The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1897-08-16
The Truth AI.nut Trusts.

blaze somewhere
The Truth About Trusts.
Recendy in "a New York Times inter
view Senator John P. Jones, OF Nevada,
was reported as "a wing that lie is not op
posed to any prosperity that might result
from an abundant supply of gold, and this
remark is quite consistent With the
scientific quantitative theory of money. So
the volume Of money is large enough, that
is, real legal tender money, and not bank
credit represented by national bank cur
reacy, it matters little or nothing whether
the money has the form of gold, silver,
greenhacks. or lead tok ems. 1t is TO secure
al adequate supply OF legal tender money
that bimetallists are fighting for the res
toration of silver, and not because they
have any deep, Unborn love for the metal
itself. Senator Jones further said:
Another result that VIII flow from an
abundance OF money, be IL silver or gold,
VIII be the allegiance of this hatred of
the trusts. i cherish 10 ennlty toward
the combinations OF capital. If two
or three men want To combine for the
| purpose OF bettering their business by
leSsening production, they have n right
TO do So But the people hate trusts, and
only prosperity Will uiIye monopoIes out
OF their minds. Plenty of money VIII also
crush out the trusts. They flourish only
III hard times.
Commenting on the paragraph above
quoted, the New York Sun thinks that
Senator Jones must be mistaken in be.
lieying that prosperity viii bring about
the allegiance of the hatred of trusts
The people who think that they hate
trusts, VIII keep on hating them" This
theory OF trusts" says the Sun, is sub
stantiaIiy that capitalists are 50 poor,
on account of the iusufficency OF the
currency, that they have to combine to
cut down expenses" Whoever has thus
preached to our New York contemporary
has very netulous conception OF the real
Causes underlying the existence of trusts.
The true proposition is simple, AMI carries
its own logical conclusion. Contraction
of the money volume enhances the value
Of money, and depreciates that OF all
things, whether labor or commodities, for
which it is exchangeable. AS the com
Inunity, on the basis of constantly falling
prices, progressively must give more labor,
or more productions of the soil for a
given amount OF money, contraction there-
by lessons the purchasing power OF the
people, and a volume of the man ufacturers
which readily would have been absorbed
during a recently preceding era of pros
becomes an overstock, and is spoken Of as
''overrroduction
Then capitalists who have been able To
thrive under the system of open competi-
ton, are confronted with the necessity for
reducing their output to the level Of
lowered and constantly lowering con-
sumption. The one feasible way to ac-
complish this is by combination and re-
stricted activity The consequence is the
Trust, and it seems to be the inevitable
consequence of such conditions.
Suppose that, through the remonetiza-
ton Of silver, or by any other means, tue
American people once more should secure
volume of legal tender money sufficient
to maintain fair standard of wages and
prices for commodities The Immediate
result would be visible, and, up to
certain point, a steady increase in the
values OF labor and what labor produces,
and q corresponding decline in the value of
money in exchange for such services and
productions Then the trusts would begin
TO disappear. The Sugar Trust would be
among the first to feel the change As soon
as the people began to make money and
spend it freely for their wants and com
forts, sugar, in common with other COIN
modjtes, would find increased demand and
at price profitable to the producer. In
short time competition would set in The
beet-growing regions would be covered with
small plants, which would hold the local
market against the trust on the question
OF freiGhts and so on. The spirit of re-
stored confidence and the possibilities of
successful competition, following upon re-
newed prosperity, would drive the prin-
cipal trusts into dissolution az sure as fate
The people would cease to hate trusts, be
cause there would be no trusts to hate.
Trusts are hateful as representing one
bitter phase and result of the gold con-
prosperity, rather than for any idea that
they are originally or ntrinsically wicked.
Possibly Lord Salisbury may suspect that