The DeLamar nugget. [volume] (DeLamar, Idaho) 1891-1900, 1894-07-21
Trusts.

4 factorfeB In little towns, eacn eHtapiien
u ent distributing its products over
limited area in its immediate neighbor
hood. Ten years later the number o
places where matches we're made hae
not increased but the little establish
menis had grown into mucn larger ones
At the beginning Of the war, big fac
tory at Wilmington, Delaware, another
at Detroit, Michigan, q third at Akron
Ohio, and perhaps dozen other smaller
ones located at different places, sup.
piled the entire demand and competed
for the trade, the competition keeping
prices down to reasonable profit for
the manufacturers. The necessities oil
the government induced congress to
place tax upon matches and revenue
stamp had to be purchased and placed
upon each package sold. The law regu-
lating the sale of stamps allowed dis
counts upon purchases, the amount OF
the discounts increasing with the size OF
the purchases. This of course, gaye the
larger manufacturers Of matches the
advantage over the weaker competitors.
Then dozen of the owners of the larg-
est factories got together and formed
the Diamond Match Company, thus en-
abling them to purchase revenue stamps
in much greater quantities and save
larger amounts in discounts. This at
once drove the smaller factories out of
existence, or if they tried to struggle
along with the odds against them, the
Diamond Match Company, by lowering
prices in the territory where they sold,
was soon able to drive them to capitula-
tion and make them sell out to them.
Thus was established the first giant
monopoly controlling the production of
an article in universal demand eyer ex-
isting in this country. For years this
monopoly was able to prevent the reve-
nue. stamp upon matches from, being
abolished by it's influence, and Congress
thus, for number of years fortered
monopoly which drew tribute for itself
and for the government from every
man and woman who lighted match
in America.
The financial genius Of a Rockefeller
consolidated the interests of number
of larged oil refneries in Cleveland,
Pittsburgh and Titusville, and succeed
ed in making contract with the Penn
sylvania railroad by which they re-
ceived draw back of forty cents per
barrel for all the oil shipped by the
Standard Oil Company, and this gave
that company such an advantage that in
the earlier days of the history of oil
production all oil producers and re-
fners were simply at their mercy, and
so powerful was the Standard Oil Com
pany's influence that for years it so
controlled the Pennsy ylvania
legislature and prevented it stopping
the monopoly given it by the Psnnsyl-
vania railroad. that it finally acquired
monopolistic control over one of the
greatest industries of the world, its
agents to-day debating the output of
petroleum even in autocratie Russia,
end fixing prices for the world.
These two great monopoies were the
the genesis of modern trusts. One of |
them by its influence in Congress re-
tanning the revenue tax on its products
and the other by its control of legisa-
.ure giving it powerful advantage fas-
.ened these monsters' grips upon the
people until nothing short of revolu-
ion can choke them off.
The deuteronomy of trusts is follow
ng. The Whiskey Trust, the White
Lead Trust, Railroad Pools and the
Sugar Trust have been begotten, and
laye grown to be monsters. The Coal
Trust and the Paper Pulp Trust and a
whole swarm of lesser imps, are being
ostered by the Congress of the United
States.
Seven men sit down together in one
u the elegant hotels at Saratoga and
lictate what the output of coal shall be
or six months in the United States and
hereby iDaugnrate a strike which in
'olves the welfare OF hundred thons-
md miners and their ability to keep
heir families from starvation.
Providence raised up Moses to lead
he Isralites out from the bondage of
he Pharaohs. Will some Moses be
ound TO lead the boosted fruermen OF