The Topeka state journal., 1899-09-14
Governor Discovers Some New
Things About Trusts.
Abuses Antitrust Orators Be-
cause No Remedy Is Offered.
ADMITS He FAILED.
Can Find No Plan to Throttle
the Monsters.
Hopes to Find Something New
at Chicago Convention.

Governor Stanley has gone to Chicago
to attend the meeting of the Civic Fed
Grafton, for the purpose, as he explains
it, of learning something which will aid
him in cooperating with the officials OF
other states in an effort to suppress the
trusts
The governor is unaIterably opposed
to the operation of trusts and hopes 10
see the party which he represents en-
gage in an unrelenting warfare against
them In his own mind the governor
has no well formed idea as to the rem
edy for the trusts but he hopes the Chi
cago conference will arrive at some
thing tangible.
Il have made a patient search" SAID
Mr. Stanley to a Journal reporter, to
find in the speeches and writings OF
public men who are fighting the trusts,
for something in the way Of a remedy
but have found nothing.
ANY demagogue can assail the
trusts; any politician can attack the
combines but none of them seem TO
have a remedy It is not an evidence
of greatness to attack the trusts but II
would be an evidence of something un-
usual for some of our statesmen to tell
US how we would effectually proceed
against these unlawful combinations.
I believe that if the states would
We could accomplish good; but the
states Will not do that Legislation and
taxation have been suggested in var
iOus states but a uniform and general
action on the part of the Individual
states would reach the bottom OF the
matter, 1 believe
When the states do not act together
then we approach the question or m
terstate commerce. We can not sep
arately, as states, without general and
concerted action, pass restrictive laws
governing products and materials
which do not come from our state. The
property which a man buys to become
a part of his stock Of merchandise does
not come into his possession until 1t
reaches the state to which II Is con-
signed
IF a man or a company of men
should organize a business enterprise
in Kansas and would violate the laws
of business and decency they might be
subjected to restrictive legislation but
so long as such a company does not
enhance the price of a commodity, no
matter how big the corporation may be
I do not see how We can or how we
could go about it to disorganize it
The danger from the trusts comes
from two sources. The first and most
important is the tendency of the trusts
to advance the prices of commodities to
the consumer.
THE second danger is the effect of
the combinations or trusts to crush out
the small business by sitting it.
IF these combinations compete and
do not advance the prices I do not un-
derstand what grounds of objection
could be urged against them. 1t is an
admitted fact that a company with
million dollars to buy goods can pur-
chase anything in the market, in such
/ quantities at reduced prices. This en-
ables them to sell at reduced prices.
, When combinations of capital bring
this benefit to the consumer then there
is no danger and little room for COM
plant.
so long as these combinati tions en-
gage in business for business profits
and do not crush the small dealer by
force of power gained in organization
and do not advance prices, the question
of preventing their existence is, to my
mind, the most difficult of the age. It
is the political problem of the present
day and one which I hope viii be solved
without injustice to any one.
I contend that the man with a small
capital has as much right to engage
in business as the man in the combina-
tiOn with millions. The man with 81 600
invested in dry goods or other mer-
chandiSe has as much right to have a
store as the man with millions. If a
man who is weak financially can not
stand the competition which he rurs up
against that is not the fault of the
combination of capital Because one
man has less money than another is
no reason why he should be barred
from business opportunities. When the
strong combination by force attempts
to force the weak man to the wall then
comes the greatest injustice of the age
and one which should not be tolerated
IN any state The national government
should not tolerate it But what is to
be done? What laws shall we enact?
What will congress do?
These are some of the questions
which occur to me at first thought and
I sincerely hope some of them or all of
them will be answered by the meeting
which will attend in Chicago"