Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1899-09-19

ing alIits producers to sell at the
price fixed by the trust. Then the
trust, having bought up all the factor
les in its line, would close part of them
and throw out of employment the men
at work in them. 1t also enabled the
trust, in case of local strike, to beat
the strikers by closing the factory and
sending the work to others of its fac
tories, without loss, and letting the
strikers starve, till they We're ready to
come back at any price. Then it can
provoke a strike somewhere else, and
freeze them out there, until, finally.
the trust fixes the wages as it pleases
and the laboring man then shares the
suffering of the producer of the raw
material. Next, the trust would lessen
the cost OF distribution by reducing
the number and quality of statesmen,
for not SO many nor SO competent men
are needed when there is no COMPETE
ton to meet. There will be no use for
the commercial traveller. In dealing
with the consumer, the trust not only
fixes the prices, but the terms on
which goods will be disposed Of. So
the first thing to be expected of a
trust is the cutting down of expenses,
the second, the raising OF prices.
The speaker said we had not yet had
complete monopoly because so far
monopoly has been lowering prices to
rid itself of competitors; but when it
rids itself of competitors, what is going
to be the result?
He answered the question by saying:
"AH youshave to know, is human ma.
ture. God made man selfish"
The speaker said rings were put in
hogs noses, not to prevent them from
eating or getting, because that was
what was wanted of them; but to pre-
vent them from destroying more than
they are worth. He declared the pur-
pose of the government was to put
rings in the noses of hogs. Applause
Men were all hoggish,i but he believed
in the people, and their ability to gov
ern themselves, Because, in their So
Der moments, they helped to put rings
in their own noses to protect others
from themselves, and themselves from
Others in the hour of temptation.
Laws" he continued, must be enact
ed to prevent people from tresspass-
ing on the rights of Others" He said
the love of money was the primary
cause of monopoly, and gave his hear
ers leave to differ with him on the fur
ther statement, that Failing prices,
caused by the rising dollar, contributed
to this and intensified it. High tar
i'll" he said, was another factor in
the creation of monopoly
But he did not agree with the sug-
gestion, that trusts could be destroyed
by putting the trust articles on the
free list, because the articles could
then be produced here as cheap.y as
anywhere, and foreign competition
could not kill them. The only way to
destroy them, is to ''lay the ak at the
foot of the tree, and make monopoly
impossible by law" He declared that
railroad rate discrimination was also
large factor in the building up OF
monopoly, and this should be prevent
ed by law. Under our dual govern
ment he continued, the suppression OF
trusts would depend on federal and
state legislation, as without this, corr
porations would turn from the state
to the protection of the. government,
and vice versa. The state should not
only have power to license and regulate
CORPORATIONS within its limits, but pre-
vent outside corporations from coming
in. Congress should have power, even
to prohibition, of regulating interstate
corporations. The exercise of such
power, he declared, would remedy the
trust evil. Congress should pass law
requiring. all corporations wishing to
DO interstate business to take out
a license, granted on condition
ho 4l,.1s,.
stock, must not monopofize any
branch of business and would make
public all their transactions. If that
is unconstitutional, the constitution
should be amended, giving congress
the power to destroy every trust IN the
country. The speaker protested
against the doctrine that the trust is
the outgrowth of natural laws. He
declared it the natural outgrowth of
conditions created by man-made laws.
Bryan closed with brilliant and ell
oquent peroration, and resumed his
seat facing a sea of wildly waving
arms and a storm of cheers.
Then about three-fourths of the au-
dience left the hail. and j. II. Ray
mond, of Chicago, spoke on ''Patents
and Monopolies." G. w. Northrup, Jr.,
of Chicago, spoke on Practical FEEDER
al Remedies for Industrial Trusts"
At the meeting of the resolutions COM
mittee at noon, it was decided that it
was advisable that NO. resolutions
should be adopted by the conference.
I. b. Walker, of Minneapolis, spoke
on TRUSTS from a Business Mans
Standpoint The conference then
took recess till p. m.