The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-07-28
AIDS TO SOCIALISM.

Some of the great business interests
of the country that protest most ur-
gently and violently against the
ism are curiously willing to help
push the country into that gulf
by their intense greed. In no other
way can we look upon the action of the
manufacturers of armor plate, who
have refused to bid upon the work of
supplying armor plate for our new bat
tleships. AS there arc but few con-
Germs in this country which have the
plants and machinery necessary to turn
out this product in shapes and guam
titles sufficient for the governments
use, they can, by combining, place it
practically at their mercy.
The appropriation bill as first intro
duced in congress placed the price OF
armor plate at $425 per ton. A great
cutlery was made at this and not I'M
reasonably, since it appeared on record
that the manufacturers in this coun-
try were supplying foreign customers
were reported to have closed a contract
with Russia for armor plate at $3.50 per
ton. There was long and bitter fight
in the senate. On the one hand, the
advocates of economy and fair play
for the nation insisted that it ought to
have terms as favorable as those
granted to foreign powers. On the
other side were the representatives of
the manufacturing interests, who stood
for the eXorbitant prices first made
and declared that, If substantial re-
duction were made, the firms in the
syndicate would refuse to bid at all,
thus leaving the government helpless
to complete its new battleships. At
last price of $500 per ton was named
in the bill, which appears to be ample
to give a handsome profit to the max
ers.
But the great steel armor plate pool
has carried out its threat and refused
to send in any bids. 1t magnanimous-
ly consents to furnish the first or inner
armor coating of the ships, but there
1t will leave them until Uncle Sam
yields to the pistol that has been held
at his head. In contemplation of just
such action as this, there was added to
the appropriation bill clause provid-
Ing that, If the armor plate plants do
not accept the price set in the bill, then
the secretary of the navy is authorized
to take steps to found a manufacturing
establishment for the government on
its own account This is what we will
now be compelled to do; and as far as
the domestic demand is concerned, the
business of making armor plate will be
transferred from the hands of private
individuals to those of the nation.
Thus, it is not the clamor of the I'M
employed or the Vaccinations of any
agitator which forced the nation into
this path. but the greedy demand Of
men who have entered into a combina-
ton to fleece the government or COM
pei it to suspend operations in the de-
partment of naval construction. This
happens to be only an isolated in
stance, and one where the workings of
the machine are especially apparent;
but, as matter of fact, near
ly every step of actual progress
that has been made toward
foisting upon the government func-
tons not hitherto belonging to It
is the work of combination in the world
of private business. 1t is the armor
plate trust that will build up a de-
partment of armor plate construction
in the government. 1t Is the Industrial
trust, now so rapidly occupying all
fields of business activity, that is turn
ing the minds of men with less abhor-
renee toward the socialistic idea rather
than all the volumes of all the social
lists and all the declarations of all the
demagogues who ever lived.