The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1899-09-16
BRYAN DAY.
The Colonel Addresses Chicago
Trust Conference.
introduced by Gov. Stanley, of
Kansas, Presiding.
HE RIPS THE TRUSTS.
Says Their Evil Results Are
Not Fully Appreciated
Because They Have Not Secured
Complete Monopoly.
MUCH LEGISLATION
Will Be Needed to Rescue the
People
From the Domination of the
Great Combines.
Says Their Evil Results Are
Not Fully Appreciated
Because They Have Not Secured
Complete Monopoly.
MUCH LEGISLATION
Will Be Needed to Rescue the
People
From the Domination of the
Great Combines.

Chicago, Sept 16.-The Civic Fedora
tion Trust conference at Central Music
hall was addressed today by Colonel
w. J. Bryan. The hall was packed in
anticipation of Colonel Bryan's reply to
w. Bourke Cochran on the trust ques-
tion.
1t was reported that Colonel Bryan
had a set of resolutions to present, pre-
sumably antagonistic to trusts, as they
now exist. He, however. denied this.
saying: Il have none prepared, and
am not sure whether have to prepare
any for presentation"
The speaker was introduced by Gov
ernor Stanley of Kansas, who acted as
chairman of the opening session.
Mr.. Bryan spoke in part as follows:
THE trust question has grown in i'm
pOrtance- Within the past TWO years
more trusts have been recognized,
when We come to consider the capital
izatiOn and the magnitude of interests
previous history of the country and the
people now come face to face with this
question: Is the trust a blessing or
curse? If a curse what remedy can be
applied to the curse?
I want to start with the declaration
that monopoly in private hands is in
defersible from any standpoint and in
tOlerable. One trust may be less harm
full than another. One trust magnate
may be more benevolent than another,
but there is no good monopoly in pri-
vate hands, and 1 do not believe it is
safe for. society to permit any man or
group of men to monopolize any article
of merchandise or any branch Of busi-
ness.
THE defense of the monopoly is al
ways placed on the ground that if you
will allow people to control the market
and fix the price they will be good to
the people who purchase of the m The
entire defense of the trusts rests upon
a money argument. If the trust will
sell to a man an article for a. dollar
less than the article will cost und er
other conditions, then in the op lnion of
some, that proves a trust to be a good
thing.
In the first place deny that under
monopoly the price will be reduced
In the second place if under lOnOpOly
the price is reduced the objecti ons to a
monopoly from other standpC ints far
outweigh the financial advant age that
the trust would bring
In the early years of LincolIl's ad-
ninistratiOn he sent a meSsag 10 con-
gress and in that message he warned
his cOuntrymen against the az prOach
of monarchy He said it was iohe at
tempt to put capital upon an equal
footing with, if not above labor in the
structure of government and in hat at
tempt he saw the approach olf mon
archy. Lincoln was right. Whene- yer you
put capital upon an equal foOtiI Ig with
labor, or above labor, in the st ructure
of government, you are on the road to
aid a government that rests ne t upon
reason but upon force.
Nothing is more Important than
that we shall in the beginning rightly
understand the relation between money
and man."
What is the purpose of the II usts or
the monopoly? For when [ Us ie the
word trust I use it in the sense t hat the
trust means monopoly, and " ha is the
purpose of monopoly?
The first advantage of a me nnOpoly
is to lower the price of the raw ma
terial furnished by the peO7 pie t 0 that
combination. The next thi ng is after
you have bought up all tn e Factories
to close part of them and turn out of
employment the men who are ens "a ged
in them, and if you will g o about over
the country you will see where those
enterprises having come nder the con-
troll of the trusts have b cen closed up
and stand now as silent monuments to
the wisdom of the trust system In
case OF local strikes and fires, the work
goes on elsewhere thus preventing ser
iOus loss What does It me an? 1t
means that if the people emp Ioyed in
one factory are not satisfied With the
terms fixed by the employer ar ID strike
they can close down that fact ory and
let the employees starve, WI lille they
go on in other factories with out loss
to the manufa cturers.
when a branch of industry IS entire
ly in the hands of the one 81 eat mo-
nopoly so that every skilled man in
that industry has to go to the one man
for employment then that ore Z nan will
fix wages as he pIeases and the, labor
ing men Will then share tile suffering
of the man who sells the RAW mi lteriaL
when the monopoly as al isolute
control, brains will be at. a dis count
and relatives will be nee essary to fill
these positions.
There is no question about it. A
trust, a monopoly can lessen the cost
of distribution.
There will be no need for COZ inner
cial travellers because when an Ybody
wants goods, all he has to do is to write
to the one man who has them for sale
it for today?
He cannot only fix the price of what
he sells, but he can fix the tern rs upon
which he sells.
You have to trust to that mans
generosity and his decision upon what
is fair when he is on one sid and
upon the other
What is the first thing to b e ex-
pected of a trust? That it win cut
down expenses. What is the sex Hsond ?
That it viii raise prices. We have not
had in this country yet a taste of a
complete trust, a complete mon Upoly
and We can not tell what will BE- the
results of a complete monopoly byro ok
ing at the results that have follow red