The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1888-10-10
CRUSHED BY SUGAR TRUSTS.
A BITTER oUTcRY FROM LABOR.
Seven Hundred Unfortunate workmen
Discharged, and Now VIII Blaine
Dare Repeat His Opinion of
Trusts in Indiana7
N. y. HerAld.l

~ Y. HERALD
When President Cleveland delivered his
message he had something to say to the Amer
lean people about the danger of trusts. l
think there have since been no democratic pa
pers, whether they understood the meaning of
the word or not, that have not been constantly
warning the people as to the horrible danger of
trusts. Laughter. Tribune Report Of Mr..
BIaine's Speech.
Little did the leader of the republican party
think, as he stood before his followers and
fercely defended trusts, how soon the mask
would be torn from his face and 700 workmen
turned out into the streets by the sugar trust to
face winter Of starvation and misery.
There stand the 200 shivering men on the
sidewalks of Williamsburg, helpless victims of
greed and monopoly, whose hearthstones have
been dar1ened and made desolate simply be-
cause the sugar trust has decided to lessen the
supply of sugar for the United States in order
that the price may be kept up.
The profound pathos of the situation can
only be understood by those who know the
awful sufferings of these men and their wives
and children when the sugar trust ordered the
same refneries closed last year-the bitter,
black misery, the months of beggary and deg
radiation.
And there is not a member Of the trust who
has insolence enough to explain how il is that
this vast amount of wealth and power, which
can say just how much sugar shall be manu-
featured in the country and just what each
man, woman and child shall pay for it, has
been steadily increasing the prices, at the same
time ordering the refneries closed and taking
the bread out of the mouths of the poor.
The sugar kings will not be seen. Their guilt
is too plain to be covered. Even Mr.. Blaine
could not help them, for the blood OF the peo-
pie is stirred by tnis last merciless and des-
potic act that consigns hundreds of men,
women and children TO a winter of suffering as
single item in the scientific plan by which the
trust will make the people pay whatever it de-
cides for sugar, without any regard to the laws
OF supply and demand.
This order of the sugar trust which has
closed De Castro & Donner's two rehneries is
the most startling disclosure of the power and
infamous purposes of trusts that has yet oc-
CURED in the United States. In this act the
great conspiracies, which Mr.. Blaine declared
were largely private affairs and not TO be inter-
fered with, stand naked to the eyes of the
wOrkingmen OF America.
What a spectaclel
Five six enmillioned men decide that only
so many pounds of sugar shall be made in the
United States this winter. They decide that
! the price of each pound shall be higher than
| before. They also decide that so many reiner-
| les shall be closed so that sugar shall not be
plenty enough to be cheap.
The seven hundred men in williamsburg
with their hungry brOOds about their knees,
| think that there should be laws made to pro-
tect their homes. Poor, thick skullsl Mr..
| Blaine, who is a scholar and "a statesman says
that trusts are private affairs, and great aud
fences have roared at the fine humOr with
| which he has sneered at the simpletons who
thought there was danger to the wOrkingman in
| these mighty combinations. Mr.. Blaine knows
| all about millionaires He rides with them on
coaching tours. They get up royal banquets in
| his honor. Millionaires injure workingmen?
| What nonsensei Trusts crush out the lives
| and hopes of the poor? All falsel Not
word of truth in il. Trusts are private affairs,
and neither President Cleveland nor any pri-
vate citizen has any particular right to inter
| fere."
| Carlysle tells how Louis rode ont near his
| palace one day and, seeing men carrying a cOf-
fin, asked what the dead man died OF. ''Star-
walton, sire" replied q peasant. THE king
! spurred his horse" adds Carlysle.
| And if Mr.. Blaine should happen TO pass the
seven hundred desperate men standing idle in
the cold streets of Williamsburg and ask what
] was the cause of their misery, and they should
answer trusts" what would Mr.. Blaine do?
| Would he dare to look those honest fellows in
/
affairs and should not be interfered with?
The Herald reporter, who went among the
| discharged workingmen in Williamsburg yes
/ terday found bitter indignation against the
sugar trust There was rum0r that the trust
| intended to close the Havemeyer refneries,
| too, in order to further limit the sugar supply,
| but this was denied.
One workman, who has a sick child at home,
stood at the closed gate of the s. Ninth-st., re-
fnery and bewailed the hardship of his lot.
IL don't know how we can live through the
winter" he said, as he stuck his hands in his
pockets to keep them warm. eve thought
that the trust would let work this winter,
we suffered so much last year."
"But the trust says II has done this often be-
fore, and there is nothing new in it" suggested
the reporter.
''My God sirY said the old man, SIS that
any reason why these millonaires should take
the bread out of our mouths because they have
trampled on us before. Doesn't il show that it
is time to make laws 10 prevent it from being
done again? The closing of these two refneries
shuts off the sugar supply 5000 barrels day.
/ am paying nine cents pound for sugar and
two months ago only paid seven. The trust
has put the price up. / can't see why they do
il. III there is too much sugar being refined
the price should be going down instead of GO
ing mp. If there isn't too much sugar why does
the trust close the refneries? What is their
explanation%
s'They don't explain"
''They should be made 10 explain. They
should be controlled by law"
But doesn't Mr.. Blaine say that they are
private adairsY
"Oh, d---n Mr. Blainew
This profanity drove tho reporter away In
fact the disrespect shown for the truths ex-
pounded and defended by the republican
leader was shocking There is probably no