The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1899-06-15
TRUSTS AND THEIR ASPECTS
Rev. n. N. BartIen's Fine Discourse on
Great Absorbing Topic.


At the publishers request the Rev.
Mr.. Bartlett has written the following
report of his Sunday evening sermon up
on "The Social and Moral Aspects Of
Trusts
The growth of the so.called Trust is
one Of the most remarkable features of
the industrial world and means simply
industrial revolution. While this move.
ment began several years back, ii is dur
ing the last two years that it has reached
its elimination. Few people realize the
extent it has reached. A writer in the
June number of the Review of Reviews
SAYS Besides the incorporated trusts,
which probably number more than 500
in the United States, and are capitalized
at Elk to eight billions of dollars, al
though their actual capital is probably
less than three billions, there are per-
haps 500 more agreements and pools be.
tween competing manufacturers and
transporters, which. from the stand
point of the consumer, are as effective,
injurious, and obnoxious TO just the
same extent as ale the great corporate
trusts" The same writer says: "Out.
side of grains, vegetables. and fruits 10
manufactured forms, and of live stock,
it lie difficult to purchase any article up
on which there is not an artificial price,
fixed either by the producers of the ar
nla t,n IF hA
material used in making the article. by
the dealers in it, or by agreements be-
tween any or all connected with the
manufacture or sale of the article "
Those industries which are not yet I'M
der trust organizations are rapidly be-
coming so. The Journal of Commerce
OF May 10 contains list OF eighteen big
trusts now in process of incubation,
with proposed capitalization of 81, 3l2,-
100000. Ere long the so.caled trust
will possess the whole Industrial field,
and then we may look for further COM
binations of the trusts with each other.
This tendency is feature of the age
the tendency to Capitalization. 1t can
not be prevented. 1t is now assuming
everywhere a perfectly legal form the
corporate form, the trust Of few years
ago being now organized as corpora
ton, protected, therefore, exactly as
other corporations are.
1t is easier to see what we are not to
do than to see clearly what to do in re-
spect to trusts. No one yet knows what
is the wise and safe thing to do. 1t is
idle to listen to the party orator who, the
moment he gets excited, deals in denun-
citation; nor to the party editor who
wears colored glasses. We need to put
on the cearest spectacles we can find |
and 20 off INTO some cool place and look
at things exactly as they are.
In the organization of trusts four
things are sought, everyone of which, as
at present done, are dangerous to the
public welfare. The object of the trust
is.
First-Oyer capitalization, the pur-
pose being two-fold-to sell large blocks
OF stock to the public at inflated prices,
and as cover under which to earn enor.
nous dividends. The extent to which
most trusts are over capitalized is almost
incredible. The Tin Plate Trust. with
property which could be duplicated At
$12, O00,0 900. is capitalized at $50, 000, 900,
and will probably pay dividend of
$4,000, 900, equal to more than 40 per
cent, upon the real value.
The second object OF the trust is to
decrease the cost of production and dis
tribution. This can be done under sim
gle management to very large ex-
tent, and is perfectly legitimate provided
the saving be justly shared with the pub
lie. 1t would be foolish to suppose that
this is done.
The third object is to regulate the
price of commodities. The corporation