The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1899-09-15
A Farmers Trust,


operative enterprise entered into by CON-
bining several corporations, for the pur-
pose of creating monopoly by destroying
competition. The modern trust is not a
trust at all but combination of capitalits
under one charter and management for
merly engaged in business under several
heads or arrangements.
The inadequacy of money in business
TO the volume of product to be moved by
the use of it, is partially, but not wholly
the cause of the so-called trust. The
famine in money has fastened the trust,
which was bound to come eventually.
The remedy for the trust is not all effort
to kill, but to regulate it by law, to bring
it under the supervision OF law The only
way TO kill absolutely the trust is to abol-
ish all law for granting charters creating
corporations, and force business back into
the hands of individuals and co-partner.
ships.
Such a step would require the transfer
of all public, or natural monopolies from
corporations which operate under fran-
chises granted by the state or munic-
ipality. This is the first step to be taken,
in controlling the modern trust or private
monopoly. The great trusts are these
natural monopolies i'll the hands and
virtual ownership of individuals which
chn,,11 he hn sc ~, 10
people represented by the state or
municipality.
When the railroads, the street railways,
water, gas and electric power for public
use, the coal beds. etc., are taken as the
property of the government as agent for
the people, the power of the trusts will
steadily wane. The power that grants
company a charter to oranize corpora
ton should, i'll the interest and protection
of the people, retain strict censorship or
watchful restraint over the artificial
person it creates.
A backward movement in all effort to
kill the trusts would not be remedy but
disaster to the organized business of the
country. The government, national,
state and municipal, must, in the interest
of, and protection to the people, become
the greatest Of trusts by taking in its own
hands all natural monopolies and operat-
ing them in the interest of the public
There is one industry, and the greatest
Of oil ;,,l,,efr;ae IL, q,
widest field for the modern trust, by
which a vast benefit with no resulting
injury, would be conferred upon the
public, which is farm, or agricultural
trust, or rather system of trusts. These
would be trusts in which monopoly
would be impossible. 1t is in the monpoly
feature of the trust where the danger
turks. Until combination has secured a
monopoly it is public benefit by econ
omy in management and perfection in its
products. But as soon as the trust, or
aggregation of capital has leveled all
opposition or competition and gained a
monopoly it straightway becomes robber
and commences to prey upon the public
farm trust or agricultural corporation
could not reach such an ascendency as to
put single management in control of
the products of agriculture of the United
States. And if that were even possible
it could not then create and maintain a
monopoly of the food products of the
| nafJnY hacoi,ca tho xahpla ,yor1I &c
petitor and the price of grain, meats, etc.,
is fixed by demand and supply at the
worlds distributing centers.
We have almost reached the end of one
man farming as the day Of one man bus
mess i'll every other line of industry has
been passed. The present methods of
agriculture are very crude, wasteful and
unsatisfactory to all engaged in the bus
mess. With large area of agricultural
land, aggregating several thousand acres
placed under a single management, rep.
resented by stock and managed by a
board of directors as all corporations and
combinations are managed, the creates st
economy could be brought into the bus
mess. And not merely economy of man
agement, but the business would be
divided into the several departments
which make up the complete farm, with
scientific, practical manager to conduct
each division of work. The saving and
all round economy of such an arrange
ment would alone make a handsome profit
as compared with the present wasteful
system. One fourth the machinery used
in farming large tracts would not be re-
quired which is necessary in cultivating
small tracts which require full outfit of
farm implements. The increased pro-
duction would be from thirty to fifty per
cent over present yields.
But it is unnecessary to so into details
in order TO illustrate the superior advan-
tages of such system OF farming over
present methods. They are many and
to view on every side when the subject rise
is considered. Movements applying the
modern system of business to agriculture
by the corporation organization are re-
ported to be taking place in some sections
of the country, and ifonce fairly launched
are likely to spread. Such movements
are liable to prove contagious.
The following from the Omaha Daily
Bee shows the drift in that direction:
"The little town of Morehead in the