The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1896-10-22
Qbaufauqda.
TRUSTS.
Paper Read by Member of Glass A.

Paper Read by Member of Glass Al
In this life, it is all from the point
of view" The homely man regards
his features in the mirror, and from
day to day grows more handsome, while
his neighbor wonders if there ever
lived an uglier person. The banker
and capitalist will tell you in the
strongest terms of the dreadful days to
come should free silver carry the elec-
ton; while the silver men can descry
nothing but misery and want in the
success of the gold ticket. They are
both desperately in earnest, and, no
doubt, from their point of view each
thinks himself right, and his argument
irresistible, yet we know one must be
wrong.
Of late years, there has grown in
this country, as there has in every 9TH
er, a distinct class of millionaires.
Time was, not so very long ago, when
the rich and the poor dwelt in our land
on even terms; where all in the COM
munity were alike respected and hon
ored, and where material wealth cut
no figure. But as the rich prospered,
they began to extend their possessions,
and to reach out for new and more
profitable fields for investment of the
wealth that was begotten by wealth.
The West was flooded with Eastern
capital at high rates of interest; some
times too high to be safely ventured.
AS this field narrowed for the indi-
vidual investor, came the combining
of these individual fortunes into COM
panies for the development of new
fields, and then gradually came the
TRUSTS" These aggregations of cap
ital absorb the smaller and weak
er concerns, and assume control of the
output and price of the material they
handle or manufacture. Now comes
the "meat in the NUT" the preface to
a serious state of affairs.
The TRUSTS not only control the
trade in their speciality; not only stitle
competition, either .by purchase or by
system of coercion and underselling,
which means ruin to the weaker pro-
Queer, but they throttle all adverse leg
islation and corrupt the courts, either
by direct fight in the courts or by the
indirect power of their gold and infiu-
ence. That this is not far-fetched you
all know. Everybody knows it, that is
the great scandal and terror of it, that
in the face of this knowledge, these
combinations steadily push on and fight
on. Let me cite an instance known
to all men. The cigarette trust in
formed their dealers by circular that
they were not to handle an independ
ent concerns products, under penalty Of
being ostracised by the trusts in al
other lines of tobacco. Not because
the product was inferior, but because
the prices of the rival concern were
lower than theirs. The matter was
taken to the courts, and after dragging
along, under one pretext or another
for over year, the Attorney Genera
decided that there was not {
statute under which he could move il
the matter, and the case was taken of
the dockets. This, in the face of thu
fact that there we're two statutes di
rectly bearing on the case, and whicl
an independent newspaper repeated.
pointed out. Consequently, not onl,
is legitimate competition stifed, bu
the small dealer, and through him tn
public, is left absolutely at the mere
of these grasping men.
I am neither an anarchist or pes
simist, but 1 say to you in the word
of a great man yet alive, ut is not
theory, but condition which confront
u.s." do not pretend to offer wa
out of it. 1 cannot see way out of il
but am thinking about it, and hav
several ideas on the subject that
would not trespass on your good ma
ture to ventilate. Remember tina
Rome was great and grand republi