Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1899-09-22
VOLUME XXXIX..-NUMBER a.
BRYAN'S ADDRESS.
HE HOLDS THE ASSEMBLAGE
SPELu-BOUND.

A Mastery Dissertation on Trusts at the Chi.
cago Conference on Trusts-Bourke Cock.
ran Followed in Speech Admitting Much
That Bryan Had Claimed as Detrimental to
Public Policy.
The conference on the uses and
abuses of trusts closed its sessions in
| Chicago, Saturday, in blaze OF ora
tory, in which Colonel w. ]. Bryan
and w. Bourke Cochran were the GEN.
trail figures. Mr.. Cochran followed
the noted Nebraskan, but disclaimed
any intention of debating the conclu-
sions of his immediate predecessor,
and declared his complete concurrence
in much that Mr.. Bryan had said
The Westerner delivered the speech
OF the day during the forenoon, amid
frequent interruption OF tumultuous
applause.
| The Civic Federation Trust Confer
ence was addressed by Colonel William
J. Bryan. The hall was packed in an
ticipation OF Bryan's reply to Cochran
on the trust question.
The Speaker was introduced by Gov
ernor Stanley, of Kansas, who acted as
chairman of the opening session. In
beginning his address, Bryan said
The trust question has grown in
importance. Within the past two
years more trusts have been organized,
when we come to consider the capital
ization and the magnitude of interests
involved, than were organized in all
the previous history of the country.
And people are now face to face with
these questions: is the trust bless
ing or curse; if curse, what remedy
can be applied to cure the curse?"
Iwant to start with the declaration
that monopoly in private hands is in
defensible from any standpoint, and is
intolerable. The entire defense of
trusts rests upon the money argument.
If trusts will sell an article for dollar
less than the article will cost under
other conditions, then, in the opinion
OF some, that proves the trust to be a
good thing. In the first place, deny
that under monopoly the price will be
reduced. In the second place, if un-
der monopoly the price is reduced, OBJ
jections to the monopoly from other
standpoints far outweigh any financial
advantage that the trust would bring.
Continuing, Bryan said that when
ever you put capital on an equal foot
ing with labor or above labor, in the
structure OF the government, you are
on the road to aiding government
that rests, not upon reason, but upon
force. The first advantage of mo.
nopoly, said Mr.. Bryan, is to lower
the price of raw material furnished by
people to that combination. The next
thing is after you have bought up all
factories, to close part OF them and
turn out OF employment men who are
engaged in them. In case of local
strikes aud fires, work goes elsewhere,
preventing serious loss.
What does it mean? It means that
if the people employed in one factory
are not satified with the terms fixed by
their employers and strike, the factory
can close down and let the employees
starve. while other factories 60 on
without loss to the manufacturers.
When monopoly has absolute control,
brains will be at discount.
What is the first thing to be expect
ed OF trust? That it will cut down
expenses. What is second? That it
will raise prices. We have not had in
this country yet taste of the COM
plete trust, complete monopoly, and
we cannot tell what will be the result
of complete monopoly by looking at
the results that have followed attempts
to secure monopoly, because monopoly
has been lowering prices in order to
rid itself of competitors. But when it
has rid itself Of competitors, what is
going to be the result?
Ny friends, all you have to know is
human nature. God made men selfish.
Selishness is merely the outgrowth Of
instinct, of self-preservation. 1t is an
abnormal development of mans desire
to protect himself. We must recog.
nize selfishness and we must so make
our laws that people shall not be per-
mitted to trespass upon the rights OF
others in their efforts to secure advan'
tages for themselves. l believe that
i society is interested in the independ-
ence of every citizen. Society is inter-
ested in this because, if man dies
and leaves no provision for wife and
children, the burden falls upon So
ciety. l believe that the principal OF
monopoly finds its inspiration in the
desire of men to secure by monopoly
what they cannot secure in the open
field OF competition.
Another thing that in my judgment
has aided monopoly, is high tariff.
Nobody can dispute that tariff law
import duty enables trust to charge
for its product the price OF a similar
foreign product plus the tariff. Now,
some have suggested that to put every
thing on the free list that trusts make