The herald., 1895-01-28
TO WHAT ARE WE TENDINGf

which, in the history OF the world, have
governed in the business sffsirs Of men,
or, more exactly, In the production. dis.
tribution. possession and enjoyment o
wealth, whether created by nature OF
|. humsn effort. Monopoly has display ed
itself more In the possession and enjoy
ment of wealth than in its production,
and whenever 1t prevails in production
the object 10 to control possession and
enjoyment.
Competition has never been reoog.
nixed principle except In countries
whore there have been individual free
dom and Independence, where the laws
permitted all persons to possess and en-
joy what they lsgitimately acquired
through their own individual exertions.
1t has prevailed in England and the
United States to a greater extent than
in any other countries. The economist
Ricardo was an advocate OF competition,
and. through his efforts more than those
OF any others, 1t become dominant
principle wherever English customs pre-
vailed. 1t 10 the motor of industry and
enterprise and the best regulator OF
trade. No doubt the right to possess
and enjoy what one legitimstely &C
quires through his own labor, mental or
physical. is q powerful incentive to ef-
fort. and chat competition has been the
handspring in material and intellectual
development. 1t has been declared to
be the life OF trade, and so it is, and also
the life of productive and distributive
industries. Under competition, busi-
ness Of all kinds is carried on at q min
imum of profit. and, as experience
shows, it assures the cheapest goods,
the cheapest food, the cheapest trans
portation and the cheapest labor con-
sistent with personal freedom.
Monopoly and competition are irrec-
oncible antsgonisms. The two cannot
exist together any more than two bod
les can occupy the same space at the
same moment. The only substantial
objection to competition lie that it gives
advantages TO the strong over the weak,
and 10 recognition aud application of the
doctrine of the survival OF the fittest.
and that sooner or later wealth is des-
tined to be monopolized by those most
generously endowed by nature. leaving
the less fortunate destitute and suffer-
ing. This lie the view of the advocates
OF socialism or communism, and hence
their proposition il to place in commu.
y,.y1 n ~ thu zoa1kh hu nk,xra
and the labor of man. to be distributed
and enjoyed by all regardless OF indi-
vidual power to produce wealth. The
advocates Of socialism seem to forget or
do not realize the fact that there are
such principles as bsnevolence and
charity in the world. and that their
potency keeps pace with the progress OF
1t may doubted, if incen~
tive to effort which competition sup
plies is unsound, whether there will not
be more destitution and suffering than
there would If the communistic theory
were carried into effect. We must trust
to the principle OF humanity,
which is innate, to some extent At least,
in man, and which has been developed
by Christian teachings for twenty GEN.
turtles. The love OF money is 30 strong
in some that humane feeling may be
blotted out, yet the vast majority of
people are not controlled by its barbar-
Gus influence.
Effective as competition has been and
is in developing wealth and promoting
mental achievement, and 90 clear as it
10 that any evil results from it can an6
are likely to be greatly moderated or
prevented altogether by benevolent.
and Christian principles,
still of late years it has been fasr disap-
pearing through monopolizing practices
and methods which tend toward go
cialism. Monopoly and communism
are not 90 far apart as monopoly and
Communism is monop.
oily of all property for the possession
and enjoyment of the whole people. and
proper is communion linn.
tied for the benefit of few. The agen-
cies at work for the destruction of com.
petition are many, or rather there is
on many lines for the pur.
pose Of thwarting competition. Rail-
way com panies form com binations
through traffic associations and traffic
agreements, andswhen not prohibited
by law, pool their earnings to maiutsin
rates and the more effectually to monop.
olizs transportation. This is not only
mo nopoly. but species of communism.
Bankers have associations to devise
ways of avoiding competition among
themselves, and manufacturers have
and hold conventions for
tho same purpose; the farmers have
formed alliances and other organ.
izations, ostensibly to protect their
special interests, merchants estab-
lish department stores in which are kept
all classes Of goods from a tooth brush
to steam engine, speaking somewhat
in hyperbols; labor has organized and
has made wage scales to avoid compete
ton. In many lines trusts and combi-
nations have been formed to control pro.
duction and distribution OF the necess
saries OF life. and dealers in the products
OF the farm and shop agree among them
selves upon prices they will pay. These
methods and practices are called monop.
oily, but they are communicate 80 far az
the classes are concerned. We are in