The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1889-11-29

S'F 1
or brew beer, or to manufacture iron,
Illuminating oil, or any other product
thcy have the same right to conduct
their business in their own way that
men have to engage in any other bust
ness undertaking.
But when all the manufacturers of. or
dealers in any article OF universal use
combine their affairs in q national
organization, and avoiding all respon-
sibility to the authors OF the State,
undertake the arbitrary contro! OF
prices and to limit the amount Of goods
which shall be produced or sold, then it
is time for the people to lay hold OF
these men and make them show what
they are about.
These ''trusts' are really national
corporations organized and carried on
without any subsection or responsibility
to the people. They enjoy all the rights
and benefits OF corporate organizations
without any OF the conditions or penal
ties which should govern their action.
There is not a ''trust' in the United
States which does not hold toward the
people the attitude Of Boss Tweed, when
he defiant]y inquired, "What are you
going to do about it,"
There is not one OF them which is not
ready to DEFY the representatives OF the
people when the people undertake to in
vestigate their conduct.
Look at the. action OF Harvemeycr,
the king OF the sugar r%eliners, when he
was before a committee OF Congress two
years ago. Look at the action OF the
millionaire pork packers and dressed
beef men OF Chicago, more recently when
Il committee OF the Senate sought to in
| 1uire into their methods OF doing
business.
Why do the people tolerate such i'm
pudent defiance OF their right to know
what the nlonopolists are doing?
Why is not the management OF every
trust compelled to inform the public
what are the terms OF it's organization,
who are included in it, what amount Of
capital is actually employed i'll carrying
it on, what are its relations to the rail
road companies, how much are its an
nual profits, how much are its stock
and other securities, all the facts that
insurance companies and other corpOr-
acions are required to publish?
Here is the Cotton Seed Oil Trust
which was recognized the other day,
5 after some OF it's stockholders had dis
covered that its managers had lost hall
a million OF their funds in speculations
on Wall street.
Here is the Lead Trust which is believ.
. ed to have issued securities amounting
. to more than twice the total capita
! actually paid i'll and to be colleCtin:
money enough from the people to pay
. handsome dividends on the whole.
:. Here is the Sugar Trust, whose scuuri
ties are sold up and down in Wall stree.
from day to day, while only half n doz
). en- men in the whole country know what
/ The total amount OF those securities is
| and less than half a dozen know wbat
; the amount will be day after Tomorrow
Lulu IC ucLGiio VI otlit4 - NItD
wlici! enable millionaircs to make .luW
two to ten tunes as much money a. men
who arc not millionaires can make j"
any business that is open to thnGH, aI,.
to arbitrarily prevent all Other men
: from entering into compctitjGu with
: them.
e Many OF these trusts have been built
: up through special contracts with rail
road companies, giving them privilege
and rates which were denied to Otho.
shippers. Without this iavoritism it
probable that the Standard Oil Hltj3
could never had been built up at al;
j trust which is said to enable one man
john D. Rockefeller, to enjoy an inc0m,
b OF S20.OOO,OOO Il year.
The attention Of the students Of III,
operations OF ''Trusts" has cvcryVher
been directed to rcpressive legislation
but meanwhile the ''Trusts' go Oh III
harmed and fearless, for nobody know:
{ exactly what ought to be done becaus
nobody knows how these trusts are car
S ried III.
We say the first thing to do is to fine
O out their essential facts and surely, th'
people can find u way to obtain thi,
information.
y The ablcst writer who has d~iscuSse(
the subject OF "Trusts" is Represents
tive William l.. Wilson, OF West Vii
ginia. Even he is unable to say wha
laws ought to be put on the statut
books for their regulation. In an art
Gle in the Baltimore Sun concluding
series on the rubject he says:
LET us now consider briefly some Q
n the actual proposed legislation. tn
Congressional committee that ~invcsti-
ated trusts failed to agree upon an.
a definite measures, but several OF tn
States have already put upon thti
l. statute-books laws for the suppression
d OF trusts.
1T "The principle OF all thes
D laws, as far as | have examined, is t
N make unlawful and punish by fines ant
Il forfeitures all combinations for regu
er lating prices or for limiting the uUantit,
OF products. The state OF Missouri too
1T the lead in this legislation. It's law, j
lie addition to the general provision jus
10 stated, forbids corporations to own 0
d issue trust certificates, and also forbiC
o. corporations, their officers or stool
Il holders to enter any combination, til
IL purpose or effect Of which shall be t
d place the management OF the comblr
il alton or OF it's manufactured produt
p in the hands OF trustees with intent t
II init prices or to lessen production
rs sale. The Secretary OF State is autho
e. lied to revoke the character OF any co
b. poration that becomes q member of
RS trust, and to guide him in the exercise
Or his authority he may require the prop
el ~ E,r al ~ NJ, ~,,r "a ~, p