Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1899-09-15
,idual business man and the skilled ar


tisan and mechanic.
How does the trust affect them? 1t
is admitted by the apologist for the
trust that 1t makes 1t impossible for
the individual or firm to do business on
a small scale.
ut tends to concentrate the ownership
and management of all lines of business
activity into the hands Of a very few.
No one denies this.
This being so, 1t follows that the in
dependent, individual business man
must enter the employment OF the
trust. Self representation compels it.
Duty to his family forces him to It,
HE becomes an employee instead of
an employer. His trusted foremen and
his employees must follow him.
They have been in close and daily
association with him. The new order of
things compels them to separate. They
are both to become part of the vast
industrial army, with no hopes and no
aspirations-a daily task to perform
and no personal interest and perhaps
no pride in the success of their work.
Their personal identity is lost. They
become cogs and little wheels in a
great complicated machine. There is no
real advance for them
They may perhaps become larger
cogs or larger wheels, but they can
never look forward to a life Of business
/ freedom.
"A very select few may become heads
of trusts but such opportunities will
he rare indeed. They will, therefore,
be entirely useless as incentives to the
ambition of the army of those employed
by the trust AS a result of the cease
Hess and heartless grind of the trusts
in the almost insane desire to control
trade ambition, and perhaps inventive
genius, will be deadened and killed.
'"rhe middle classes of which l speak
will lose their sense of independence.
They are already being deprived of that
equality of opportunity which has at
4 tracted to this country the millions OF
/ people of other nations, who have
helped make American citizenship and
| American institutions the greatest and
best in the world.
THE trust is therefore the forerun-
ner or rather the creator of industrial
/ slavery
4 Ex-Governor Foster, of Ohio, was the
llneXt speaker. He said.
| "Denounce trusts as we may, they
have come to stay. Why? Because the
! gigantic business operations of the
present and future can not be carried
on without them. Through the trust the
u enormous waste that is entailed upor
business operations by competition i:
saved. The product and the seryic,
performed is cheapened Labor viii
have the better opportunity to enhanc,
1,r,r foil
lis so signally Illustrated in the railroad
service of the country.
When the trust shall have been prop
lerly safeguarded by law their securitie
! Twill furnish means of safe investmen
at somewhat higher rate of interes
than will be paid by government. stat
or municipal bonds, thus affording al
opportunity for investment by the PEG
!, pie of moderate means.
A bureau of government or a board
similar to the interstate commerce com
mission, should be established, to whor
FALL trusts shall apply for license afte
being Incorporated, and to whom re
E ports. as required of national bank.
o should be made. The terms Of the Ii
: cense should provide against over-capl
! talization.
..All profits beyond per cent shout
be taxed for the benefit of the govern
: ment 1t seems to me that it is the dut
of this conference to request congress
submit amendments to the constitution
giving it necessary power to control til
!, trust and to tax their profits.
When Governor Foster concluded, tn
committee on resolutions was al
nounced