The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1899-06-01

TOBACCO TO Be REDUCED IN PRICE AGAIN

The news comes by way of Danville
that the American Tobacco trust ias
in Japan, thereby securing control of
the Japan demand for bright tobacco
as we'll as the market for he manu-
featured product Ordinarily taat trans
action would have little interest for the
people of North Carolina. but ia tie
light of experience the -obacco buy
means another step i'll their lmpoverish
ment which the success of the Cigarette
Trust involves.
Six months ago there were three COM
petitors for bright tobacco on tn" North
Carolina market-the American Iobac-
60 Company, the Continental Tobacco
Company and buyers for foreign manu-
facturers. When the Continental was
swallowed by the Trust, there remained
no competition except from foreign and
small American buyers. Now that the
Trust will fix its price for most of the
bright yellow tobacco. This means that
prices will go down, down, down us they
did in certain grades when the Cigarette
Trust was first organized.
When the people complain, these 'ont-
laws of commerce. lolling in their
their easy chairs and figuring up their
profits. snap their fingers in the faces
of the people and say, what are You
going to do about it?'
II hadn't been aroused against this
Johnston county a few days ago. until
| drove through Il section of the coun
try and saw 81 little tobacco barns
erected by farmers in which to cure their
crop, and reflected that single trust
with headquarters in New York could
fix the price of that tobacco and deprive
the farmer of the price that he would
receive if the competition of a dozen
years ago could be restored. That
reflection brought the trust evil home
to me face ITO face
What are the people going to do
about it? VIII they vote to keep in
power the party that gets its campaign
fund from the trusts, or vote for men
who will hold their offices from the
voters and not from the trusts?
The day will come when this and every
other trust, in the face of the Indignation
of ar outraged people. will beg to be
allowed to resolve itself into independent
concerns. and the trusts are Fastening
that day by their reckless disregard of
the laws of the land. The trusts will be
destroyed whenever the public officers
prosecute them vigorously. They will
do this when the people quit eIectng the
tools of trusts to enforce the laws
against the trusts.
We are tired of the pessimsm that lies
supnely down and says that the trusts
cannot be suppressed. Speaking of this
at the recent Antitrust banquet i'm
SIT. Louis Mr.. Bryan said:
1.-The Government would be guilty
of gross neglect if it permitted an indi-
vidual to secure a monopoly even without
legislative assistance. but it is still more
culpable if, by legislative act. it furnishes
the means by which Il monopoly is Sc
cured The corporation is the means
now employed by those who seek to
secure Il monopoly. Since the corpora
ton is a fictitious person, created by
law, the power that creates can regu-
late. restrain or annihilate. To say that
the Government is impotent to pre-
vent the organization of trusts is to
say that it has called into existence
n fictitious person, and that the fictitious
person created has become greater than
the creator.
.One of the difficulties which have
been encountered in opposing trusts is
that the trust hides behind the Federal
Constitution when attacked by State
legislation. and shields itself behind its
State charter when attacked in the Fed
eral courts. No remedy viii be COM
plete that is not co-eXtensive with the
Federal Government. If the eXtinguish-
ment of the trusts is left to State legis-
lation. the public ut large will be vic
timized as long as a single State will
furnish Il robbers roost where the SpoilS
collected in other States can be divided"
The ASheville ostrich farm is GER