Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1900-11-23
TRUTHS ABOUT TRUSTS.
PROTECTED BY REPUBLICAN CON.
CRESS AND DEMONSTRATION.

An Article Which Shows How Silly 1,
Hanna's Assertion That "There is No,
u Trust in the Entire United States
"A "Definition" For Depew.
Senator Hanna says there are no
trusts. Senator Depew calls for "a
definition"
The name was originally given to a
number of independent corporations
| combined to create a monopoly and
| vesting their power of action in sin
gle trustee. 1t was decided by the Su-
preme Court that corporations could
not lawfully combine in this way, and
! so they adopted the device Of merging
their existence and identity in one
| great corporation.
The name changed. The thing con-
tinued. Instead of trustee acting for
separate corporations there is presi-
dent and board of directors represent
ing the several corporations welded
into one. In either case the aim and
the result are the same-the creation
of private monopoly. If anything,
the cohesion is now more perfect-the
power Is greater.
that
Every contract, combination in
form Of trust or otherwise, or conspir-
acy in restraint of trade is
hereby declared illegal"
Judge Barrett, in his decision in the
70
thus defined monopoly:
"a combination, the tendency of
which is to prevent competition in its
broad and general sense, and to con-
troll and thus at will enhance prices,
to the detriment of the public, is u
legal monopoly. Nor need it
be permanent or complete. 1t is
enough that it may be even Temporal
rily and partially successful
There are hundreds of such monopo-
lies in the country to-day, and neither
the Republican Congress nor Adminis-
tration has done anything to prevent
or to punish them, but both have done
much to promote and protect them.
The history of the window-glass in
dustry for twenty years has been
history Of a succession of pools, lock-
outs, agreements fixing prices and
rates of wages on the one side, and ON
the other of strikes and their accom-
paniments.
On account of our natural facilities
we ought to be making the best glass
in the world, but we make poor glass
for which the consumer pays double
price.
The American Glass Company was
formed in 1895. 1t was a selling agent
for eighty-five per cent. of the factor
les. 1t was succeeded in October,
1899, by the American Window Glass
Company. The capital of this corpor-
alton is $17,000,000. The value of the
property represented by this capital is
about $6,000,000 Since 1895 the prices
of window-glass have been about
doubled.
1t is stated in a glass manufacturers
periodical that the pool made 100000
in 1896, $1,750,000 in 1897 and $2,O00,-
600 in $685.
The glassmakers take the full bentfit
of their enormous protection, and as
foreign glass costs more in the interior
than on the seaboard by reason of the
cost of transportation, consumers of
American glass in the interior pay
more for the domestic article than do
consumers ON the coast. A box of
glass, for example, costs at Pittsburg
fourteen cents more than the Boston
price.
The duty on glass is between eighty
and 100 per cent.
Besides this great trust we have the
following trusts in the glass industry:
The Pittsburg Plate-Glass Company,
with capital of $10000,0O0 1t has
about doubled prices in the last two
years. 1t pays very low wages-from
$1.35 to $1.S0 per day.
The National Manufacturers Asso-
citation has advanced it's prices ten to
fifteen per cent.
The National Glass Company is new.
1t is combination of makers of table
ware and has $4,000,000 capital.
The Macbeth-Evans Glass Company
owns about half the producing capac-
ity of lamp-chimney plants. - New
York World.
Freedom of Discussion.
The suspension of freedom Of dis
cusson is one of the strongest signs