The free lance. (Fredericksburg, Va.) 1885-1926, 1899-09-19
TIE panrer q Trusts.

d. Washburn, Of Minnesota, head OF
the extensive flour milling interests
in Minneapolis bearing his uame,
saws that unless something Is o uc ut
once to stop the formation and cX'
ploltAtion of trusts fnancial .uiu VIII
overtake the country, AID the Re
publican Administration must DO
more than adopt reso.u.l0ts against
trusts, and he advocates the abolition
of all protective duties when 1t is
evident that trust is stclriug exotol
tant profits on account Of the duties.
He cites the steel rail industry, 10
which he is interested, and the tin
plate industry As illustrating tne m
mediate need of Withdrawing tuif
duties, which now teuds to give TO
those industries Whist be believes 20
be exorbitant profits. TX Senator
Washburu talked at length with p
Tribune reporter IN hIs room at ihe
Ffth Avenue Hotel.
The present situation TO the good
citizen, the good Republican aud me
man who loves his country, Is really
alarming" said Mr.. WashburD, "snd
It Is more largely owing to the rsPid
formation Of what Is called tn trust
than to any other agency. FIRST,
this trust craze has changed the
whole nature OF doing things.
when Was young man am
now sixty. eight had the world oe-
tore me, and there was al absolutely
fair field for me. Take all of our most
successful business men OF to-day,
and their Experiences were like niue.
They entered the race without \ hand
leap, and their grit and capacity won.
Now this building upof trusts puts d
stop TO fair and equal oppor,uul'ie,
for the young men OF to-day. The
young man just out Of college has no
opening, as q ruls. He cannot begin
business on his own account against
organized capital He must JOIN the
procession. He must content hm
self with being a mere clerk, and the
chances are that he will never get any
further, because there are so many III
his class This makes the situation
a serious one, aud | am sorry for the
young man of today. He comes out
of school bright, eager and enterprls-
ing, and runs against economic con.
dtlons that are too much for him. /
can't help feeling that If be had the
same chance | had when ! was a
Young man it would be great thing
for him. He hasn't got II. ] We
studied the situation and I'm sure Of
what am saying.
"The present Industrial tendency
amounts 10 almost crsze for trusts.
There is hardly anything IN the IN
dustrial line that has not been
tackled by the promoters of the trusts.
All the promoters care for is to get
up these combinations, palm them of
on an uninitiated public. and then
get out OF them, after making all the
money they can. | think the banks
make great mistake in lending their
assistance to the promoters Of these
trusts. The banks finance them, the
promoters make everything look
plausible on its face, aud the uuwary
are drawn in.
THE worst feature Of the indus
trial trusts of to-day is that nearly
every one of them is vastly over
capitalized. The promoter comes
alCny with..his idea. He finds one or
two concerns making g legitimate
profit, while half dozen others are
practically bankrupt and making no
money. Invariably the concern that
has been unfortunate is the most
anxious to go into the trust. These
unlhrifty concerns are able to get
along in times of great property, but
when we get down to normal condl-
tiods these concerns will 60 to pieces,
no matter whether they are IN a
trust or not. Just at present there Is
demand for every conceivable thing,
and times are elastic and money Is
plenty. Everything is floating along
prosperously. When the collapse
comes, as come it will, it will sweep
all these naturally non paying con-
Germs to financial ruin. OF course,
The theory on which the trust Is built
is it's ability to raise prices, but that
s sure to result in trouble.
Take steel rails, for instance. Ole
and half years ago rails OF falr
quality were being sold at $l7 ton,
at profit of perhaps 81 80 ton
What was the cons, quenctf We
sent rails all over the world, invsd
ing Great Britain, China, Japan snd
other countries. With the deposits
of high grade ore in Minnesota aud
Wisconsin, there is no reason why
we should not be able to produce
rail, and other steel products cheap
er than any other nation. AS re
suit of trust manipulation steel rails
now sell at $50 a ton or thereabouts.
Of course, the profit is exoroltsnt.
1t is az outrage on the public, aud IT
is shortsightedness on the part OF the
manufacturers, because they cannot
sell their rails long outside OF The
country at such an enormous proht'
The result of it all will be tre-
mendous collapse, and it will come a
good deal quicker than most people
think. When the tumble comes 1t Will
be general. If only the promoters
suffered it would be all right, but the
crash will carry pretty much every
thing with it, and the innocent will
suffer with the guilty.
"The natural conditions today are
better than ever before. With a
large balance of trade IN our favor
prosperity should continue for long
time. This prosperity has resulted