The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-09-16
The Trust and Young rlen.

II. Washburn, of Minnesota, - |
II contribute to the discussion OF
the trust problem a sentimental
factor of widespread interest.
when was young man. he says
Che is now 6S). II had the world before
me. and there was absolutely a fair
field for me. Take all of our most sue
cessful business men Of today and their
experiences were like mine. They en-
tered the race without handicap, ami
their grit and capacity won. Now this
building up of trusts puts a stop to
fair and equal opportunities for the
young men of today. The young man
just out of college has no opening, as
a rule. He cannot begin business on
his own account against organized
capital He must join the procession.
He must content himself with being a
mere clerk, and the chances are that
he will never get any further, because
there are so many i'm his class"
This overstates the case against the
trusts, for it conveys the inference
that the young man of today has no
chance whatever, which is untrue. Yet
it is worthy Of serious attention. To
comprehend Mr.. Washburn's point we
must imagine that the trust process Of
doing business has gone into general
adoption; that very few industries or
lines of commercial enterprise remain
open To individual initiative. The
young man. seeking employment. must
seek it of the immense corporations,
where he is only one among ten thou
sand. He may possess ability, but we
are 20 assume that i'm such a crush t
is in danger of being lost sight Of. He
cannot, from his savings, hope to ac-
quire capital enough to start himself
in business for himself--the competition
of the trust would drive him out. He
must remain Il wage-earner, without
the powerful incentive which inheres
in the possibility under the former in
| dustrial system that the cmploye of to-
! day may as a result Of frugality and
! enterprise develop into the prospering
| employer of tomorrow.
Now we regard this as by all odds
| the most important point yet raised in
! this controversy over the trusts. We
can say what we like in favor Of the
! economies to he derived from co-opera-
| tive capital, but the fact remains that
the individual is the unit of a repubi-
| can form of government and he cannot
remain so if he have not a fair chance
to get along in life. The leaders in
business today are men who had that
! chance and improved it-self-made
men who worked their own way up
from the bottom Of the ladder to the
top. They must want to leave to their
children equal if not superior oppor-
tunities and their children in turn have
u right to demand this equality of op-
pOrtunity as a birthriEht guaranteed
under democratic institutions. Does
the trust restrict or impair this right
1t is ineradicably antagonistic'
If it is. it will have to go; nothing
on earth can save it. The United
States is dedicated to the largest
measure of democracy possible in view
of the limitations fixed by human ma
ture, and, however far we may at times
stray from our ideal, the principle 1t.
self is fundamentally dear and our peo.
pie will never give it up. But it seems
to us that there is no present occasion
for becoming excited along the line ol
ex-senator Washburn's argument. The
young men of today are not getting
lost i'm the shuttle. Their opportunities
p if anything, are larger than were tn,
. opportunities of their fathers anC
70 grandfathers If they have an apti
; tude for business they can find a hun
? dred openings today where their an
> Cestors could find but one: if thei
1 qualifications point to career in on
t . Of the sO-called learned professions
) special schools for their education ex
= list in numbers and to degrees of ex
I ccllence beyond the dreams of fift
t years ago, and the rewards in pros
T pect for exceptional merit are to tn
4 rewards of the past as the electri
n light is to the tallow dip. Go anywher
e. among large employers and you wi
Il find that while new machinery can b
a had whenever wanted and while In
< inani. rte materials entering into pro
q duction are simply the creatures q
= bargain and sale, the one scarce factor
q the one factor that causes perpleXit
o To wrinkle the proprietor's brow. is tn
% trustworthy and competent man. The
II are plenty of men whose services ar
=, on the market; but are they homes
# men? DO they know their business
n Can they take hold of important re
n sponsibiities sensibly and eficientl
= and bring order and profit out Of chaC
- and loss?
60 The young man Of today who iii
=, himself for responsible duties. watch
- carefully his opportunities and take
b, care of himself is quite as apt to :
sought after by the trusts as he Is a.
= to seek out the trusts Good men al
- still the scarcest and most valued con
= modities in the market, and the biggt
:. the scale on which business is conduc
ed the more valuable do they becom
The latest remarks from DR. Swa
low indicate that he is in a state thi
would make him an easy subject
u Filipinomania. L