The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1889-08-22
The Combines.

ana someumes are thrown on by the
application of proper remedies, or
sometimes, when no known remedy
is applicable, by vigorous vitality.
The disease which now threatens
the United States is one which in
ancient times destroyed the Roman
commonwealth and, in modern times,
in France and England overturned
existing forms of government and
drenched the land with blood. It is,
in one word, Monopoly. The form
of monopoly most dangeroust to our
country at present is commonly desig
mated TRUSTS. Trusts in their mo-
nopolistic sense are of recent origin,
but they have grown as rapidly as
King Solomon's pomegranite tree,
which in one day sprouted from a
seed, grew to be tree and bore ripe
fruit The land is overrun with
trusts-the oil trust, the pig iron
trusts, the Bessemer steel trust, the
peanut trust, the copper trust, the
jute trust-are all vast monopolies
feeding on the body polite and sap
ping its vitality.
In order to appreciate the danger
Gus nature of 'strusts" it is necessary
to understand their formation and
operation. Suppose there were in
the United States twelve sugar rein
cries. In the ordinary course com
petition would make each one endeav.
or to market their product of such
quality and at such price as would
induce consumers to buy. Their
gains would depend on individual
effort in keeping down the cost of
production and selling in such large
quantities that the aggregate profit
would compensate for the small gain
on each pound. But the men who
own the refneries are not willing to
do business in the way usually follow
ed by merchants and ordinary manu-
facturers. They wish to make money
faster. They form trust. That is,
elect board of directors, in whose
hands is placed the entire business of
all, to be operated in trust for the
benefit of all, each man or firm to re
ceiVe of the profits in proportion to
the amount brought into the trust
The directors have absolute control.
They estimate the amonnt needed
during the year and apportion it
among the refneries belonging to the
trust. Should their collective capaci
ty be greater than necessary, some
are closed, the workmen discharged
and the fires put out. They neverthe-
less receive their share of the profits,
or, in other words, are paid to stop
refining. The directors having thus
control of the entire product, put up
the price to suit themselves. Should
any outside attempt to undersell the
trust, he is Immediately driven out of
the field by selling at less price
than it costs him to re6ne-expensive
for time but profitable in the end,
as it gets rid of competition, and then
prices are put back where they were.
The natural result of an increase
in the price of an article is a reduc-
ton IN its consumption, whether it
be sugar or cottonseed oil. Such re-
duction means that many who could
afford to buy at nominal price de-
trimed BY supply and demand, can not
at an artifcially high one, and must
do without But the worst feature
Of trusts is the choking off of all in
dividual effort. What prospect has
a man who antagonizes one of the
great trusts but that he will be
ground into the dust? We say our
country is free; that every man here
1as equal rights in the protection of
lis life and property. What equality
# opportunity or protection is there
n allowing a combination of wealth
o deliberately plan and cruelty ac-
,Omplish the ruin of individuals who