The advocate., 1890-05-14
CO.OPERATION ys. CoMPETITIoN.


Brother Edwin Snyder writes the following /,
the Independent and we commend ID 10 the care
tul consideration OF Brother Marshall and thos
who accept the theories advanced In his article
ED.
EDITOR INDEPENDENT:-I desire u
comment upon an article written by w
" Marshall for the Advocate, and which
you quote. He says:
The farmers will make u mistake II they at
tempt 10 form combinations among themselves
In Imitation Oi the present mOnOpOsts, for the
purpose Of limiting the supply or controlling the
prices OF their products, WhyY Because, In the
llrst place, they are not IN position 10 succeed
and, In the second place. II they did succeed what
would become Of the mechanics, abOrers and
others who could not COmblne2 Somebody must
be the Victim Of the combination. No, sri lot us
come out and say; "Natural laws are good
enough for us, Competition will do. The pro-
vision which God has created can not be I'M
proved upon neither can II be violated without
Injury 20 ourselves, and serious injury no that
consequently we VIII suppress that instrument Of
artlileialism and oppression, the combine, and
force the natural law Of competition" Then let
us act IN accordance Herewith and we will not
be making mistake.
| know nothing Of the history or
achievements Of the writer Of the above
which would induce me to accept his
dlctum unquestioned, when he arrays
himself against Louis Blanc, Parke
Goodwin, Horace Greeley and scores Of
other eminent writer's and philanthro-
pists.
Over forty years ago Louis Blanc, in
an address to the workingmen of Paris,
said, "The principle on which modern
society rests Is that Of isolation and an
tagonism il is that OF competition Let
us consider little what such a principle
can carry in It's train. Competition Is
the progressive and perpetual increase of
poverty. Instead Of associating forces,
that they may produce the most useful
results, competition perpetually places
them in state Of warfare, and recipro-
cally annihilates them destroying one
by the other. What fortunes are formed
solely OF ruinsl and of how many tears
Is often composed the good fortune Of
those we call happy Is It, then, a good
state Of society which is 80 constituted
that the prosperity Of one fatally CORE
spends with the suGerings Of others? Is
that principle Of order, of conservation
Of wealth, which makes Of society a dis
orderly confusion Of forces, triumphing
only by the incessant destruction Of OPP
posing forcesY Competition is a source
OF general Impeachment, because II
induces an immense and continual loss
Of human labor"
have the most profound contempt for
the blind competition so much lauded by
some writer's as regulator of business
and leveler of prices. In consequence
Of it traflckers give themselves up to a
war Of determination against each other.
In order not to be outdone, they resort to
no end of disreputable expedients; they
'prevaricate," cheat and falsiGy products;
hey adulterate grains, meats and sugars;
hey make lard out OF cotton seed oil;
md they prey upon the public In
thousand ways-by exchange, brokerage,
lsury and bankruptcy. In short, they
deceive in every way, and deiraud at all
ieOsons; and yet, in the present state Of
society, commerce is the most certain
md speedy way Of arriving at fortune,
honor and distinction. Five men are
in commerce to-day, under our I