Sharp County record., 1890-09-25
THE TRUST CROP.

with equal lOfce. hulle Jue hlRu taIlh
carnival advances in Washington pro-
tected manufacturers arc getting to-
gether" to reap the full benefit that the
new tariff law will give them,
The most recent case is that OF the
satinet manufacturers who met in Wor-
coster, Mass, representatives being
present from nearly all the important
mills in the country At this meeting
action was taken "to devise plan OF
consolidation similar to that adopted
by the card clothing makers" ut is
hoped" the dispatch goes on to say,
"by close combination to reduce the
number Of commission houses and lessen
competition"
The second new trust is that OF the
card clothing men, which will be known
under the corporate title of the Amer
lean Card Clothing Company. There
are fifteen firms associated together in
this trust. One of the objects Of the
trust is, as stated by one of the men in
it, "to fix up a reasonable scale of
prices" They are materially aided in
this venture by the higher protective
duties given them by Major Mckinley
who says: "We want no return to cheap
times in our own country" The trust
and Mckinley are of one mind on the
subject Of keeping up prices.
A third trust is getting ready for
operations Not long ago four of the
six manufacturers of flax twine in this
country met in New York "to consider
the question of uniting with the whole
sale twine dealers in order to maintain
n scale of prices and to prevent cutting
that has hitherto injured both parties" "
An agreement was reached which is to
go into effect as soon as it is signed by the
two manufacturers who were absent.
One of the manufacturers who was pres
ent said that "these two firms would
withoutdoubt agree to the arrangement
in very short time as the conditions
were so evidently to their advantage" "
The fourth trust is the tableware glass
trust. News comes from Eindlay o.,
that all the tableware glass factories in
the country-thirty-t in number
have completed arrangements with an
English syndicate giving it the control
of the entire glassware business in the
United States One Of the first things
to be done by the synd cate, it is an
nounced, will be to shut down a num-
Der of the factories in districts where
fuel is costly. This trust also had the
way smoothed down for it by the good
Major Mckinley. He put largely in
creased duties on table glassware.
The Senate cut these down in some
cases to the present rate, and in other
cases allowed an increase somewhat less
than Mckinley had given.
This seems very appropriate time to
pass Senator Plumbs amendment to
the Tariff bill for the admission at half
duty of all articles controlled by trusts.
Senator Sherman ought to support that
amendment No longer than last Octo-
ber he said:
The primary object of protective tariff Is
uals and corporations in domestic produc-
ton. If such individuals or corporations
combine to advance the price Of the domes.
tic product and to prevent the free result Of
open and fair competition, would, without
moments hesitation, reduce the duties on
foreign goods competing with them, in order
to Drcak down the combination. Whenever
free competition Is evaded or avoided by
combinations of individuals or corporations
the duty should he re luced and foreign COM
petition promptly invited.
Ono OF the standard arguments for
protection-an argument reiterated to
the point of disgust by protected manu-
facturers before the Ways and Means
Committee at Westinghouse that pro-
lection will bring about competition
among domestic manufacturers and in
this way goods will be made cheaper
But here, in four separate cases and
within week or two apart, protected
manufacturers combine to prevent the
worry competition that they pretended
to desire, 1t only goes to prove the in
sincerity of those pleas from interested
parties, 1t is against human nature
that manufacturers should wish to have
their goods made cheap, and tho combi-
nations to prevent cheapness, these
trusts, give the "lie direct to tho sham
philanthropy that these men talk whom
they get before Major Mckinley.