Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-05-20
POSSIBILITIES OF THE TRUST,

Ink outl III OUJSSlS W HE pOSltlcli
taken by the Inter Mountain relative to
the evolution of the trust as an unpopular
and illogical one. 1t may be unpopular
with those whose nasa! bridge is the limit
of their vision, and illogical to those who
can see nothing but disaster in the COM
mercial and industrial trend of modern
civilization. The Inter Mountain does
not share the belief that the country is
necessarily going to ruin because trusts
are being organized.
There are many strong arguments why
trusts should not be organized-why a
conservative spirit should be maintained,
but the fact remains hat trusts have
been organized, are being organized and
will continue to be organized until some
indefinite period in the future is reached.
This paper has never Endorsed the trust
as a business proposition. It has merely
recognized the indisputable fact that we
are confronted, as Cleveland might put
it, by a condition, not a theory" 1t is
worse than useless For intelligent men t.
kbury their heads in the sand, like the os-
trich when pursued by a foe, and refuse
to study the situation in the light Of it's
relations to the future growth ard pros
perity OF the country.
{ 1t cannot be logically disputed that the
trust has been evolved from the CONNER
cial and industrial conditions Of the coun-
try. 1t is as much a matter of growth as
any other feature in the great system Of
American life. The encouragement given
inventive genius through our patent laws
lies very close to the roots Of the trust.
Labor saving machinery years ago erect
cd the factory in the place of the shop,
and made possible the great corporations
which took hold Of enterprises Of an in
dustrlal' and commercial character which
individuals Of limited means were incom-
petent to handle. With the growth Of
the demand for the products of such in
stitutions came increased facilities on the
part of the corporations, Until their ir-
fuence permeated every nook and corner
Of the h~ustling world around us.
The same process Of evolution, whether
right or wrong, led up to the still wider
combinations OF capital, and the little
trust Of many Years ago, which COM
b!nad the factories into a corporation,
has grown tc such proportions that it is
no" associating the corporations togeth-
err for the r11rr1oco nf ron,o.trr ~ 70,
larging the scope Of its business. The
trust, then, as we see it today, is merely
another step in the industrial and com.
mercial evolution that has been going on
since the days when the loom ana the
spinning wheel eft the family fresiie
forever, ana the cooper shop bade fare
we'll TO the back yard.
r- -
Coming about as a matter of growth
the trust need not be looked upon as a
startling innovation, inconsistent with
the trend of the times. As a bridge from
one set of condition. TO another on the
SAM highway of American life it may be
indeed looked upon with sincere regret,
for the instinct of conservatism that
would "let well enough alone" is strong
in the hearts Of our people. But as the
trust is a present rather than a prospec-
tive condition, and as it is related by the
ties Of Industrial ~consanguinity to the
more primative days of American activ-
ity, it becomes the duty Of intelligent
men to weigh its power as a business pro-
position and measure its influence upon
mankind.
To look upon it as the Nemesis of Amer
lean enterprise that is to throttle pro-
gress. turn back the wheels of civiIiza-
ton, and bring misery to the people. is 10
confess a loss of confidence in the elmen-
tary conditions from which. it has been
most naturally evolved. The expression
of such a fear is a plea for a return to the
family loom. the backyard cooper shop,
the stage coach and the pony express OF
the long ago. To fear an effect is to be
moan the cause. The man who would
tremble in the pathway Of the trust