Evening star., 1900-09-28
SOME GOOD TRUSTS
Senator Beveridge Points Benefits
They Have Conferred on Public.
THERE ARE ALSO BAD ONES
He Would Commend the Former
and Punish the Latter.
SPEECH AT COLUMBUS, NEB.

COLUMBUS. Neb.. September 2s.-Sena-
tor Beveridge opened the campaign in this
state today by addressing great crowd al
this place.
Senator Beveridge said: Ladies and Cen
tlemen: Mr. Bryan owns a farm. l know
this because / have read it in the news
papers ] know it because / have seen
photographs of Mr.. Bryan on his farm
am not a farmer now, but l farmer
once. And when l farmer | worked
al the business. The difference between a
farmer who works at the profession and
the farmer who only works at the name is
Just the difference between man and his
photograph So | think | can talk to the
farmers with more authority than Mr. Bry-
an And as he talks to them about trusts
i also will talk to them about trusts. What
is a trust? 1t is great combination OF
capital designed to simplify and unity busi-
ness Of a great combination of labor, de-
signed 10 simplify and unity industry. 1t Is
easy to see, therefore. that there can be
good trusts and bad trusts, just as there
can he good men and bad men. trust
is a good trust when it performs the work
for which it has been organized and pro-
duCcS better goods at cheaper prices ana
delivers them to the consumer more con-
could do The consumer is the sovereign
factor in civilization. The well being of the
masses Is the result of every industrial de-
yelopment that endureS. A trust Is bad
trust when it raises prices dishonesty ana
without other reason than to satisfy the
greed of its managers. man Is PAD
man when he steals: and when he does that
he ought to be put in jail. A trust is d pau
trust when 1t dishonesty raises prices; ana
when it does that it ought to be restrained
or put out of existence. But because one
man steals is no reason why all men shouiu
be put III Jail, and because one trust Is
dishonest is no rasOn why all trusts should
be destroyed. Mr. Bryan is in favor or de-
stroying all combinations of capital we
are in favor of destroying only such comol-
nations of capital oppress the people:
Just as you are in favor OF putting In JAN
only such men as commit larceny or MUIR
der or arson.
Trust Operated by Every Farmer
Let me give the farmers a perfect illus
tration of a trust that every farmer In this
country operates himself. That trust Is the
self binding harvester. / got the Job or
driving the first self-binding harvester that
was sent to central Illinois by the McCor-
micKs 1t was an old wire-binder 1t was
a trust. 1t was the only trust / have ever
had anything to do with. 1t did what sew
eral different machines and implements
were required to do before. 1t enabled the
farmer himself to harvest and market his
grain at a much less cost than he was able
10 do before. The first season the self
binding harvester appeared in central llli-
noiS the same arguments were advanced
against 1t that now advanced against
trusts. 1t was said that it threw labor out
OF employment. 1t was said 1t would re-
suit in each farmer becoming a sort OF in
dependent landed gentry like the great
landlords of England, and that he would
not need any help from the day laborers
whom he had Heretofore hired TO do his
harvesting, There were even talks Of mobs
70 burn up the self-bnders. But men who
thought they were thrown out of employ
ment by it. found that they were not: but
thai there were other employments, easier
employment and better-paid employments
III other directions than all the hard work
that harvesting by hand afforded them
that the new conditions created by this
very seif-binder furnished them other and
better employment. Every labor-saving
machine Is mechanical trust, and yet more
laboring men are employed today and at
higher wages and with shorter hours than
ever before in human history.
Lowered the Cost of Grain.
The self-binder enabled the farmer to
market his grain cheaper than he was able
t. do before. SO the trust enables the pro-
ducers 10 produce cheaper than they did be-
fore. The sef-bnder therefore increases the
farmers profits because il enables him to
market his grain cheaper: and that is right.
The trust enables its managers to produce
cheaper than they did before: and increase
IL profits coming from that is legitimate
aabi-buSl lntS nave no TlSnt 10 all such In
crease of profits. Better products at cheaper
prices to the consumer IS the only 1ustifica-
ton for trusts. If the farmers were able to
force up the price of grain dishonesty and
SUI increase their profits, that would be
wrong, and it ought to be prevented Just
50 when trust Is able to dishonesty force
UP The price of its products that IS wrong
snd 1t ought to be prevented. And that Is
what the republican party proposes to do
Rut because the self-binding harvester in
creases the farmers profit by enabling him
u produce cheaper grain. is no reason why
the Self-binder ought 10 be burned And
Just 50, the fact that trusts cause cheaper
production of products is no reason why
they should be destroyed. The republican
idea is regulation and punishment The
bryan idea is simply destruction. If Mr.
81 van Will work more on his farm at driy-
ing his self-binder, he will better under
stand the first principles of the trust ques-
ti9n.
Practical Remedy for Trust Evils.
There IS only one possible way Of regulat-
Ing trusts. That way Is by the Congress Of
the republic controlling corporations. This
i one country now. We have outgrown
state rights. There Is no reason why cor
poratidn organized In New Jersey should
have greater privileges than one organized
In Nebraska. A trust to succeed must do
business all over the country. Therefore It
ought 10 be controlled, not by a state gov
erllmtnt, but by the nations government
- - tire OIu SlEuSSit between the nation
and state rights. The Constitution does not
permit that at present. The republican
party proposes to amend the Constitution SO
that the national government may control
trusts. The democratic party voted solidly
against that proposition Why? Because
tn democratic party was more in favor of
trusts than the republican party? No, Both
parties are equally against the evils of
trusts. But the democrats opposed that
measure. which alone can cure the evils of
trusts, because 1t is a republican measure
and they would not permit it to pass as a
republican measure without protest The
point i that the republican party have pro-
posed the only possible remedy and are
pledged To its execution.
Is Mr. Bryan in favor Of destroying the
department. store? Is there, woman in
the United States who will refuse to trade
win the department stores? If not. why
not? Because before the department store
cam she had to buy thing in one little
shop and another thing in another little
shop. and all of poorer quality and higher
price, whereas she buys everything
under one roof. at a cheaper price and of
better quality and has IL quickly delivered
Under he old system. statistics show that
more than ~ per cent of the small stores
failed And all of them had to sell poorer
goods al a higher price In order to make
their many profits. and even then they
failed, whereas the department store sells