The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1900-10-08


for constitutional amendment Civ
ing congress power 10 regulate. control
or abolish such combinations The Re-
publicans in the lower house or con-
gress offered such an amendment, and
the Democrats promptly defeated IT,
That ground was then abandoned, ana
the sole suggestion put forward by the
Democrats today for the suppression
OF trusts is the abolition Of the protect
i've tariff For the purpose of their ar
gument that the protective tariff is re-
sponsihle for trusts. they are compelled
to either ignore or manufacture facts
For example, they overlook the fact that
neither the Standard Oil Company. the
sugar trust, the copper trust, or any of
the really 1nonopolistic trusts are to-
day under tariff protection, and conse-
auentiy the suggested remedy would
not AFFECT them in the slightest de-
gree. In the second place. they hold,
without warrant of fact, that trusts
could not exist under system of free
trade.
The German Magazine OF Industry. a
journal whose speciality is the gathering
of Industrial statistics, has something
to say on this subject in recent issue.
This journal shows that within the past
three years there have been organ ized
in free trade England 500 industrial
combinations, with capital aggregating
$50, 900. 900 marks. OF these the largest
Is that Of the calico printers. consisting
of sixty concerns, with capital. of near
ly 200,0oo.000 marks: next, thirty-one
cotton thread manufactures, with cap
ital OF 12o.coo.Ooo marks: followed by the
Bradford dyers' trust. twenty-five con-.
Germs. with 100000 marks, and the
wall paper trust. twenty-eight concerns,
with s5.ooo.ooo marks of capitalization.
These facts absolutely destroy any
theory TO the effect that a destruction
of the protective tariff would neces.
sarily prevent the formation Of trusts,
while keeping other manufactures
open. 1t. is well understood, however,
that withdrawal of the protective tar
III would have detrimental effect upon
trusts, not, however. as trusts. but as
manufactures. The experiment of the
Wilson bill showed that conclusively.
A withdrawal OF protection means the
closing down of large percentage OF
the mills in the United States. Among
those which would suffer. OF course,
would be the overcapitaiized trusts,
with heavy bonded indebtedness. but
they would suffer no more and no less
than the individual concerns. operating
outside OF any trust or combination.
The principal sufferers by any such
drastic legislation as this would be the
men employed in the manufactures
which would be compelled to suspend.
With the wages OF these men cus off.
and their running expenses reduced to
the lowest possible ebb. the next suf-
ferers would be those who have been
heretofore and are now catering to the
wants of the men employed in manu-
factories. And so II would extend, UNI
Ill depression prevailed in every avenue
of industry.
A vote to put the Democratic pro-
gramme for dealing with the trusts into
effect Is a vote to restore precisely the
conditions which existed Immediately
prior to the last election. The Demo-
Gratis boast that no trusts were being
organized at that time. Did the work
ingmen OF the country find their con-
ditions improved by reason OF that fact
at that time?