The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1899-10-24


Senator Hanna has been the target
for all kinds Of assault from the oppo-
Sition political party. and many of the
accusations have been Of an indIscriml-
nate and irresponsible character. The
aninus Of Mr.. Bryan's attacks while
touring through Ohio are pretty well
understood, but Senator Hanna, like
other reputable business men strongly
objects to being misrepresented. and he
has been moved to fatty deny that he
has been defending trusts in his recent
speeches. In a recent interview he
stated his position quite clearly as fol-
lows:
may not have made my Views as clear
TO others as they are to my own mind, he
said. Ny position Is perfectly consistent
with the state Republican platform. The
sotcalled trust, which, by the way. is
miSnomer, 10 simply combination OF cor
porations. do not know Of a trust In the
United States. These combinations are
nothing more or less than the products Of
the evolution Of business
The question Is not political one. It Is,
on the other hand, purely business one.
States may build up an export trade and
reap the profits pccrulng from the diSpos-
ing Of their products in Oriental markets,
great capital and complete equipment are
necessary. No individual or corporation
possesses enough money to build up these
great foreign interests. so that individuals
have combined into corporations. Corpo-
rations are not intended to Increase profits:
but to reduce costs. While the prices Of
many commodities have been advanced
since the formation OF these combinations,
still wages have also risen. deny that
these combinations are trusts You may
M n
have no proof to support your statement
II you prove the existence Of a trust, there
Is federal law which will cover the case
Speaking to an audience at Cleveland.
composed mainly of worklngmen he
proceeded to show that many OF the in
dustrlal combinations that have recent
ly been effected have the endorsement
Of labor leaders, He cited in proof Of
this assertion the statement made by
former President Garland, of the
Amalgamated Association of Iron and
Steel Workers, before the trust confer.
ence held in Chicago. in part, as fol-
lows:
1.-THE trust question is an old one.
It's influence has been used as one OF the
exhortlng features for organizing labor
among iron and steel workers for more
than quarter OF century. Thus far
in this new day Of trusts the workmen
in rolling mills md their inclination is
to treat with organizations. Annual
wage scale agreements we're presented
by our representatives and conferences
arranged promptly, An advance in
wages ranging from 10 to 25 per cont in
different departments was secured.
That in this country trust should
maintain an unnatural or inordlnate
price for material or product is re-
mote contingency, for not alone will
other capital interested in the con-
sumption of the product. combine on as
large a scale. and become the trusts
competitor, but the facts remain that
there Is not an article produced in these
modern times, but there are, or can be
adopted several substitutes for it. The
action of the trusts within themselves
will soon decide whether they are to be
tolerated as useful members Of the ma
tlon's household or whether the show Of
hands raised against them will relegate
them to oblivion"
The statement of Samuel Gompers,
president Of the Federation of Labor,
made at the same conference, was
taken up by Senator Hanna. Trusts
grow and will grow" the senator read
from the report of Mr. Gompers' state
ment, land have no hesitation in say-
ing that the organization of industry
on a higher and more scientific basis
will continue to grow. 1t seems to me
the lesson It teaches would be of bene-
at. particularly to the wage-earners.
AS matter OF fact. whenever the work
ers are organized and have maintained
their organization, their wages are
higher, hours lower, and conditions
better in spite of combinations of cnpi-
tall"
Such are the expressions of labor
leaders. all strong union men, and they
ought to have weight. AS Senator
Hanna has said the matter is purely
business one, and has no part in poll
tics. There are Just as many Demo-
Gratis financially interested in these
great combinations as there are Repub-
licans.