The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1899-09-22

Kentucky and Louisiana were formerly
under the dominion of lotteries. The
object Of trusts or commercial industrial
combinations is to abolish and destroy
competition. 1t is competition which
necessitates commercial travellers and
advertising and the trust which controls
the entire output of some particular
product does not need to send out sales
men or advertise in the public press.
Nobody has that article but the trust,
and in order to get any of 1t, everybody
must go to the trust and pay the price
demanded by the trust. The object of
q monopoly is to make the largest pos
sible profit on its business they are not
in business for their health. Neither
are they in trade for the purpose of
raising the wages of their employees,
for, when they find the market over
stocked, and find it necessary to stop
dozen or so of their factories, what be-
comes of the employees? Do they pay
them their wages as they do the former
owners of the factories their profits?
While IL is true that almost every
established line of business is suffering
from over competition, it is neverthe-
less a fact that in no line are more
goods produced than the mass of man
kind would gladly consume, provided
they had the means of buying them.
This they have not, under existing
economic and social conditions; hence
the necessity of the commercial traveller
to extend the territory, or, If he be
crushed out by the trusts, limitation
in the product of industry to satify, not
the wants of the people, but the enrich
ment of the few not the needs of the
nation, but the fattening of a class;
not the interests of a community. but
the strengthening of the trusts. There
Is a danger in this trust business that
few appreciate. Their trend is to make
paupers Of the nine men that the tenth
man, whom nobody knows, may be
too rich to live in this country and pay
taxes Competition prevents the
formation of a powerful and permanent
money aristocracy, because the opera
ton of competition is to find the weak
places in every commercial and indus
trial system. Under the competitive
system human energy, intellect and
enterprise work ceaslessly to discover
better methods, and processes to cheap
en- and improve the commercial service
Of the world, and the results are shared
with the populace. On the other hand
the destruction Of competition through
trusts and monopolies operate to Gre
ate a powerful class which would control
all industries for the enrichment of it's
own members, and keep both producer
and consumer in a condition of entire
dependence upon them. Against this
condition there is but one protection.
Every thinking man knows the place
| to make the fight against combined
capital is not through the medium of
strikes, lockouts or boycots, but at the
polls. We, as commercial men must
make up our minds as to where we can
expect relief from this great and threat
ening menace to our interests as a class,
and firmly take our position there. We
must choose between this time and the
next national conventions, where our
strength shall be thrown. Whether we
will make our stand inside or outside
the breastworks of either of the two
political parties. The advice Of some
enthusiasts to ally ourselves with a
new party is not sound; we can only
expect to get relief from one of the two
dominant parties, and must base our
judgment upon the acts of one during
the coming session of congress, or the
! promises Of the other in case power be
vested in them to deal with the question.
We have sufficient votes and strength
to control the electoral vote of every
doubtful state in the union. 1t is not
politics, but a fight for the very exis-
tence of our craft; for the maintenance
of our families on the lines we have
relied upon in the past, and to which no
one is opposed except those who are
inimical to the best interests of the
nation as we'll as our own.
COOPER"