The DeLamar nugget. [volume] (DeLamar, Idaho) 1891-1900, 1897-03-12
The Rise and Fall of Combinations,

Combinations have their cradles and
collins. They drink milk and feed
worms. They are the progeny of GER
tain conditions, and they close their
biography as did their parents. What
in one set of circumstances was ne
cessity, in another is nuisance. Gum
boots are good in a swamp, but are use
less on bridge. Noah's ark was saliva
ton in the deluge, but only relic
when the planet emerged from its COLI
bath. Balaam rode on an ass; to-day
he travels on a bicycle. The pioneer
went west in wagon; his children
come east in n Pullman. III the law of
change, We have the stimulus of pro-
gress. We cannot avoid the one, and
we have to keep step with the other.
Combinations trudge behind the same
drum. They make their march and get
their discharge. They are not accidents
as some suppose, nor always such con-
spiracies as some allege. They have
their causes, as every oak had its acorn
and every mustard tree its seed. They
are productions and not creations.
There is bat behind the ball. Condi
lions have led up to termination and
development, and with these conditions
they rise and fall. Severally they have
their limit OF existence. 1t may be
that of Methuselah or it may be that of
kitten doomed to the family pail. APP
prehensions as to their immutability
Icebergs form in Greenland, but thaw
out in the Gulf Stream. If anyone
imagines that combinations will crack
up the planet, he is mistaken. When
they are not what they ought to be, the
cracking will be upon the other side
AS it is, combinations as originally CON
ceived were simply protective. They
kept the razor of competition from the
throat of business. They economical
expenses, centralized facilities, and
made enterprises possible, that other
wise would have been as a melon is
when mouth is absent. That in some
instances they have degenerated into
agencies of cupidity and conspiracy and
if sucked at the public breast and kept
in flannel, will become a great menace
to the public, is deplorable misfor
tune, but it is stupid mistake to
charge an economic principle with its
abuses. A tadpole in a stream is not
libel on the spring. Hemp is not
Calcraft because the fatal necktie of a |
gallows is made of its fibre. The devil |
was once gentleman, though he has
no claims to that distinction at the |
present date. In the somewhat free |
and unlicensed abuse of combinations, |
we have overlooked the distinction be
tween the good and the bad. We are
more careful in buying Il necktie or
disposing of a potato. and in the dis
cussion of public questions it would be
we'll not to forget the difference be-
tween what is white and what is black.
When, however, combination develops
into monopoly, it is time to turn the
hose on the fire. When it corners po-
tatoes and pork, the output of the mine
and the produce of the field, 1t is well
on the danger line. 1t has, however, its
limits. So far and no farther, is the
edict. Canute opposed this law with
his royal toes, bat to escape a chill he
moved his chair
All evils carry their own collins, and
this is as trueill combination organ
lied to force up wages, as with com
bination to get them in lemon squeez-
err Experiences of this nature have
been continuous, since the builders of
Babel lost their memories and broke
their contracts. Lessons, however, are
sometimes forgotten. The rat that