The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1896-02-13
THE GREATEST
TRUST OF ALL,
Pierpont Morgan's Tremendous
Coal Combine at WOrk.-PriCe
Already Advanced.

Thirty-hve Cents Per Ton Put on fester-
day, Which Means &l5, OOO.OOO to Con-
sumers-Wnl Push 1t Up to Ninety
Cents s. So 900, 100000 Controlled by
This Monopoly.
NEW YORK, Feb. "a new trust,
greater, richer, stronger, more i'm
portant than any other trust now In
existence, has been formed and be-
gins actual operations to-day.
Involving thousands of miles of
railroad and more than S., 900, OOO,-
600 of capital of the Vanderbilts
and J. Pierpont Morgan, it is far
ahead of the widest dream of wealth
and monopoly which the late }.
Gould ever conceived. j. Pierpont
Morgan is the master spirit and the
originator in the new trust, the mag
nitude of whose opeGtions makes
the profits of a gold ring seem insig-
nifcant and trifling.
The anthracite coal mining and
railroad companies sold last year
46 100000 tons of coal at an average
wholesale price Of $3OS. 1t IS pro-
posed by the new trust to raise the
price to $4 ton. On decreased
production an increased profit of
$3S, 100000 is assured, and will be
divided among eleven companies.
} It is easy to estimate what a per
j capita tax this means upon the coun'
try.
The great coal trust begins opera
} tons to-day by advancing the price
, of coal IS cents a ton. This increase
: is only the first step, but it mean'
over SIS, 100000 increased cost t.
consumers, and an even create
profit to the trust, as many middle
men and selling agents are to be dis
pensed with.
The magnitude of these interest
8 since the monopoly of anthraclt
9 coal mining has now been added t
the enormous railroad interests al
, ready centralized is so vast and ia
:. reaching that bankers and railroa
men cannot estimate its ultimat
effect. Excluding bonds, the me-
coal and railroad trust stands fo
= nearly $1,9OO,00O,0OO capital an
24,530 miles of railroad. This cap
= tai stands for two and half time
q the entire bonded debt of the Unite
. States.
IS SucAg great corporations as tn
are beginning to wake up the mo-
10 hardened old goldbugs.
r Even some of the New York p'
d pers are beginning to see dang
< ahead. The Washington Times cor
Of ments as follows:
n "The robber barons Of the feud
~ ages were angels in armor compare
a; TO the trust pilates of the presen
r. The Sbarbarians who laid waste
H. olden times to vast territories tn
IS, they might live in splendor we
he hardly less cruel than the mon
RI kings of to-day, who despoil pe
pie that they may extend their
on ready too great wealth. Compa
of the vast fortunes accumulated
tai the Standard oil trust, the sug
ul- trust, the linseed trust, the tobas
ar. trust, the different metal trusts,
en- beef trust and the hundreds of oil
I'll trusts with the distressed condltl
ted of the poorer classes, and answer
A their method of absorbing prope
is less inhuman than that Of m
tic archs who levy tribute TO acqu
tie, riches.
ich 1t is expected that the first
the vance in the price of coal of 80 ce
ern ton will net the trust $38, 0OO,(
dge an amount sufficient to give
; of months work at living wages
every unemployed man in the co
try. This immense sum will CT
in principally from the pockets of
masses, and if that does not furr
me. Congress with a reason to stop S
ria despoliation that body does
ing properly represent government
rian the people. In connection with
ions subject it would be proper for
this gress to ask the Attorney-Gen
eat why he does not reply to its inq
concerning the antitrust law, al
the he has made any attempt to emf
all it.
and It is possible that under q di
of emit administration the antitrust
might prove operative and be-
to- cial in relieving the public of 81
ss to Tomato prices. But as long as !
D to ident Cleveland controls affair
,old- might as we'll be buried in the