The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1888-09-01
MR.. BLAINE ON TRUSTS.
Organizations Authorized by the
State, Not by Congress.

DOVER, Aug. 31.-Mr. Blaine spoke at
| Foxcroft, which is almost part of Dover.
this afternoon, and people from all parts of
Piscataquis county were here to hear him
He arrived by special train at about 1890
O'Clock, and was escorted to the residence of
Mr.. 5. 0. Brown, whose guest he became for
the next hour or SO. Soon after o'clock a
great open air meeting was held at the acad-
emy grounds and the chairman, Hon. w. E.
z arsons, described it as "The greatest polit-
ical gathering in the history of our county"
Mr. Blaine was given three times three
when he reached the grounds, and the ap-
plause was very hearty when he was pre-
sented as sour Own James G. Blaine" He
spoke for little over half an hour. The
part of his speech in relation to trusts was
from manuscript, for, as he afterwards
said, although he hated to read speech, he
wanted to make the statements exact. The
speech was as follows:
Mr. Biaine's Speech.
Ladies and Gentlemen-In some remarks
at Portland fortnight ago had occasion to
say that the Presidents attempt TO charge
the responsibility of what are known as
trusts" in this country to protective tar
iff, as he did in his last annual message, was
utterly groundless and unjustifable. l said
then as | repeat now, that trusts flourish to
greater extent under the free trade policy
of England than they do under the protective
tariff of the United States, and l gave one
extreme instance in which the whole
business Of burying the dead ia the United
Kingdom had been committed to q trust
in which all the undertakers We're stoekhold-
ers and that preferential bonds were issued
upon this grim and CHASTITY trust for the
financial market. held in my hand an ex-
tract which had myself cut from London
paper stating these facts i'll full detail. I'M
mediately thereafter class of editors, who
think that impudent denial will take the
place of sober fact, assailed me for having
made an untrue statement and one of them
procured a telegram from London stating
that they did not, in England. even know
what the phrase Trusts implied. Laugh
ter. Neither did we in the United States
until within two or three years. for it is SIM
ply modern use of a word to describe that
which has existed for long time; namely
combination of tradesmen or manufacturers
In given line to keep up the price of an ar
tlcle which they may all be engaged in sell
ing and that form of combination or monop-
oily, or, as it is now called, trust" not only
fourishes more rankly in England than in
the United States, but it was from England
and Engllshmen that the commercial device
The London iron trade circular of june 80,
in referring to the instance to which have
elsewhere made allusion, declares it to be
"The largest amalganaton of business firms
which has ever been accomplished in Eng
land" On July 14th, the Iron and Steel
Trades Journal of London says: "Tne
practice of combinations to maintain prices
in certain branches of business is extending
IN England" 1t points out "a great increase
OF combinations to sustain the iron trade"
mo Qlynr Nfo
cart and wagon axles recently united for the
purpose of establishing an advance, and that
the alliance has succeeded in upholding high
er prices. Another statement sets forth that
the manufacturers OF sheet iron have joined
together to prevent free competition, and
that more than 20 firms have shared in the
effort, the members of the union pledging
themselves to abide as to price by the decis-
ion, OF the majority. Still another is the
well known Wood Screw Combination of
birmingham" which was the exemplar and
precedent for whatever was attempted in the
same line in this country. Still another
which has recently been called to my notice,
is combination in some glassware or pot
terry, which, not being able to take in all the
trade, attempted ito turn tradesmen of other
kinds against those who persisted in remain
ing out, and practically boycotted them"
might cite many more and worse, for |
repeat what l said before that England is
plastered over with these combinations.
which are now called trusts in this country,
and the men who denied it either know
nothing OF the subject or were striving to
conceal the truth. They may take either
horn Of the dilemma. Laughter The
point that made that trusts were in no way
chargeable to protective system but flour
ished even more freely and more widely un-
der a Tree trade system, is abundantly es-
tablished and is well known to all who
choose to read the trade journals of that
Kingdom.
TRUSTS AMENABLE TO STATE LAW.
Now as to American trusts, let me say this,
that there is not one among all the trades in
the land that derives its being, owes its or
ganization or came up under the patronage
of the national government Every one of
them derives whatever sanction of law it
possesses from the State government ;-igen-
orally one State, but sometimes several, unit
ing in giving vitality to the organization of
the trust, but in.no case the government of
the United States. Take the Standard Oil
Trust, the Whiskey Trust the Cotton Seed
trusts; take the whole list from A to and
not one of them stands upon, or is supported
by the authority OF national law or the per-
mission and approval of the national govern
known, certainly, he should have
known, when he arraigned trusts
in q message TO Congress that Congress
could not dissolve them when their charters
were from state leglSlaJure ana their Or
ganizations under State law. If he did not
so understand it, obviously the Democratic
House did. That trusts have no possible le
gal connection with the tariff has been con
fessed by the d. nocratic House, confessed
by the ways and means committee, confess
ed by Chairman Mills, and practically con-
fessed by every man that stood as an advo-
cate of free trade. Take the Mills bill that
the House or its committees had under con-
sideration for seven months in which they
were seeking to do the most radical things
with our revenue laws that they dared. That
bill, after its seven months incubation, left
the House containing Al sections. 81 octave
pages, more than 1,600 lines and 900 words,
and it does not contain a section, or page, or
line, or.word, or syllable relating directly, or
indirectly or in anyway whatever, to trusts.
The zeal with which the President started
off to saddle the whole of the unpopularity
of trusts on the protective tariff and upon
the Republican party seems not even to have
been heard of in Congress. Did they pur-
rosely intend to affront the President by
taking no notice of his suggestion, or did
the Democratic members of the ways and
means committee and of the House cody ac-
cept the same conclusion that 1 stated at
Portland, namely, that neither the President
or the United States, nor any private citizen
of the United States could affect the exist
ence of trusts or cure the abuses thereof by
voice or vote in national campaign
The Presidents charge that trusts had