Arizona republican. [volume] (Phoenix, Ariz.) 1890-1930, 1899-12-13
PHGNIx. DECEMBER ID. 1899.

and more attention and it will be
strange in view of the
NOW FOR recommendations of
THE President Mckinley if
TRUSTS. the congress this win
ter shall not make an
effort to curb the gigantic combina-
lions of capital that are forcing up the
prices of certain commodities and in
general exerting a harmful influence
on many American industries The
presidents remarks are equivalent to
declaration that the entire nation is
aroused and prepared to fight an evil
which is strangling business competi-
ton and threatening our national in
tegrity. The question has at last been
presented to our national legislators,
and they must either face the great
problem created by selfish methods of
powerful combinations, or retire 20
private life
What are trusts? 1t would seem that
the public ought to be pretty familiar
with the ways and aims of these COM
binations by this time. But there are
thousands of persons who have an idea
that there is little or no danger in the
combinations and that they are the
natural outcome of evolution in bust
ness methods.
Trusts were scarcely heard of a dec
ade ago. Their growth has indeed
been surprising. Men who were for
merly conservative in their business
transactions have suddenly become
eager to get rich quickly They are
like men carried away by the gamb-
ler's recklessness, and they unhestat-
ingly invest their capital in combina-
tons which promise large dividends.
According to the cyclopedists trusts
can be considered under four heads:
% Their nature and how they are
formed; (2) their economic effects; 60
their legality; (4) their probable future.
Under the first head, a trust can be de-
clared a combination of two or more
competing organizations under one
management for the purpose of regu-
lating the amount of production and
increasing the profits of the combining
concerns. A learned jurist has de-
clared that the purpose Of trust is
to make larger profits by decreasing
cost, limiting production, and increas-
ing the price to the consumer" Its
purposes are accomplished by present
ing to competitors the alternative of
either joining the combination or being
crushed out of existence. The same
jurist says: THE organization of the
trust is intricate, secret and subtle. 1t
is a masterpiece of modern ingenuity
and fertility of resource. 1t is the pro-
duct of the highest order of business
talent and executive ability. 1t is at
once monument to American genius
and a symbol of American rapacity."
That this jurist has spoken truly one
can easily see, when he recalls the fact
that billions of capital are already in
vested in trusts which are attempting
to corner the necessities of life. AL
ready thousands of men and women
have been thrown out of employment
ny lHSSS COllDlHdllOllS, anu the pa SGS
for food products and some grades of
merchandise are so high that buyers
feel the pinch caused by unreasonable
demands.
The economic effects of trusts are
bad. These combinations stifle compe-
tition, create immense fortunes, make
men unconscionable, and grind down
the laboring class. They go still far
ther and undermine the neutrality of
legislation. Among the trusts which
undoubtedly. have great Influence In
state and national affairs are the
Standard Oil trust, the paper trust, the
anthracite coal corporation of Pennsyl-
vania and the American cotton-oil
trust. The anthracite coal trust owns
1876, 900 acres of anthracite coal land out
of a total of 100000 acres.
1t is an old axiom that Where COM
bination is possible competition is i'm
possible" Society, in the majority of
instances, is vastly better off with
many small fortunes among its men,
bers than with few large ones. Trusts
inevitably drive all small concerns to
the wall. and build up q few large es-
Establishments on their ruins.
The future of the trust viii be de-
-cided by the people. Already legisla-
tors are preparing to assail unlawful
combinations. There should be no