The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1899-01-07
SATURDAY. JANUARY Z, 1893.
THE DANVILLE REGISTER On
HIGH PRICES.

NA III NHN
show how "A Trust can make its money
by selling al high prices and TINS Is JUS
explanation. IL says:
The very idea OF a trust is that IL con-
trolls the market. IL can make us money
out Of fewer people with a hlsh price
noint or out Of more people with "A lower
r,ice point OF course there is "a posi-
bile price point so high as 10 drive on
customers. The Register. however. had
no such high price point i'm view ln llS
argument IL had reference 10 n price
point HIGHER than that existing before
The formation Of "a trust. Anybody knows
that "a trust. if it supplies "a commonly
for which there is any demand al ai'
can raise the price and stll seI-lhoueh
10 a decreased number OF customers.
moar i'm mind here that the Register
does not grant The Times usual as
sumption that the trusts invariably lower
priccsl This. then. is our answer 10
THE Times mighty question, which
seems To us almost am incoherence.
It's of no consequence what the Regis
ter had in its mind, we are dealing with
the economic law of the case and not with
what the Register may think And we
saw without any fear, whatever Of sue
ccssful contradiction. that the lower the
price al which AN article is sold the more
Of S. will be sold. so that it is the in-
terest of "a Trust or what not, TO sell
al the lowest price that will bring II "a
profit. The Trust or anything else.
will sell at the very highest point at
which 81 can dispose of its articles and
short sighted and greedy men VIII many
times put that price at "a point which
makes the article yield "a smaller proht
than a lower price would yield. But II
these men are let alone by the Populist
lawmakers they soon find out their
blunder and bring the price down TO Its
normal state. Experience is The corrective
statute law can never be. We say then
that the Register is so lar off that there
is no ground for discussion between as.
II kinks as much money can be made
by selling at a price above The normal
value of an article as can be made by
selling il az It's normal value. We say 1t
is wrong about his and AN We can do
therefore. is 10 agree 90 disagree.
Tn Register complains that we did
not deal with another point in its case.
II has the following 90 say about that;
OF course THE Times has a right TO
comment upon only "a part of the Regis
ter's article. But If IL has any difficulty
in approaching or understanding the
REGISTERS reduction 10 the absurd, as
given above. what is it going to DO with
the other portion of our argument out
lined in these Words we wonder II
The Times ever reelected that that in
crease OF sales resulting from the alleged
~cheapening OF products by the trusts
means the consumption OF spending
money from a larger number OF clli-
zcns. who would thus have nothing upon
which 20 crafty their desire for variety
I'm articles'-the result being that the
new enterprise would not materialize.'
II the trusts get larger profits from
c%hcapcning products and charging sales.
certainly everybody cauuot have more
money left 10 spend after buying from
TIE trusts To the new customers the
cheap selling trust itself is "a new en-
tcrprise' that swallows up their sur
plus The old buyers and the new buy
ers offset each other So far as increased
demand for new cmploymcnrs" SIS con-
cerned.
We don't know that we can do better
than TO quote here the following extract
from tho pamphlet of William J.. Royal
on THE Pool and the Trust" The au-
thor says:
Although not entirely pertinent it Is
just as well 40 meet here tho laborcr s
fear that the closing OF productive plants
by the trust will iuure 90 his disadVan-
tage by diminishing the number of
employing agencies Instead of dimin-
ishing. The trust multiplies the number
Of employing agencies indefinitely. By
~cheapening everything DO increases the
demand. and again. when ihs trust zee
duccs the price of one article ID leaves
the consumer money with which TO pur-
chase others. and consequently manu-
facturics must be established TO supply
this demand
For instance. when oil was sixty-fvs
cents q gallon aud sugar ten cents O.
pound. "a dollar would buy a. lnbOring
man. we will suppose. "a gallon OF oh ana
three and a half pounds OF sugar. and
these would last. him "a week But now
he can bus bis weeks supply o. on and
sugar for t~wenty-ono cents ga gallon Of
Oh and three and "a half pounds OF
sugar.. which leaves HIM sevcnty-nlne
cents Of the dollar over for other pur-
doses. Mems desires inoreass as they
have the means OF gratifying them. This
aboFing man and hls family never wore
tloyes 10 church on Sunday. we will sup
Jose. But. seeing their neighbors. who
sere better OF. wearing gloves on Sun
lay. they naturally desired 10 do the