Akron daily Democrat. [volume] (Akron, Ohio) 1892-1902, 1899-09-29
FINANCIAL I..UIN
Threatens to 0verahelln These
& United States.
TRUSTS MUST BE CHECKED
If the Stability OF the Industrial and
Business World Is to Endure.
SENATOR WAsHBURVS FRANK WORDS

SENATOR WASHBURN'S FRANK WORDS
Minnesota Flour King and Repub-
| lican Leader Warns the Admins
tration of the COmin. PeriI-Rcgards
the Present Craze For Forming
Trade Combinations as Alarming
and Holds the Tariff and Repub-
lican InactiOn Responsible.
The New York Tribune prints the
following remarkable interview:
Ex-United States Senator William
D. Washhurn of Minnesota. head of the
extensive -four milling interests in
Minneapolis bearing his name. SAYS
that unless something is done at once
to stop the formation and exploitation
OF trusts financial ruin will overtake
the country. and the Republican party
will be overthrown He holds that the
Republican administration must do
more than adopt resolutions against
trusts, and advocates the abolition of
all protective duties when it is evident
that trust is securing exorbitant
profits on account of the duties. He
cites the steel rail Industry. in which
he is interested. and the tin plate in
dustry. all illustrating the immediate
need Of Withdrawing tariff duties
which now tend to give those indus
tries what he declares to be exorbitant
profits. Ex-senator Washburn talked
at length with a Tribune reporter in
his room at the Fifth Avenue hotel
yesterday.
Ihe present situation. to the good
citizens. the good Republican and the
man who loves his country. is really
alarming said Mr.. Washburn. and
it is more largely owing to the rapid
formation of what is called the trust
than to any other agency First. this
trust craze has changed the whole na-
ture of things.
No Chance For the Xoung.
when 1 was young mani am
now 6S-I had the world before me.
and there was an absolutely fair field
for me. Take all of our most success
full business men of today and their ex-
periences were like mine They en-
tered the race without a handicap. and
their grit and capacity Won Now this
building UP of trusts puts n stop to fair
and equal opportunities for the young
men of today. The young man Just
1out Of college has no opening. as
rule. He cannot begin business on his
own account against organized capital.
He must join the procession He must
content himself with being a mera
clerk, and the chances are that he will
never get any further. because there
are so many in his class. This makes
the situation a serious one, and I am
sorry for the young man of today He
comes out of school bright, eager and
enterprisine and runs against econom-
ic conditions that are too much for
him. I can't help feeling that if he
had the same chance l had when I was
a young map it would be great thing
for him. He hasn't got it. I've studied
the situation and I'm sure of what
am saying.
1.-The present industrial tendency
amounts to almost a craze for trusts.
There is hardly anything in the indus
trial line that has not been tackled
by the promoters of the trust. All
the promoters care for is to get up
these combinations. palm them off on
an uninitiated public, and then get
out of them, after making all the
money they can. I think the banks
make a 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, and the unwary
are drawn op.
When the Crash Comes.
THE worst feature OF the industrial |
trusts of today is that nearly every
one of them is vastly overcapitalized. |
The promoters comes along with his |
idea He finds one or two concerns
making a legitimate profit, while half |
dozen others are practically bank |
rupt and making no money. Invaria |
bly, the concern that has been most |
unfortunate is the most anxious to go |
into the trust. These unthrifty con-
Germs are able to get along in times |
of great prosperity but when we get |
down to normal conditions these con-
Germs will go to pieces, no matter |
whether they are in trust or not. |
Just at present there is a demand for
every conceivable thing, and times are |
elastic and money is plenty. Every |
thing is floating along prosperously. |
When the collapse comes, as come it |
will, it will sweep all these naturally |
non-paying concerns to financial ruin.
OF course, the theory on which the
trust is built is its ability TO raise
prices. but that is sure to result in |
trouble.
Take steel rails for instance. Ont |
and a half years ago rails of fair quail
ty were being sold at SIT ton, at
profit OF perhaps s1.50 ton. Wha
was the consequence? We sent rails
all over the world. invading Great |
Britain, China and Japan and other
countries With the enormous depos-
its of high grade ore in Minnesota and
Wisconsin there is No reasnn why we |