New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1897-12-15
Of the Trusts.

The following are comments from
Minnesota newspapers on the cncroach-
ment Of trusts upon Northwestern inter.
ests:
Fairmont Sentinel The trusts are
raising hob with some OF our ambitious
Southern Minnesota cities. The linseed
oil trust bought and closed the big lin:
seed oil works at Mankato, throwing q
large number of men out of employment
and destroying one of our best markets
for flax. A large and growing cob pipe
factory at Albert Lea went the same way
d year ago, and now the voracious mon
ster for the second time steals IN upon
our fair sister down the line and gathers
in her cracker factory, which supported
II men and their families. This thing
will go on until the people rise in their
wrath and elect president and a con-
gress and some judges that will inaugu-
rate mighty war of determination
against these organized bands of plum
derers. The masses are slow to anger,
but there is a limit to human patience
and we believe affairs are fast reaching
that condition in this country when a
majority of the loyal voters will arise in
their sovereign power and declare that
political party that fosters trusts must
not and shall not control the affairs of
this government.
Albert Lea Standard: 1t IS said that
in order to kill the Albert Lea factory
and remove it as competitor the trust
paid CA. Ransom and his partners, who
owned the plant, a bonus, over and above
it's highest estimated value, of $4,000.
It is very far from being comfortable
state of affairs, but as we have said, so
we repeat, that community that votes
overwhelmingly for political party
whose campaign expenses are paid by
the trusts, for party that appoints fed
eral judges who anDul antitrust laws
and for the party that passes tariff laws
to protect and increase the enormous
wealth and arbitrary power of the
trusts, such community, we say, can
not fairly complain of having its factor
les ruined, or at being robbed by the ex-
tortion of the scoundrels of cracker
trust. A people that prefers such rule
and such outrageous conditions have a
right to vote to continue them, but to
be consistent they ought to praise aud
applaud the trust robbers and submit to
them instead of upbraiding them.
Progressive Age: The Vanderbilts are
reported to have secured monopoly of
the soft coal fields, and that by building
branch railroad or two they can control
the output both East and West. Amer
icau voters here have another demonstra-
ton of the danger of a private monopo.
ly of necessity of life in this northern
climate. Hard coal sells at the breakers,
the mouth of the mine, for two dollars
per ton. 10 Minnesota we have to pay
seven dollars and half, and the Dako-
tas have to pay about two dollars more
Blessed be the railroads and the coal
barons! They inherit the earth.
The Chicago Record believes that the
Hawaiian annexation craze is waning.
It says:
Certain it is that many powerful arg
uments lately have been urged against
annexation. Setting aside entirely the
question of the constitutionality of the
proceeding, there are questions of self
interest which cannot be ignored. The
legislators arc beginning to perceive that
the problem of governing colony 2,l00
miles from our shores, having mixed
population of Hawaiians, japanese, Chi
nese, Portuguese, British, Americans
and Germans, of whom less than one.
sixteenth IRE ofeducated European stock,
is serious matter. A colonial govern
ment such as Is conducted by Great Brit
ain in the case of its colonies is contrary
to the traditions and principles of Amer
lean government. Shall Hawaii be a
territory or state2 As state shall it
be democracy, giving equal rights of
suffrage to all resldents2 If the suffrage
be universal, how long will it be before
the Hawaiians and Japanese, and not
Americans, control the new American
commonwealth
These are questions which cannot be
avoided and yet which are immensely
difficult to answer. Whether or not it
is true, as has been urged, that the Amer.
lean occupation of these islands involves
q dangerous expansion of the American