South Branch intelligencer. [volume] (Romney, Va. [W. Va.]) 1830-1896, 1889-09-06
THEINTELLlCENCER
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 6, 1859.
It Works to SupL ress Com
petition.
NUMBER VII.

trusts have bern chiefly defeadei are
both unteusble. and Furthermore.
that they ae not the real objects
aimed at by these combinations.
Their primary object is rot to pre-.
vent adulterasi,n or basement in
the quality Of tic objects they pro-
duce nor. on the other hand merely tn
secure the benc fits that flow from pro.
duc,ion on a large scale. Expert
ence has abundantly shown that the
public can protect itself, and at the
same time tue honest producer. from
frauds in the quality of commodities
WI bout having recourse TO the subtle
and expensive machinery Of the trust.
Very brief but very instructive ex-
perience has als) been sufficient to
show that whatever advantages for
cheapening cost have been secured BY
Its production on q large scale have
always bten appropriated by the
combination itself and never shared
with the consumer.
Moreover, when under the sugar
trust eleven refneries are m.de to
earn large dividends on the wa,ered
stock OF s xtoen reiueries, when under
the whisky trust twelve distilleries
are In like manner made to earn lib
eral dividends on the watered stock
OF eighty one d.s.illeries. no amount
OF sp ciai pleading or economic
ledSerden ain can obscure the fac,
that The public 10 compelled TO nav
excessive prices for their prod nets
and that this result has been accom-
piished through combination tba,
has been able to limit supply, end
by such Limitation 10 run up prices.
TRUE OBJECT OF A TRUST.
And this control OF supply is the
true and final Object OF every trust.
But there can be no such limitation
Permanently aud effectively accom>
plished as long as there is either com.
pisition or The possibility of COM
petition in open marke, between in-
dependent producers of the Same ar,i.
Gle. Accordingly this competition
must be entirely or largely neuteal.
lied to clear the ground for a trust
The price Of a commodity is settled
by what has been called the Zig
Siing OF tue Market in other words
1t /. the outcome of the contest be-
tween sellers trying to get the high
eat prices f1r their wares aud buyers
trying TO bay at The lowest; and the
law which controls this higgline is
the law Of supply and demand
which in the long run makes the
normal price Of comm oditics. The
trust Ia q scheme to limit supply by
lossening. and il possible eliminating
The competition which has hitherto
compelled rival producers to seek
their profits not so much in hi..her
ptices as in large sales. It's avow.
ed object ia to substitute combiDa-
tion for competition, which is the
very definition OF monopoly-not the
meaning of that much. abused word
IN the loose and random defamation
OF the hustings, but it's definition by
the most exact thinkers and those
who are guarded and precise in their
terms.
Wherever competition ia no,
monopoly is said John Stuart Mill
and 30 say all great writer's on the
history and laws Of trade.
A SINISTER WORD.
There Is scarcely a word In our
vocabulary that conjures I'D Ideas
more repugnant to equality of citi.
nsLip and To- free institutions O,
which comes down from the past
ireighted with more sinister import
than the word monopoly. 1t IL as.
sociatei with all those WRONGS and
hoary abuse by which, In the older
nations OF The world, the great mass
OF the people have at times beon
sunk in hopeless poverty and toll
thnt privilege might roll in wealth
and idleness. We are bound, there-
fore, to inquire how far in its obsetv.
ed operations the trust merits and
Jus'ih"s the stigma that such a elias.
s'lca'lon would stamp upon il.
Each one OF the combinations we
have examined aims to intervene be-
tween Tue producer of the raw mater.
tal and tho purchaser Of the man.
iactured article, and, as far az possi,
bic, 70 CONTROL the production of
some commodity Of necessary or
general consuu ption.
PRODUCERS OF RAW MATERIAL.
Let as begin, therefore, by inauir.
ing what has been the effect OF the
trust on The producer ofits raw ma-
leriaI.
In order TO measure this efTec,
folly We must, If possible, select a
trust that is, il not the sole, at hnv
rate tho chief, consumer OF the raw
material OF its particular industry.
Tue sugar trust cannot immediately
or greatly depress tho price OF raw
sugar, because by long usage in the
trade that price Is established by the
quotations in the London market
and az nine-tenths Of our raw sugar
come from abroad, their shippers have
choice OF msrkets, and will not coma
here unless they have assurance that
The New York market is as good IA
the London market, aud this assur-
auce they can command by contract
log for the sale OF their cargoes be-
Tore starting. Yet, even with this
protection, the sellers will eventually
ind come difference, for, instead Of
1eaIlhg with sixteen Independent