The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-11-24
TRUSTS.

1
the opinion that Wall street makes q
foolish mistake in assuming to believe
thst President-elect MCKINLEY may be
relied upon to be patron of the trusts,
an assumption that IL expressed by th,
recent development of strength by the
group OF stocks on the board thnt are
known as Industrisls. or trust stocks.
Wall street IL often wrong in its sssump-
tion and probs bly, II was never farther out
OF the way than il is in this one. There
Is nothing in the history OF the Repu bli.
can party, OF It's protective yolicy, or OF
WILLIAM MCKINLEY. who in his own
personality is "a chief exponent of protec-
tionisn, to justify the idea that Repuoli-
can business measures or protective
tariff nave any especial sympathy for
trusts or consider them ia any way ex-
cept as the humblss, American industry
conducted by the individual in con-
sidered, and It's interests subserved. AS
In the trusts tpem stlve', they are not
generally popular There is a good deal
OF ou,cry aga nst Them. Many intelli-
gent ana closely observing men have
"exposed" the evils OF them aud in them.
And yet trusts. like individual concerns,
are not all BAD. little thought will
convince most anybody that
despite the recklsssness and apparent
of certain trusts, despite the seemingly
cruel freezing out of honest energy
coupled with small capital under their
operation, the great body of the people
have not altog sther been losers and In the
case Of some trusts the people have been
directly benefited. Instance the sugar
trust and the oil trust-the much pitched
into Standard Oil. Every householder
knows what sugar costs him today by
contrast to the price he paid at the re-
tailer's before there was a isugar trust and
hook the methods OF the trust should
have a large share of the credit. The
same story Il told in oil since the people
have been Indirectly dealing with a con-
cern doing business on sucn a scale tnat
they can find no profit In q hundred
gallons OF oil, but onlv on an output OF
a hundred thousand gallons. There are
two sides to the trust question, indeed.
On he face OF 1t a com bination OF pro-
duceTs is plainly able to sell the pro-
duct cheaper to the individual than
single dealer. 10 be sure the com bination
can put up prices and squeeze
the PEOPLE. But that is a
dangerous experiment for 1t prompts to
and to breaking up OF the
trusts the minute the limit Of price 10
passed where the individual producer cen
see bis way clear to independent manu-
flcture at profit by selling q trifle under
the trust price. In the brief history of
trusts In this country the combinations
have found themselves regulated by con-
ditions that, as a rule, made 1t possible
for them only to do business with the
consumer on fair and busiuess-like terms.
I he evils OF them seem TO have regulated
themselves and the people have rarely
been sufferers, whatever individuals may
have Suffered throug the crushing out OF
honest competition. After all It is con-
and not always competition that
is the life of business. At any rate II is to
production and consumptions to secure
for the peoples large wages as possible
everywhere with as low prices as is con-
sistent, TO the encouragement OF a home
market in the biggest consuming country
in the world, that tho protective policy
of the Republics party and OF WILLIAM
MCKINLEY Is directed with no favori,ism
to the trust class or any other class.