Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1899-09-15
STANLEY ON TRUSTS.
Not Sure They Are Wholly Bad-He
Doubts If n Remedy Can @
BE Found

TOPEKA, Sept. I.-(Special) Before
leaving for Chicago to attend the anti
| trust conference Governor Stanley gave
the Topeka State Journal an authorized
interview on the subject of trusts which
was published this afternoon. The inter-
view is more moderate than the governors S
utterances on the subject heretofore He
submits that so long the trusts keep
within reasonable bounds and DO not stife
competition or raise prices to an oppress-
| i've degree the trusts are legitimate and
| cannot be controlled by legislative or con-
| gressfonal enactment ..s-
Il have made a patient Search" said
| Governor Stanley,-"to find in the speeches
and writings of public men who are fight
ing the trusts something in the way of a
remedy, but have found nothing. ANY DEM
agesue can assaif the trusts; any 1oliti-
clan can attack the combines, but none
| of them seems to have remedy 1t is not
| an evidence of greatness to attack the
| trusts but it would be an evidence of
something unusual for some of our states
men to tell us how We would effectually
proceed against these unlawful combina-
| tions.
Il believe that if the states would all
| act together to put down this evil we
| could accomplish good; but the states will
| not do that. Legislation and taxation have
| been suggested in various states but a
uniform and general action on the part
of the individual states would reach the
bottom of the matter. believe.
IF man or company of men should
organize a business enterprise in Kansas
and would violate the laws of business and
decency they might be subjected to re-
strictive legislation. but so long as such a
company does not enhance the price of q
commodity, no matter how big the corpora
ton may be, l do not see how can or
| how we could go about 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, | do not under
stand what grounds of objection could be
urged against them. 1t is an admitted
! fact that a company with 81. .000,0e0 to buy
| goods can purchase anything in the mar
ket, in such quantities, at reduced prices.
| When combinations of capital bring this
benefit to the consumer then there is no
danger and little room for complaint
80 long as these combinations engage
III 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 ex-
istence is. to my mind, the most difficult
of the age. 1t is the political problem of
the present day and on which l hope will
be solved without injustice to any one.
Il contend that the man with a small
capital has as much right to engage in
| business as the man in the combination
with millions. The man with $1,000 in
vested in dry goods or other merchandise
has as much right to have n store as the
| man with millions If man who is weak
| financially can not stand the competition
which he runs up against that is not the
| fault of the combination of capital Be
| cause one man has less money than an
other Is no reason why he should be bar
red 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 | sin
cerely hope some of them or all of them
will be answered by the meeting which
| / will attend in Chicago"