Evening star., 1899-04-07
THURBER ON TRUSTS
Views Given to the Industrial Com
mission.
BE REGARDS THEM As A NECESSITY
How Prices to the Consumer Have
Been Cut Down.
CASE OF SUGAR AND OIL

| ~
| The United States industrial commission
| met at the Bliss building on b street, op-
posite the Capitol, this morning, and re-
sumed the taking of testimony. Mr.. F. B.
! Thurber of New York, president of the
| United States Export Association, went on
| the stand and gave his views at some
| length
| Mr.. Phillips, vice chairman of the COM
| mission, explained that Mr.. Thurber would
give his views on trusts and monopoly.
Long Study OF Trusts.
| For many years. said Mr.. Thurber in
! opening his remarks. "and more recently as
| president of the United States Export Asso-
| citation, have studied the effect of aggre-
| cations of capital, commonly known as
| trusts, upon our commercial. industrial
| and political system. may say that when
| began it was with a strong prejudice
| against them. l believed that they would
tend to oppress the public with high prices
and also that their political influence was
| to be feared. had no conception that they
| We're natural economic development con-
| sequent on the development OF the great
| forces which now control the worid-steam,
| electricity and maChiHery-or that there
was any rational basis for their existence.
! But careful study of their effect, ranging
| over a period of years has materially mod
iiied my opinion.
| The best horse will shy at an umbrella
| If ii is opened in his face too suddenly and
| the economic results Of these great forces
| nave been 50 sudden and startling that it is
perhaps natural that even Intelligent men
| should shy at them until. like the horse
| they can smell of them and see that they
| are not dangerous. The trust is a result
| of these forces.
| Reduced Freight Charges.
THE first prominent development of the
| trust organization in this country was in
| the consolidation of numerous lines of rail-
! road into trunk lines, and there was a fear
! in the public mind Gn which l shared that
| these combinations and consultations
| would result in exorbtant rates for trans
| portation and to the detriment of the public
! interest. What the result has been is
| shown by the following extract from d re-
| port adopted by the national board of trade
at its annual convention in 1896:
| THE average charge for sending ton of
| freight one mile on thirteen of the most i'm
| portant railroads in the United States dur
| ing 1860 was 3.oS cents; in 1870 1.So cents;
| in 1919, 1.36 cents: in 1880, 1.91 cents: in
| 1885, O.S3 cent; in 1890, or cent; in 1893
| 0.I6 cent; in 1894, 0.746 cent and in 1895
| o120 cent. Since 1885 the figures have not
| varied so largely, but have shown a con-
stant tendency downward.
| These railroads performed one-third of
| the entire transportation of 1895, and from
| the figures given it appears that Or cent
| would pay for as much transportation over
| their lines in 1885 as could have been OBJ
| tained for 3oS cents thirty years earlier
! "InlS reduction, amounting to three
| quarters of the average rate of 1865, was
exceeded by that in price of but few even
| OF those articles in the manufacture of
| which new inventions have worked the
] most radical changes. The entire trans
portation performed by the railroads of the
| United States during the twelve wears end
| ing June 30 1904 lap
136, 1913 6Ia 81 passengers and So1, ,935 :3S2 S:S
| tons of freight one mile. Had rates aver
! aging as high as those of 1882 been collect
! ed on this traffic the railroads would have
| earned s., $40 043 ,459 more than they actual
| ly received.
| Lower Cost of Oil.
| THE next most prominent aggregation of
| Dital In the mmercial world is known
| as the Standard Oil Company"
Mr. Thurber showed the same history of
| lowering prices per gallon of oil exported
| from 1871 to 1898. In 1871 the price was
! 81 cents which came down gradually to
| 81 cents in 1898.
| This great Decline" he said 'fn the
! price OF OIL Is attributable partly to the in
| crease in production, but more largely to
/ improvements in manufacture and trans
| portation, which We're only attafnab,e
| through the aggregation of capital in this
| industry.
Fall in Price of Sugar
| Among the more prominent of the re-
| cent so-called trusts is that of the Amer
| lean Sugar Refining Company which is a
| corporation formed under the laws of the
state of New Jersey for the purpose of con-
| soldating the sugar refining interests of
| the country, and until recently, when addi-
uonal capital flowed into this channel it
did about 80 per cent of the sugar refining
| business of the United States
| The fall in prices in this industry was
shown to be from 1.423 cents centrifugal
| raw per pound in 1879 to 5.2i5 in 1877 when
| the trust was formed and then the price
fell in 1896 to :t.651. The same is shown in
| other classes OF sugar handled by the trust.
Decrease in Profits of Capital.
| THE profits of capital" Mr.. Thurber
| said, have been steadily decreasing while
! those of labor and especially organized
| labor, have steadily increased. At no pre-
| vious period would a dollar buy so much of
| the necessaries and comforts of life as at
present. While this is admitted by intel!i-
gent laboring men, many of them contend
that opportunities for earning a dollar have
constantly diminished, and they are now
! seeking, by the advocacy of shorter hours
| for labor, to make employment for a larger
number of persons, and l believe that this
! Is worthy and beneficent aim. 1t is better
to have larger number of persons en-
ployed Tor eight hours than smaller num-
ber of persons ten or twelve hours. Unrest
| of labor in a free country is rot danger
Gus phenomenon, but rather a safety valve
| ard one which capital can afford to en-
courage. AT the same time it must not be
forgotten that education of the masses has
created new wants. and that these wants
have grown faster than the means of graft
| Tying them. The problem should be viewed
| from both sides. end only what is reason
able should prevail.
Unlimited Power and Tyranny.
wherever unlimited power exists it is
usually accompanied by tyranny, whether
| of labor or capital. There are labor trusts
| as well as capital trusts. and in all the an
! nails of combination there are no greater
| illustrations of tyranny than the attitude
of some of the labor organizations toward
laDorers. This, however. was the newt
| able outcome of organization and of the
evolution which is now going on through
out the world under the operation of the
great forces that now contro! the world
steam electricity and machinery Under
/ the operation of these forces the world has
| been grown richer. All the resources Of
nature are being developed. Capital has
| increased faster than the opportunities for
| its profitable employment, as is evidenced