Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1890-01-17


lied conspiracy among a number of men
to do something which none of them
could do separately. In olden times
corporations were regarded in this light,
and had to pay large sums to the king
or to the state for their charter of incor-
poration.
Even in these modern days the state
does not recklessly confer privileges on
favored individuals. Corporations are
expressly prohibited by law from en-
gaging in any other pursuits than those
for which they have been incorporated.
In most cases they are forbidden by the
state to amalgamate with similar bodies
or take any other steps at the dictation
of majority Of the stockholders which
might impair or render powerless the
rights of the minority. So that COM
bination, which really amounts to ANAL
gamation, of several corporations, with
out the express sanction of the state, is
illegal, and can be punished, so far as the
corporation is concerned, by the forfeit
ure of its charter.
But the real objection to trusts does
not lie in their combining together, or in
the pooling of their interests. 1t lies in
the illegal methods which are too often
used by such combinations to crush out
competition. If two parties, A and B,
sell sugar in village, it is perfectly legal
and perfectly justiiable that A should
undersell B in the price of his sugars.
But it is neither legal nor justifable for
A to enter into conspiracy with G, D,
E and F, all doing business in other
towns, to sell sugar at profit in their
respective towns in order to give a certain
proportion of those profits to A, in order
that he may undersell B. at loss to him
self, until B is ruined and has to go out
of business.
The usual effect aimed at in combin-
ing different concerns is to save some of
turn out products at a cheaper rate.
But as full blown trusts are illegal, their
management is expensive, and also the
corporations from which the trust was
evolved still remain in form, though
not in substance, as before. There are
still boards of directors to register the
DEGREES of the trust magnates, the chair
man still signs his name and the secre-
tary still afixes the common seal of the
corporation. For these futile services,
good payments are made.
So that trusts in this present form do
not save any money in expenses of man
agement. The suppression of competi-
ton and the limitation of production are
the two factors by which trusts make
large profits.
By including all the principal concerns
in the trust when first formed, the ele-
ment of competition is soon eliminated
by running the smaller concerns. This
is done, as before told, by underselling
them at loss. Having thus obtained
practical monopoly, the trust next limits
production so that prices rise until
comfortable profit is assured. Then its
officers keep vigilant watch for any at
tempt to interfere with its monopoly,
and crush out such ventures regardless
OF any moral or legal scruples.
Profits made under such conditions
are on a par with Eighteenth century
highway robbery. Yet in sugar, petro-
leun,, cotton seed oil, white lead, cop
per and many other substances, prices
are artifcially maintained by trust mo-
nopolies. For example, the United States
have by far the richest copper mines in
the world. With improved appliances
used here, the output of ore by each man
makes the cost of wages very low. 1t
was shown some years ago, in report
of the Tamarack Copper Mining COM
pany, that copper ore could be brought
to the surface of the mine at less than
four cents. 1t was further shown in the
same report that, after paying the ex-
penses Of smelling, refining, freight and
commission, copper could be laid down
in New York city for less than six cents.
Yet the present price of Lake Superior
copper in the New York Metal Exchange
is eleven cents a pound, Or just enough
to prevent the importation of foreign
copper, with protective duty of four
cents pound. What this means hardly
needs to be told. The copper mining
companies in the Lake Superior district
have paid enormous dividends, more
than their capital stock many times
over, to their owners. Every brass lock,
every pair of laced shoes, every piece of
copper wire, every copper cent has paid
tribute to these robbers.
Similarly with sugar. The Sugar trust
practically controls all the refineries in
the United States, except that of Claus
Spreckels, in California. The cost of
refining raw sugar, including moder-
ate profit, is ive-eighths of cent. The
Sugar trust charges exactly double this
amount, or one and a quarter cents. The
Sugar trust owners boast that the United
States refneries can turn out refined
sugar cheaper than any other refneries
in the world. Why should they not be
taken at their word and be allowed to
beat the world in an unprotected market,
to the great advantage of the consumer?
In like manner the White Lead trust
keeps up the price of white lead, and con-
sequently of all kinds of paints; the
Steel Rail trust keeps up the price of
steel rails, and increases the expense of
building railways; the Cotton Seed Oil
trust keeps up the price of cotton seed
oil, and incidentally has that article sub
stituted as counterfeit of table salad
oil.
Everywhere that a protected industry
is small enough to be monopolized by
few rich capitalists trust is formed, not
to reduce expenses and cheaper prices,
but to curtail production and levy ex-
orbitant profits off the consumer.
But some persons may say. "Why
don't the farmers form trust to raise
the price of wheat and eattle?" The
answer to this is, that the unfortunate
farmer cannot afford to do So AS long
as the price of wheat depends on its ex-
port value, the foreigner who now buys
American wheat would, If the price of
American wheat sensibly raised, buy
Indian or Russian wheat. So with cattle.
There are broad spreading pastures in
Australia and the Argentine Republic on
which cattle can be reared to compete
against American cattle in the open
markets of the world.
For trusts there is only one prompt and
efficacious remedy. Whenever a trust
is formed to raise prices in a protected
industry, the tariff on that protected i'm
I,,ctrv cbnuld ha lowered until Drices ar4