Evening star., 1900-09-27
BRYAN DISCUSSES TRUSTS
REMARKS DIRECTED ESPECIALLY
TO THE STARCH TRUST.
Speech Mt Nebraska City, Where One
of the Factories ts ..,,s.f,
Located. a. a....,.

w. J. Bryan spoke to a large crowd at
Nebraska City last night. The speech had
| been looked forward to with much interest
because Mr. Bryan had announced that he
would deal with the trust question, as af-
fected by the suit instituted. by. Attorney
General Smyth to annul the sale Of the Argo
Starch Works of that city to the National
Starch Company, popularity, known as the
starch trust.
There were not many unfriendly inter
ruptions, but evidently some had been ex-
pected, for previous to the meeting the
mayor of the city issued an order saying
that there had been rumors OF trouble, ana
warning against it. The meeting was heid
in the court house grounds, and the people
stood under the trees and much of the tune
in the rain. while Mr.. Bryan spoke. he
plunged into the local trust question at the
very beginning of his speech. lie spoke
in part as follows:
"A prominent republican has accused the
democrats of representing the forces OF
lawlessness. l mention this because the re-
publcans of Nebraska City have met and
protested against the enforcement OF a
statute of the state of Nebraska, and a re-
publican judge was chairman of the reso-
lutions committee. While the meeting was
called a non-partisan one, Its purpose was
purely political. and 1T is worth while to
note that the republicans seem better able
to enforce the statutes against petty Of
tenders than they are to enforce statues
against great corporations.
THE attorney general has commenced pro-
ceedings, not to destroy a local manufac-
turing establishment. but to prevent the
manufacturing establishment from entering
into a trust In this connection 1t may De
well to note the different steps which nave
been taken The Argo Manufacturing Com
pany of Nebraska City was prosperous
corporation AS evidence OF. this. prosper
ity l quote from the Conservative, pup
lished by ex-Secretary of agriculture ).
Sterling Morton of Nebraska City. May 70
1899. l' II ."Fa-t
the National Starch Company Is de-
ncunced as q trust, and the CONSERVATIVE
declares that the Argo Company was aole
to compete with the trust, and thas no
trust had vet been able to BUY, bully OF
wheede the Argo Company.
About the 1st of September, 1879, rev
months after the editorial comment Whlcn
have just read, the Argo Company joined
the United Starch Company, and the Con-
servative of September q, 1899 quoted an
article from the Commercial and FINANCIAL
World from which | take the following ex-
tract:
Ever since the starch trust" or National
Starch Manufacturing Company, began bus-
mess there has been talk among those
manufacturers of starch who remain out
side of it of the formation of a strong COM
petitive organization, and this, we nave
now the pleasure of recording, has at lensth
been brought to pass There has just been
New Jersey. with a capital of $6,UD,OOO,
powerful concern, under the style of the
United Starch Company, which is consoli-
dation combination of the only four
starch manufacturing concerns IN the
United States that are not in the trust-the
Oswego Starch Factory, the American Glu-
cose Company of Buffalo. Gilbert S. Graves,
the Argo Manufacturing Company Of Ne
braska City, Neb. and Joy, Morton & Co.,
and the Sioux City GoWa) Starch Works,
owned by Duryea & Co These concerns
are the largest and most important manu-
facturers of fine grades of, starch in the
United States, and their transactions are,
in the aggregate, of enormous magnitude.
About a year later-that is, in August or
September of this year. 1a0O-the third step
was taken and the United Starch Company
Joined the trust. First, we have an indie
pendent company, growing and prospertnS
upon its merits; second, this Independent
company joins other companies to fight the
strach trust. and. third, this independent
company, with its associates. Joins the
starch trust, and, third this independent
stroyed.
Mr. Bryan then quoted extensively from
editorial articles in Mr.. Morton's Conserva-
tive. showing hostility to trusts Comment
ing in general way. Mr.. Bryan said:
IF the people of Nebraska City defend
the starch trust, they must be prepared to
defend all the other trusts, for 1T is impos
sible for them to destroy trusts located
elsewhere and defend a trust located in
their own city. Are the people of Nebras-
ka CITY willing to subject themselves and
their countrymen to the extortinn prac-
ticed by all the trusts in order to maintain
one trust which has one factory in their
city?
Under the trust system a strike in one
factory brings no loss to the company but
it does bring great loss to the employees.
Let me give you a case in point. The Bir-
mngham Age-Herald of September 10 con-
tanned the following dispatch from Besse-
mer, Ala.
Work was resumed at the Central
Foundry Companys plant yesterday. The
men who went out on a strike early last
week returned to work the company's
terms. The management here is not re-
sponsible for the reduction in wages, it
having been ordered by the head office in
New York, the reduction prevailing
throughout all the. pipe plants belonging
to the company.
IF an order comes from the head office
in New York to reduce the wages in all
the starch factories the men have nothing
to do but submit The same greed which
leads the trust to raise prices and extort
from consumers will allow it to lower
wages and do injustice to the employees
THE attorney general is seeking to en-
force a statute of Nebraska. The law is
good law, and ought to be enforced, and
the people of Nebraska City ought to hold
mass meeting to commend him rather
hon iny,ay hiyr,'