The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1895-05-21
WORKMAN,IT HITS YOU
Four Trusts Steal $40 Out of Your
Pocket Yearly.
BEEF, OIL, LEATHER AND FLOUR


Forced Up BY Combination OF Hi
IiOnafres te Choke Honey Out Of the
COnsumers-The Law is POWeFless'
1t seems.
Working people as rule do not care
very much about these great aggregs-
lions of capital known as trusts. They
know that such things exist but they
never dreamed that their existence would
be affected by them.
Just now, however, an object lesson Is
being forced before the married man OF
small means which causes him to think
and wonder why half dozen aggrega-
tions of men control the necessities of
life. If he has a family of four or hve
he is saddled with an additional tax OF at
least $500 per year for the benefit OF
the men who are able to control these
necessities.
The beef trust has raised the price or
beef to 10 cents per pound.
The Standard Oil trust has raised the
price of kerosene and gasoline . cents
per gallon
The corner engineered by Phil Ar
mour, who is also the leading figure IN
the beef trust, is what has raised the
price of -four so cents per hundred
pounds. and the price of bread has OF
course gone up also.
The leather trust has raised the price
of leather, so that the wholesale dealers
have been compelled to notify the retail
dealers that the price of some grades of
sloes will be raised az soon as the
present stock is exhausted at least 81
per pair
Anyone can see that this means an in
creased cost Of living TO every family in
the country and that too in the face OF
"hard times"
The price of food and clothing goes
up while wages are going down.
If q family uses five pounds of beef
per week the increased cost will be from
25 to 80 cents, according to the quality of
beef used This means at least $13 more
per year. The same family will use at
least three gallons of kerosene or gaso-
line per week at a cost of 10 cents a
week more than they used to pay, or
81 50 per year. IF they buy -four they
will use probably $50 pounds per
month at an increased cost of $1.20 per
mouth or $1440 per year. The family
Will use at least tea pairs of shoes at a
cost of $40 more than they paid before
the trust began to tig hten its grasp.
This all means "a aggregate cost of
:
family to live and the figures are placed
very low.
When working people begin to realize
that they are being taxed almost $50 per
year for the purpO Of increasing the
dividends of the trusts they will take
more interest in these monster combina-
tions of capital, one of which alone
the Leather Trusts capitalized for the
stupendous amount of $120,0OG,0OO; an
other Of which-the Beef Trust-expects.
TO double its ordinary annual profits of So
$4,000, by means of this extra tax: an-
other OF which-the Standard Oil Trust
is figuring on making $5J,OUO,0OO by
this present advance; and the fourth fig-
ure in this trust quartette-Phu Armour
OF ChIcag estimated to be already So
100000 richer through the advance in
-four.
It is not pleasant for these husbands
and fathers of self-sacrifcing wives and
helpless children to know that all their in
creased expense of living is being shout
dered on them in defiance of the law.
The condition of that country is not
healthy where unlawful combinations of
capital are permitted to establish ficti
tious values for the necessities of life.
The millions of men who are being
unlawfully taxed by the market manipu-
lators Of these unlawful Combinations of
capital are thinking the matter over as
they pay their unwilling tribute into the
trust treasures.
Several Topeka butchers have been
compelled to quit business because of
the advance in the price of meat One
of them told a JOURNAL reporter today
that many people have quit using beef.
u do not know what they eat" said he,
"but they no longer eat meat"
Another man WIN, e
largest meat markets in Topeka said that
his business has fallen of fully one
half since that rise in the
price of meat 81 am making
less on beef than I did
before" said he. "but that does not mat
ter. he people won't buy l have to
pay more for my beef. and I sell very
close. 1t is not our fault that the price
has been raised"
One of our large shoe dealers said
that he had been notified that the price
OF shoes must be raised, in some cases
90 per cent, as soon as the stock on hand
Is exhausted
cream of tartar is the same acid found