The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1896-02-20
WHAT TRUSTS DO FOR US,
And Also How They "Do'' Us, Told
by President Gates
OF IOWA COLLEGE LAST MIGHT.


III-GOt4en Gains to Churches and
Colleges.
When President George A. Gates of
the Iowa college at Grinnell, Ia, arose to
lecture at the Central Congregational
church last night the house was well
filed.
Mr.. Gates is man of perhaps 40 years
of age and is undoubtedly rare thinker.
His subject was "Jesus in Business. 1t
WAS more of a plain talk along socialistlc
lines than lecture.
81 am going to say some very hard
things about business men" said he. elf
Jesus were in business on earth today
would he be satisfied? Business has
grown to rule the world and be honora-
Bile. Business used to be disgraceful. 10
be in trade was a barrier to the higher
forms of society. In America business
stands at the head of the nation. 1t Is
honorable to be in business. We have
here institutions SO big nowthatit requires
more intellect to run them than it used to
require to run the Roman empire They
are getting too big too for private individ-
uals to manage and must soon pass into
the hands of the government.
81 should try to prevent the idea that
business men must resort to what are
called shrewd, sharp practices to be sue
cessful The christian business man is
too honorable. for that.
"a man said to me the other day, and
he is a man that ought to know. that the
standard of honor in business in Chicago
is lower than it was five years ago.
sit is the middlemen, the brokers,
that are the parasites and there are ten
of them where there ought to be one
The middleman is undoubtedly a great
institution and good one, but he is too
numerous.
"And there are the dealers in mort
cages sWhat a beautiful thing it is to be
dealer in mortgages. 1t is the mort
gage holder that has developed the
into Iowa penniless, borrow money at
90 per cent per annum and in two years
own $50 acres of land under cultivation
and free from encumbrance.
"The mortgage buyers and bond hold
ers of the east have done a magnificent
service for God and humanity in making
it possible for men to develop this great
western country.
"But the devil gets in ard these same
men become thieves and robbers. 1t is
not unkind to say this. These are facts.
1t is not unkind to cab a rattlesnake
rattlesnake aud it would be unkind to
call him an angel
"And yet we worship these people and
| say that the churches and the schools
could not live without them. There is
no nation in the world that worships
money, no matter how it is got, as we do
in America.
''The trusts, monopolies, com bines, ETC.,
are the cloud on the business world of
| America today.
"a trust can be a Christian trust. One
| was formed under my personal observa-
| ton once. It was shoe trust Several
manufacturers had been cutting and
| slashing each other until all of them
were losing money SO they got together,
cut off big expenses the competition in
Cured, put the prices at a reasonable
| profit and were successful That was
the Christian way of doing.
"But how about the Standard Oil COM
pany?
ga dealer complained to me once that
| the oil he was getting of the Standard
company was little better than water.
l said to him, why don't you buy your
oil of some other company This was
his answer; hear it We shouters of free
dom; 4 cannot get oil of any other COM
| pany. The Standard company is in pos
session of the trade Is America
free? She is not.
at is fact that the Standard OIL COM
pany can afford to give oil away in COM
| petition or even pay people to take their
oil, for they will make it back in selling
water for five years afterward and com
polling people to take it.
! 1.-The Standard OH company steps up
with the claim that it has made oil
cheaper. 1t didn't cheaper oil. Oil is
| cheaper, but the Standard Oil company
didn't make it so. You are still paying
from ten to fifteen cents for oil per gal
| Ion that cost but little more than one
cent per barrel to produce.
| "a grocer said to me one time, Gates,
l believe l am getting to be as much of a
| socialist and anarchist ara
| said, q hope not and then he told
| me how the prices had been doubled on
wooden butter dishes and wash tubs and
buckets. 1t ia the poor people that have
to pay for these things.
"a few men can get together in the
east and raise the price of coal. Who
pays for it? The poor folks; the men
with the shovels and the women in the
| sweatshops.
Aud now the railroads are themselves
| buying all the coal fields of the west
I'm not scolding. 1 don't blame them.
I'd do the same thing if 1 was in their
| business
This country is full of industrial muir
derers. The Standard Oil company can
get rates against the interstate commerce
law. The railroads are responsible and
| they are also responsible for the thous-
ands of young men in their offices as
clerks that they are bringing up, teach
| ing-them to do the same sort of thing,
to be liars and perjurers and violators of
law. The general manager of a rAilroad
told me thar himself.
~ asked him if the railroads of the
country are run on Christian principles.
He said no. 1 asked him why and he
replied, They do not recognize anything
but unconditional competition How
can this be changed?' l asked him. He
replied, Elect men that will enact laws
for the people and then see to it that you
| have courts that cannot be bought
There are mighty few courts in this
country that are beyond the reach of a
| briha of aorne kind