The Chanute times. [volume] (Chanute, Kan.) 1897-1913, 1899-08-04
TRUSTS. BRITISH AND AMER
Facts Which Refute the Anti-Tariff
Contentious of Free-Traders
and Populists
New York Tribune

screw, nor any other torture ever
known to the Spanish lnquisition,
could force an anti trust free trader
to face the fact that there are more
trusts or Industrial combinations in
Great Britain without protection
than in this country with it. But a
man who will not face that fact,
and yet asserts that the tariff is the
mother of trusts, merely brands HIM
self as one who is capable of repeat
ing assertions disproved by facts
which he dare not mention. No
one can plead,ignorance, at least of
the essential truth that these COM
binations have long prevailed and
welded greater power in Great
Britain than in this country, and on
both sides have prevailed in branch
es of business which no tariff on i'm
ports affects as successfully as in
other branches covered by protect
i've duties. These are no: secrets.
Every man of common school educ
alton knows that the oldest and
most powerful of the trusts in this
county, the Standard Oil, never had
any duty to help it. The main facts
regarding prominent British trusts
are often printed, and details are
given in English papers.
The London Economist recently
gave details regarding those only of
the British trusts which have stocks
we'll known to the market, necessar-
lily but fraction of the whole num-
Der. Those included in its state
ment were 1888, and not even the
most reckless stretching of the term
trust or combination covers as many
in this country. The dividends
paid by these British concerns aver
aged for their entire capital SC per
cent. in 1898, before half the existing
industrial companies in this coun-
try were formed. Moreover, 1872
of them had been ia operation for
five years or more, and paid divid-
ends averaging 5.95 per cent. on
their capital in the disastrous year
1894. OF the % hotel and purvey-
or companies IS were formed since
1904, and of the IS warehouse and
drapery concerns 9 We're old. But
there existed five years ago or more
IL in coal mining, IS in coal and |
iron, 10 in iron manufacture rs in
engineering and shipbuildihg, II in
textile manufactures, IL in manufac-
lures of rolling stock, 9 in metal
foundry and Manufacture, in paper
and pulp, 8 in soap and candles and
25 in miscellaneous manufactures.
The dividends paid averaged even
in 1894 over 9 per cent. in all mis-
cellaneouS and warehouse and drap
cry concerns, over I per cent in
rolling stock and over per cent, in
textile manufactures A mere glance
at the titles of classes shows that
the narrow British tariff, which APP
plies only to few articles, such as
liquor, wines, tea, coffee, tobacco
and preserved fruits, has practically
nothing to do with nearly all these
concerns.
The latest and most complete list
of American consultations covers
about 100 concerns, of which part
in no sense belong in any roll of
combinations, being in fact merely
companies formed to develop sund'y
patents or to bring under one man
agement connecting but not com
peting, companies. But it includes
great number of concerns with
which the tariff has nothing what
ever to do, No tariff affects the gas
business in any city, but there are
Included consultations of gas works
IN five different cities. With exports
of beer and other malt liquors in
large quantities to Europe, there
are yet included consultations of
breweries in seven different cities.
No tariff under the sun affects the
electric light, heat and power con-
Germs. vet there are included 20 of