. It is alleged that certain individuals and corporations in the United States, engaged in manufacturing, producing, mining, or dealing in some of the necesSaries of life and other produc- tors, have combined for the purpose of control ling curtailing the production supply of the same, and thereby increasing their price to the people of the country. which combinations are known as associations, trusts pools, and like names, and
 Whereas, Such combinations not only injuri ously affect commerce between the States but impair the revenues of the United States as de rived from it's dnties on imports therefore,
 Resolved That the committee on manufactures b,, and the same is hereby directed to inquire into the names and number and extent of sucl al eged combinations, under whatever name known, their methods of combination doing bisness. their effect upon the prices of any O the nece- sarles of life and of all productions tt the people of the country upon it's internal O. foreign commerce and it's revenues from impoS uut $, together with any and all other natter relating to the same which may call for CT sug -sesC legislation by congress, and report the samt to the house with such recommen lations tht said committee may agree upon And for thes purposes the committee on manufactures is au thoriZed to sit during the sessions of the house to employ stenographer, to administer oaths examine witnesses. compel the attendance O persons and the production of papers