The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1899-03-18


spelling for another fight with Ger
many, and get whipped again, as were
he Sout hern braves to try their hand
on the Yankees before our civil war.
The result will be inevitable. which is
that the strongest will overcome the
weaker, and the stronger and most
powerful are produced in climates
where necessity compels labor, eNer-
else, fortitude, sagacity and intellec-
tual effort in order to overcome diff
culties.
The lesson is that back Of all great
duce that which is. This brings us to
the subject of trusts, and the causes
which produce them.
During the next presidential cam
paign the Democrats will struggle to
prove that the Republican party has
been the breeder of trusts. The fall
lacy of this argument will be revealed
when the causes which produce trusts
are understood.
The facts are that the causes lie
deeper than political parties, and had
the Democrats been in power the
trusts would have multiplied just as
rapidly. Why not? What has politics
got to do with Jones, Smith, Brown,
and Maynard coming together into a
combination, stop fighting each other,
in competition, and get down to maxi
ing money?
Possibly one-half of the stockhold
crs in the combine are Democrats.
That makes no difference to the other
half. who are Republicans perhaps.
What they are all after is cooperative
association whereby they will stop the
waste of competition. 1t is clearly
evident that the Populist, Mormon,
Christian Scientist, Baptist or Demo-
crat, who owns good factory. liable
to compete with the others, will be
wanted in the combine, so that they
may stop cutting prices, sell for higher
figures, get along with less help, have
less expense and make more money.
This is straight business proposition
along the line of good sense.
What folly for two shops to exist Oh
the opposite sides of the street: and
each attempt to get all work away
from the other by cutting prices. This
keeps a customer going from one to
the other, reporting what the other
charges, and continues battering
down until both proprietors starve to
DEATH
This competitive contest is seen
among business men throughout the
country. One merchant offers a prize,
to the customer, of complete library
for the sake Of his patronage, while
another tradesman, in the same line,
will give a set of dishes. This is the
desperation Of trade, and the begin
ming of the end. Both merchants VIII
exhaust themselves in the endeavor
to take trade away from the other.
This spirit OF trade jealousy and
business rivalry has been so active OF
late years as to destroy prosperity
and it only required some decisive
event to come in and whip all the
fighters, in the contest, give them Il
good thorough trouncing, tell them
to stop quarreling, go nome, behave
! themselves, make up and be friends.
That deciding event came in the
financial panic of 1893. The Arsen-
tine Republic in 1890 had floated,
through the l'arings in London, $780,
OOO, 900 of bonds. These bonds. fell in
value, bankrupting many English fl
nunctrs in England and australia.
caused the sending back of American
securities from England in exchange
| for gold which we were sending out
freely in 1892. when the American
National Bankers Association started
the agitation in favor Of stopping the
coinage Of any more silver, the bank
er> claiming that silver was driving
all the gold from the country.
That agitation and tax of fifty
cent dollars. caused people to brcorr
frightened and run ON the banks 10
such an extent as to break over $40
of them. in the United States. during
the year 1898.
| SrNrnty-tNu national banks failed
in July OF that year, and thirty-tWo
failed in the first week Of that month
| Daring June and July the deposits
in banks in the United States shrunk
over $4OO. 900 900. and because of ina
I,ility 10 gel money to carry on bust
ness. over 500 manufacturing con-
Germs closed dow u in those two months
and threw into iilrnrSS 4G. 900 work
men.