Hopkinsville Kentuckian., 1900-10-19
WILLIAM .. BRYAN BAYS.

t9BaKi6
One OF the main reasons why men
struggle so hard to obtain a monop-
ioly IL that 1t enables them to charge
tmnre than the worth of the goods or
tservices they supply.
In the Bramkamp wire nail case the
}Gttorney for the trust admitted that
etho combine had raised the price
from so cents to $3.50 keg, whole
asalo. securing thereby a monopoly
tprodt Of several million dollars. That
lkrust went to pieces, but recently an
fother has been formed, and wire nails
have advanced over lao per cent be-
.yond the ordinary competitive price.
Coal Trust Extortions.
The coal combine was investigated
ny congress in 1893, and the report
declares ~ that in 1888 the extortions
lof the coal monopoly averaged more
than 81 a ton, or $39, 100000 for the
year: and (2) that from 1873 to 1886
FR100. .o0o.0o0 more than fair market
spncs was taken from the public by
this combination. 1t also appeared
l4hat In 1892 the combine raised the
tprice S1.25 to $1.35 ton on the kinds
snBed by housekeepers, though the
lpriee OF coal was already high and the
rcoCt OF mining diminishing every year.
The LAnseed Oil Trust in 1887 put
lGho price up from Ss to 81 cents gal
hon, or nearly $4,000, 900 additional tax
ON the yearly output.
In the same year. the copper Syndi-
lcate put up the price from 10 to IL
ARnd Is cents pound, or $50, 900 900 ad-
d4l4on on the yearly outppt.
A congressional investigation in 1893
drought out the fact that on the
strength of rumor that the internal
grsvenue tax was to be increased by
congress the Whisky Trust raised its
yprices Is cents a gallon, which would
amount to an additional profit of $12,-
100000 on its yearly output.
Jump In Sugar
! In 1888, just after the Sugar Trust
was formed. the average price Of raw
sugar was The same as in 1885, but
lfhe average price OF refined sugar adj
wRnced so that the difference between
ftho pricS OF raw sugar and the price
iof refined sugar was 76 per cent more
lthan In 1885 and about 70 per cent
gmore than In 1887, the year the trust
twas formed. Recently sugar has made
Iadyances amounting to a total of
cents ON the pound. For dozen years
we have paid each year good deal
more per pound for refining sugar than
rwo did In 1885 (although the cost Of
refining has been constantly diminish
4ing1, and our sugar bill has averaged
nj least $4,000. 900 and perhaps $780,
ioO0. 900 year more because of the
iGrust.
Standard OH Again.
Ahe Standard OIL Is another monop-
{Oly that has kept prices form falling
aAs much as the diminished cost of
transportation and refining would have
caused them to fall in an open market,
iand at times 1t has nfted prices abso-
autaly as we'll as relatively In spite
OF the vast improvements in processes
OF manufacture, great cheapening of
transportation by the. pipeline service,
and the falling price OF crude oil.
From 1894 to 1897, for example. the
price of refined oil went up IA per cent,
while tho price of crude oil declined
IS per cent OIL rose at wholesale in
New York from cents in November
hS97. to cents In December, 1899,
and 1t has gone still higher in 1900.
One may charge the fair value of
athe servicos.he renders without mon
.opoly. But monopoly gives power
10 charge more than that value, in
other words. monopoly confers the in
'estimable privilege OF demanding |
something for nothing.
Tho Telegraph Monopoly.
We pay twice as much for our tele-
grams as government ~ystems charge |
the telephone monopoly charged the
federal government SIS per phone for
ssrviee the government is now sup
plying for itself at cost OK $40 per
phone. and even in our largest clty
exchanges, where the monopoly
charges 800 to $3.50. tAe service could
DE rendered at profit for o uniform
.eAarge OF $50 year.
The Bell monopoly, in Grand Rap
ada. Wis. charged Ss6 for house and
9As for business place, while CO.
alDsrative telephone exchange Is oper-