The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1895-07-24

the price at which he shall sell. 'nat an
rivalry in trade. so far az the pronuct III
which they deal IL concerned. sha" oe
nonresident"
1t is useless perhaps. to ask the jour
nal OF Commerce now to define what IL
means by a Trust" since II would see"'
from the above. that IL is not the trust
itself that IL objects to- but the manner
4, which the supposed Trust conducts
its bushes 1t says 1t has no obJecuoh
TO the amount of capital with which
concern conducts its business, whe'her
that concern be one person or TWO or
more persons opera ting together as part
ners. or a corporation possessing IN its
treasury the iargcs: sum Of money which
can he conceived of as its capital Inc
Trust" itself. then. is no longer SUD-
feet Of the Journa OF Commences am
madversion-it is only the methods OF
business which all Trusts" pursue whicn
fall under its censure. And the Joufhai
OF Commerce has not left us to coh-
lecture what those reprehensibie methouS
are. 1t has luckily defined those IL op-
iects to. They are the practice of requir-
ing their customers 10 agree that 'hey
Will deal with them exclusively ana that
they will at once fix a price at when
tho iobber shall buy their goods ana
sell them. and that all rivalry In trade
so far as their goods are concerned, snail
como to an end.
This. then, is the Journal OF 'o'h-
merces case, and we can dismiss all
consideration OF questions relating 10
TRUSTS" All that we have to consider
,s the alleged met hods OF the TRUSTS,
Bear in mind. too. that the Journal OF
Commerce is not confning itself TO ser
mons and moral essays against the meth
DDS Of business It dcnounccs II is calling
for legislative and judicial action that
will end them.
Now. we ask I'm all candor. If a man. or
n partnership, or Il corporation, owning
goods. has not the right moral as wen
as legal, to demand of any one propos-
ing 70 buy those goo Dis that he shall dea'.
so far as that line oil goods is involved, IN
the goods of that concern only, and tnat
he shall sell them at the price wnich
that concern fixes? A man may do as
he will with what is his own. He may
refuse TO sell the goods at all II ne
nleascs. or ne may sell them upon what
ever terms he pleas es. Where, then, Is
the wrong. moral or legal, in any con-
Germ. whether II be that vague and I'M
defined thing called a Trust whether
it he a partnership or whether 1t be
single individual. announcing that II VIII
not sell it's goods to any Que VINO VIII
not agree to deal in those goods only
and at a certain price? We say that the
act is an innocent one from any stand
noint. as far as concerns The rights OF
parties.
Rut further. is IT not the essential and
the underlying principle in all CONNER
cial ,ransactions2 Every man, every
partnership and every corporation IL
struggling at all times to get dominion
over the line of business in which he,
they. or it may be operating. They are
AT all times exercising all Il cir ingenui-
~ and all their rights Of control over
their own property to secure domination
over and monopoly of their own line OF
business. 1t is the goal towards which
all of them are at all times struggling;
il is the Incentive 10 business; II Is the
| harmless harmless in its legal sense)
| practice Of all business men.
We say. then, that as the journal OF
| Commerce has abandoned its campaign
against the Trust" itself and confines
its operations to war against the bust
ness methods Of the Trust" it has sur
fered an overwhelming disaster at tho
outset. For its war is upon the essen
tial principles OF all commerce and upon
the methods adopted by every business
OF any sort that exists.
We have few more independent re-
marks TO make upon this subject. Al
though the Journal of Commerce Will
not define what IT is that it rails at under
| tho name Of Trusts" the popular idea of
.Trusts" is the combination into one bus
mess OF a NUMBER oil separate businesses
that had heretofore acted each one by
itself.
The Times is of the opinion that this
| is the natural tendency of modern condi-
lions. and that 1t is a tendency most
| beneficial to mankind The tendency
grows out of the prOcigious develop
ment of late years in all the methods OF
transportation. business facilities, and
opportunities for exchange. r1fty years
ago these were 50 defective that an oper-
a.or within given territory was the
boss" Of that territory. All this Is
/ changed now Rates from point 70 point
are so cheap. and the network OF bank
ing facilities spreads over the whole
earth so completely. that all territory Is
the opera tors ground now, wherever nc
may be. This being so. men engaged IN
the same line of business naturally ask
| themselves why they should make the
business carry the expenses of a num-
| Der Of organizations where one organlza-
ton will do the whole thing. They bring
their separate organizations into ho'oA-
pot. therefore, that expenses may he re-
duced and profits to that extent be in
creased. This is as natural and inevita-
| BILE as the flow of water down hill, ana
these movements Of nature are never
harmful TO man. Accordingly. We hear