Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1893-07-28
VARIOUS TRUSTS.
The Conditions which Foster these
MOnOpOlies.

The Conditions which Foster these
MOnOpOlies.
Byron w. Holt thus deals with the
subject of Trusts:
The truth is that SO long as there ex-
lists rich monopoly soil, irrigated by
numerous acts of special legislation, we
may expect the omnipresent seeds Of
Belfshness and greed to take root and
grow and spread into giant monopoly
plants. 1t is a waste of time to cut off
the branches or even to pull up individ-
ual plants by the roots. The conditions
which give life to this plant must be
changed or the plant will be source of
constant annoyance and harm. What
these conditions are and how they can be
changed for the better can be easily dis
covered by the convention if it starts IN
quiry in the right direction. The things
essential to trusts, the conditions that
make it possible for producers to con-
troll production and fix prices SO as to
make enormous profits, must first be
sought after.
To illustrate, suppose we select as sam
pies a dozen Of the worst law breakers
now preying upon consumers and labor
ers and producing paupers, tramps and
criminals by the thousand. The Sugar,
Cordage, Window Glass, Steel Rail, b.
rax, Saw, AK, Copper Ingot, Standard
| Oil, Reading Coal, Starch and Rubber
trusts are well known and generally
hated. What are the conditions which
foster these monopolies?
The Sugar trust has monopoly of the
refining business in this country. The
cost of refining sugar is about 1 cent per
pound, and the price of refined sugar
should not exceed the price of the raw
sugar from which it is made by more
than or of a cent. Yet the trust now
pays cents for raw and gets So cents
for refined sugar and has maintained
about this difference for the last three
years. AS we consume about 70 pounds
of sugar per capita, this means that the
trust is making a profit of $40, 000, 900, or
would do so if it were doing a strictly
legitimate business and was not paying
unreasonable prices for opposition re-
6neries, many of which it holds idle. As
it Is, the trust is making net profit Of
about $25, 100000 year from a nominal
capital of So, 200, 900 and an actual CAPT
tai of perhaps $50, 100000.
1t is not difficult to determine the con-
dition that makes life desirable to this
trust. 1t is the duty of per cent per
pound on refined sugar. Abolish this
duty, and the prices of raw and refined
sugar must stay as close to each other as
they do in England. Otherwise we would
use imported sugar. This move would
wipe out over $4,000, 900 of the trusts
profits and would probably kill the mon
ster, as the extra profits to be had from
combination would not cover the inter
est on capital invested in idle or useless
plants and the risk of attempting to
manipulate markets and stocks. Com
petition would again be free, and con-
sumers would pay less for refined and
producers get more for raw sugar.
Substantially the same argument holds
in regard to the Steel Rail, the Window
Glass, the Starch, the Rubber and of
scores of other trusts of which these are
gives them life, health and profits. Undo
this legislation and this class of trusts
will either cease to exist or be powerless
to accomplish great evil.
Besides the class of trusts directly de-
pendent upon import duties which pre-
vent foreign trade, there is another large
class indirectly dependent upon or great
ly aided by these duties. In fact, there
are not half dozen important trusts in
~ 4o1 -,
the Mckinley tariff. Suppose we con-
slider the Saw trust. It might exist with
out a tariff, because it is now selling cir
cular, hand and crosscut saws in all
parts of the world. To the careless OBJ
server the trust is therefore independ-
ent of foreign competition. But con-
slider! These saws are sold for about %
per cent more in our own protected"
than in foreign unprotected markets.
Why? Because the import duties prevent
outside competition in this, but not in
foreign unprotected markets. With free
trade, we could at least get our saws as
cheaply as foreigners, because if neces-
sary we could buy them in the same
markets and reimport them. What is
true of the Saw is true of the Ak, Cordage
and dozens of other trusts engaged In
this nefarious business of selling lower
abroad than at home.
There is still another class of trusts
like the Reading Coal, the Borax and the
Standard Oil trusts, which usually de
! rive nourishment from tariffs, but which
are mainly dependent upon other kinds
of special privileges-the right to monop
olize what may be called natural oppor