The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1899-06-16

L ,
| that is, the great mass of the people,
| who has terribly suffered to the great
| advantage of the few of the business
| community.
! THE sugar company undoubtedly
| tries to do it's utmost to enlarge it's bus
| mess, but does it in a way which they
| consider the only proper one, that is,
| by making the price so low as to defy
| competition.
] 1T is my opinion that corporations
| are under no obligations whatever to
| any of the states for their existence.
| Quite the reverse: The states are under
| obligations to them. If the plants of
| these industries consolidated were capa-
| BILE of being put on wheels and moved
| from state to state you would find very
| active bidding for Them 1t is not an
| unusual thing for certain localities to
| guarantee exemption from taxation for
| twenty years, free water, and in some
| instances give the land to corporations
| to have them organize under their stat
utes and locate in their states.
| Hostility to capital meets with it's
| own condemnation. That is illustrat-
| ed by the situation in New York. where
| a discrimination against capital has
prevented it's employment and driven it
| elsewhere, resulting in a greatly increas-
| ed tax rate and tendency to increase
| the number of unemployed.
'All L have to say about trade or
| CARNATIONS and strikes is that without
| violence, they are natural They have
| one objection, however: their tendency
! to reduce all labor to a low level.
I Business is not philanthropy Capital
and labor will adjust their own relations
| if they are let alone. Interference all
| ways operates against one or the other.
| That means to the disadvantage of
| both.
There is no such thing as monopoly
! in these days, except that what results
from patents and copyrights.
| THE taue communism of pelf' is the
! customs tariff bill. 1t says to the peo-
! pig: Here is the law we have enacted
| for your robbery Do not complain of
| it. but do your utmost to attack and
! injure the machinery engaged in ex-
tracing from you what we legislate
] shall be taken from you.
| Keep up the clatter while the voters
| on the tariff bill take advantage of the
! noise and enact laws that cause your
| fmpoverishment and thus contribute to
| the greed and avarice of the few
| There is a prevailing hostility to
| wealth. This is perfectly Illogical Every
! one wants money. 1t is the abuse of
| money, not it's possession, which is OPP
| posed to public interest.
This hostility finds it's outlet in hos
! tile legislation, in unequal and unjust
| taxation. All this is probably uncon-
| stitutional. 1t is directly against the in
| poorer class, whom it is supposed to
( benefit.
| Corporations, whether directly such
/ or in the form of trusts, are an eXped-
| lent for uniting the interests of a large
| number of persons of smaller means,
| into a large aggregation of capital.
| Attack upon them is, therefore, an
| attacks upon their stockholders. In the
| case of many well conducted corpora
! tons the stockholders are very numer-
! Gus and are often persons of moderate
means, dependent upon their income for
| their support.
In the absence of all disturbing causes
the direct tendency of a combins ton Of
capital is to promote economy, reduce ex-
! penses and diminish prices.
This does not mean that a person hav-
ing anything to sell Will not get for it
| the largest price that he can 1t means
that with the abundance of capital ready
for Investment which is always found
everywhere the only way to prevent COM
petition is to keep prices below the COM
petitive point.
Great public improvements factories
and other enterprises require large capt.
tai These are impossible unless through
| the instrumentalty of corporations or
! dividuals themselves possessed of unlim-
! tied capital 1t is easy to see what in
| the latter case would happen to the COM
One form in which hostile action mani
tended to keep corporations and their
products out of particular states.
| the form of bills which permit citizens to
buy goods and with impunity to refuse to
I'm other states the attempt is to ex-
! Guide articles which are of prime neceS-
sity- If the producers of such articles
We're to follow the lead and to combine to
/ keep their commodities out of the state
! either the peopIe Would be- compeIIed to
| pay an inordinate price.
Trade will always take care of itself
| If it is left to pursue ordinary channels
! A will see to it that b does not have any
| extraordinary advantages. 1t is only
| when the state interferes that a situation
I is created of which advantage can be
taken against the interests of the com
In these days there are two forms, and
| which results from a patent and copy
rights: 1t is universally recognized that
| interest of the public.
The other that which comes from I'M
! fair tariff discrimination.
! Tariff for revenue need not be consid-
/ cred. The expenses of the government
must; of course, be provided for: Tariff
/ for the purpose of equalizing against for
| elgn oountIes or foreign, discrini3a alton
! there is no excuse for giving to one indus
4 per cent for another, or any more than
THE The result is that the government
/ Heeces the community at large in the iu-
/ terest of some favored industry
| 1t must be kept in mind that this is a
rich country, not a poor country.
1T must be kept in mind that the object
/ of every one is to make the country
/ stronger, Weather, more important, more
| legislation against corporations, if fol-
! lowed to its legitimate results, would
less prosperous. and would destroy the in
fluence which comes from the richness of
| ..Citizens are divided into two classes
Industrious and those who wish to live on
the industry of others. 1t is they who are
without capital who are hostile to it. This
is only another mode of stating the OBJ
viOuS proposition that it is those who are
! without means who wish to have it with
I out work"
Mr.. Havemeyer's statement aroused
great interest and the next three hours
/ We're devoted to answering questions
! asked him in rapid succession by the
members of the commission. He made an
{ incidental statement which the commits
sion construed into an admission that
business was not profitable now.
| The witness confessed that his company
had very little regard for the welfare OF