Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1899-09-22
WaShburn A "COpperhead."

view with ex-senator William D. Washburn,
OF Minnesota, head of the extensive Touring
milling interests in Minnesota:
"'rhe present situation to the good citizen,
the good Republican, and the man who loves
his country is really alarming, and it is more
largely owing to the rapid formation of what
is called the trust than to any other agency.
First, this trust craze has changed the whole
nature of doing things.
"When was young mani am now oS--
had the world before me, and there was abso-
lutely fair field for me. Take all of our most
successful business men of to-day and their eX-
perences were like mine. They entered the
race without a handicap and their grit and ca
pacity won. Now, this building up OF trusts
puts stop to fair and equal opportunities for
the young men of to-day. The young man
just out OF college has no opening He can
not begin business on his own account against
organized capital. He must join the pro-
cession He must content himself with being
a mere clerk, and the chances are tnat he viii,
never get any further, because there so
manv in his class. This makes the situation
a serious one, and l em sorry for the young
man of to-day. I've studied the situation, and
I'm sure of what am saying.
"rhe present industrial tendency amounts to
almost a craze for trusts. There is hardly any
thing III the industrial line that has not been
tackled by the trusts.
CAL the promoters care for it is to get up
these combinations, palm them off on an un-
initiated public and then get out of them after
making all the money they can. The worst
feature of the industrial trust of to-day is that
nearly every one of them is vastly over-capital
lied.
PREDICTS A COLLAPSE.
'Just at present, there is a demand for every
essential thing, and times are elastic and money
plenty. Everything is floating along prosper
ously. When the collapse comes, as come it
will, it will sweep all these naturally non-pay-
ing concerns to financial ruin.
'Take steel rails, for instance. One and a
half years ago, rails of fair quality we1e being
sold at $I7 ton, at profit of perhaps $I. so
ton. What was the consequence? We sent
rails all over the world, invading Great Britain,
Japan, and other countries. With the enor-
nous deposits OF high-grade ore in Minnesota
and Wisconsin, there is no reason why we
should not be able to produce rails and other
steel products cheaper than any other nation.
AS result of trust manipulation, steel rails
now sell at $50 ton, or thereabouts. Of
course the profit is exorbtant. 1t is an outrage
on the public and it is short sighted on the
of = Ia or
sell their rails long outside of the country at
such an enormous profit. The result of it all
will be tremendous collapse, and it will come
a good deal quicker than most people think.
"The natural conditions to-day are better
than ever before. With large balance of
trade in our favor, prosperity should continue
for long time. THIS prosperity has resulted
in imitation and the issuing of millions of
shares on wind.
"There is one thing that greatly disturbs
me- The Republican party, whether justly or
unjusty, is associated with the trusts in the
minds Of the masses. AS a party, we have
reached crisis, where we have got to call
halt, The Republican party has got to dlscon-
meet itself from trusts.
FEELING AGAINST TRUSTS.
''Il has got to do something more than adopt
platform planks against trusts. 1t has got to
put forth its full strength and legislate against
them The feeling against the trust idea is in
tense in the west. 1t is so intense in the Re-
publican party that the party will break ranks
lnless something is done. The undertow of
sentiment in the western Republican states
against trusts is not understood in the east.