Washington sentinel., 1899-04-15
ATrust.

New York bar, "is a combination
OF many competing concerns under
one management, which thereby
reduces the cost, regulates the
amount OF production and in
creases the price for which the arti-
Gle is sold. IL is either a monop-
oily or an endeavor to establish a
monopoly. Its purpose is TO make
larger profits. by decreasing cost,
limiting production and increasing
the price to the consumer. This
it accomplishes by press nting to
the competitors the alternative OF
joining the trnst or being crushed.
This definition is very good but not
up to the SENTlNEL's definition,
namely, that a trust is an organ
lied effort to rob both producer
and consumer, and to steal all the
fruits of honest labor" This to be
done in defiance oi all law and
every principle OF right, justice
and humanity. No trust has ever
yet been formed which benefited
laboring men. Ii the producer is
ever benefited, it is when many
rich corporations band together
and form a trust, as the whiskey
trust, for instance. Here distillers
limit the output and regulate the
price, and are consequently the
beneficiaries. But what about the
primal producer7 The man who
grows the corn. fruit and products
out Of which liquors are made? Is
he benehted2 OF course not.
Trusts are outgrowths OF pluto
cratic rule. Nearly everything we
eat or wear is controlled by some
trust. The Standard Oil and
Sugar are perhaps the most pow.
eriul and absolute combines in the
country. They not only control
the oil and sugar business here, but
are now reaching out greedy and
avaricious fingers to control the
whole world, and there is small
doubt but that they will succeed.
Then come the Steel, the Beef,
Leather, Coal and Bread trusts
trusts galore until we are dunn
founded with the list. Write the
history OF the Standard Oil and
Sugar trusts and you will have
pages blackened by the blasts Of
hell, and stained with human
blood. From every page would
stare eyes OF hunger. gaunt,
pinched faces OF suffering human
ity. Between every line you would
see bright nails upon the coffin lid.
These trusts have been guilty OF
bribery, lying, peri ury and high
handed robbery. They have
crushed competition, bankrupted
thousands OF honest men, op-
pressed the poor, robbed and plum
dered the helpless, until to- day
they are absolute and supreme
masters Of the situation, able to
regulate production, control prices.
grind the faces Of the poor, build
up enormous fortunes for their
friends, elect Governors, own the
Attorney General OF the United
States, purchase Legislatures and
Congresses, and hold high carnl-
val while the dance Of death goes
merrily on, and people starve and
die all over the land.
The trust FIRST crushes all COM
petitors by selling the trusted"
product for less than cost OF pro-
duction. and when small dealers
or producers can no longer hold
out, they are paid a small sum of
money and go out Of business, and
then the great trust which has swal-
lowed up all competitors, raises
prices,according TO the promptings
OF its cupidity.
Another form is the combining
OF all the small trusts or corpora
tions under one head and pool.
ing" the commodity to be ham
died. The profits accruing are
enormous. The Standard Oil had
an investment originally Of not
more than six million dollars. 1t
issued ninety million dollars in GER
ti6cates. These are worth to-day
about S4oo, ,ooo. 900 and are nearly
all owned by a few men. This
concern has paid millions OF dollars
to its organizers. The sugar trust
has a capital OF SIS. 900, the
actual value being about S7,74o,-
900. Ia S93 il paid in dividends
bIo,s7s, 900, put aside surplus oi
s., ,ooo, 900. besides the enormous
gums paid as salaries and the vast
amounts spent in bribing legisla-
tors, corrupting officials and con.
tributiDg to campaign funds.
In addition to these already
enumerated, there are a salt, a
match, railroad, glass and tin