The White Pine news. [volume] (Treasure City, Nev.) 1868-1906, 1899-10-12
CONGRESSMAN NEW
LANDS ON TRUSTS.
Suggests Regulation by
Taxation.

Grafton at Chicago TO address the re-
cent conference on trusts, held under
its auspices and at which Mr.. Bryan
and Burke Cochran were such eonspic-
uous figures. At the last moment,
however, he was prevented by business
engagements from going, and, having
been requested by the Secretary to
communicate his views in writing, sent
a letter in which he discusses the FEAST
bility Of controlling trusts by Federal
taxation, and from which we take the
following extracts:
RENO. New, Sept, 20, 1899.
RALPH NJ. EAsLEY Esq, Sec'y OF
Conference on Trusts, Chicago, H.
My Dear Sir: regret my inability to
comply with the request of the Civic
Federation to address the conference
on trusts at Chicago, and avail myself
with pleasure of the privilege accorded
me of presenting my views in writing,
| shall eonline myself mainly to the
remedy,
What is a Trust?
First-The term trust" is misno-
mer as applied to the combinations OF
capital which have aroused SO much
solicitude. The old trust was a com
bination of independent producers to fix
the price of particular commodity.
Such a com bination could be annulled
through the courts as an agreement In
restraint of trade To-day the same
object is accomplished in a legal way:
viz, By union of capital in one great
corporation which purchases the prop
erty of the independent prod ueers and
makes them all stock holders IN com
mon enterprise.
Capital has learned from the labor
union the wisdom of cooperation, and
cooperation is now largely substituted
both In labor and capitaliStic unions for
the old principle Of competition.
Second-lariif legislation will not
reach the difficulty, for combinations
of capital exist In England, France and
Germany to-day, and the effect OF low
ering the tariff wall would simply be to
substitute foreign trusts for domestic
trusts in the control of our markets.
The laborers now employed by our
domestic trusts would he idle; their
places would be taken by laborers en-
ployed abroad by foreign trusts. The
prosperity OF the republic IS founded on
the prosperity OF American laborers.
All legislation should place the Ameri-
can man above the Am, ri an dolla
but il should not in its endeavor b.
rectifv the abuses Of American unions
of capital, take away the employment
of American laborers What We should
do is to maintain for American laborers
and American capital the practical mo-
nnpoly Of A merican markets.
Third-All attempts to regulate cap
ital hy State legislation will fail, simply
because it will he impossible to produce
voluntary 60 operation among the var
ious States.
Federal Legislation Needed.
Fourth Il he only adequate remedy
il through federal legislation. the oper-
alton OF which will he uniform through
nut the republic. II Is true that the
sederal government cannot prevent the
organization Of State corporations. nor
is this desira bic, but II can through its
power regarding the regulation of inter-
State commerce. restrain their opera
sion and it can use its taxing power in
such way as either to destroy or to
regulate and control.
The power relating to the regulation
of Interstate commerce Is hardly suf-
fitient to meet the evil. asevasiOn would
he easy. Any trust could restrain its
operations to the limits OF the State
under the laws OF which it was ergan-
lied. At the same time. purchasers
from other States could buy in such
State. The sale would be domestic.
the transfer OF the product would be
inter. State, and legislation aimed at
the trust in its Interstate business
might be evaded.
Best and Only Remedy.
Fifth-The power OF taxation of the
federal government is ample to meet
the difficulty. and it Is much more far
reaching than the power exercised un-
der the inter. State commerce section OF
the constitution. The power OF taxa
tion can be used either to destroy or
restrain, and It has been so used with
in our experience.
Evils Can be Reached.
Why cannot this power be used with
reference TO the modern trust, and in a
most efficient way? Through it two
evils can be reached. One, the monop-
oily of production by unions of capital,
and the other the escape of organized
wealth under present conditions, from
the burthens OK federal taxation. The
/ latter is one of the crying evils of the
times. The whole tendency OF federal
legislation has been to exempt accumu-
lated wealth. The wealth Of the coun-
try has been for years rapidly drifting
into corporations.
Stocks in corporations represent
more than any other class of property,
the surplus wealth of the country, for
the man who has share OF stock has
something which he has accumulated
over and above his current wants and
expenditures, and the best method of
reaching the surplus wealth OF the
country l. To Tax corporations.
Although restricted nv the income
tax decision the field Of federal taxation
is still a large one, for 1t embraces all
the transactions OF business and though
the real and personal property OF n cor
porati0n and the income therefrom can
not be directly reached. yet every trans
action In which such corporations en-
gage may he made the subject Of tax
alton by the federal government. and
the taxes imposed may he classified in
such wav as to restrain unions of cap
ital In their monopolstlc tendencies.
Legitimate Spherc OF Corpor-
atio15.
The ordinary pro lncer, having hut
one factory, cannot afford To get into a
controversy with his employees. for
that would involve an absolute cessation
] of the work Of his enterprise. A COR
poration owning n dozen factories can