The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1899-08-05
THE BIGGEST YET.
A Scheme on Foot to Consolidate All the
Railroad Lines.
By S. GOODWIN

I,
~HE financial kings and railway
the organization of the greatest
i. q. magnates are laying plans for
combination that the world has ever,
known. 1t will be none other. than
The drawing together into a huge trust
of the various large railway interests
that touch every important point in
the country. The sperfecting Of an alb
solute monopoly is aimed at. The
combine, according to New York dis
patches, may be formed in three or
four branches, but all will be conduct
edein harmony, and the saving Of OPP
Grating expenses will he something
enormous An official announcement
given out in Chicago summarizes the
advantages to be gained BY the mag
natesas follows: sss,5 5,.y yt,g
III In brief, the combine will undertake
at once the ablishment of rates
and their maintenance on a permanent
basis f:ss! a
twill begin at once to cut down the tn
expensive passenger and advertising
depart tme ents Of the railroad. Adyer77
easements will be withdrawn from all
the small country newspa pers which
receive transp rtation, il exchange for for
advertising, and sell i, thus disturbing bin 8
rates: s 81. 81 ss
NJ 4 & will abolish the so,ealled fast
freight lines, which are expensive and
ll1lr i've parasites. i
i i j. viii % way with the selling.
agencies and the various al subsid diary
companies owned and operated BY Of
ficialsso the parent comp panies;
MT will abolish the travelling; freight
agent as far as possible s.s ..4s; =1$
1T will resist the demands of all big
corpora ions for rebates, excepting al
wa the Standard Oil company, and
twill operate with the Interstate
Commerce Commission in the main.
tenance 9of rates. ~ y s-ss
zIt will establish both the anthracite
and bituminous coal trades on: q per
|manentlyy prof table basis. IS ss.
1T will establish different ntials at II the
Atlantic seaports and estab blish 3 grain
tariff from the West. to the seaboard
based on the prevailing market price
Of: cereals on the Chicago board & Of {
trade. a. s5,'5 3S.s7. s5IS5
i tt will take up and provide for &
settlement Of the labor question as far
as possible. n & X ~
II From the foregoing it will be OBJ
served that all waste such as sadver-
tising, unnecessary trains, selling agen-
,cies, travelling men, etc.-will be ,abol-'
ished. Furthermore, rates can be die;
tated on the one side and wages on the
other, which is the primary object Of
the organization Of every trust & That rat
there will be; thousands upon thot,s- y
ands more workers thrown out 81 en1s
ploey,ment in this revolution goes With y,
out saying. Another highly important
point is this: Among the prominent
figures that loom up in this great conn: q 1l-:
bination are those Of the Vanderbilts,
Rockefeller, and J. Pierpont Morgan.
The two latter gentlemen are extens.-
lively interested in coal, iron and steel
oil and other, Industries, and it ii
therefore reasonable to believe that
they will control an all-powerfll club
to- beat down all competitors. = Not
only that, but they win be able to
throw nets out far enough to catch
other trusts and attach them to their
strings. s.;. 4 5g4sss Il 2:s .:ss
It will be remembered that some
time ago the traffic association was
dissolved by the United States supreme
court and which decision was hailed
with delight by the trust-smaahers,
but the court merely played into the
hands Of the big magnates and more
compact combine will follow. If by:
some fuke some court dissolves an as
sociation or combine it will simply
reorganize under q different form. It
cannot be otherwise. This is the age
of swift and wonderful economic prog
ress, and we will 60 to the logical end
whether it is our desire or not, and
enter broader plane, to begin a new
and higher civilization, with justice,
the equality Of opportunities, liberty
and happiness as the basis.
TLoRBNTNo TORRES, president
II of the Philippine commission at
Manila, says it is now mot only
a question Of Aguinaldo and his troops,