The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1900-10-19

One of the main reasons why men
struggle so hard to obtain a monop-
oily is that n enables them to charge
more than the worth Of the goods or
services they supply.
In the Bramkamp wire nail case the
attorney for the trust admitted that
the combine had raised the price
from so cents to $3.50 a keg, whole
sale, securing thereby a monopoly
profit Of several million dollars. That
trust went To pieces, but recently an
other has been formed, and wire nails
have advanced over 140 per cent be-
.yond the ordinary competitive price.
Coal Trust Extortions.
The coal combine was investigated
by congress in 1893. and the report
declares % that In 1855 the extortions
of the coal monopoly averaged more
than 81 a ton, or $50. 600. 900 for the
year; and CD that from 1878 to 1856
$500. 900. 600 more than a fair market
price was taken from the public by
this combination. 1t also appeared
that in 1892 the combine raised the
price S1.25 to $1.35 a o on the kinds
used by housekeepers, though the
price OF coal was already high and the
cost OF mining diminishing every year.
The Linseed Oil Trust in 1887 put
the price up from 80 to 50 cents a gal
1on, or nearly s.. 900, 900 additional tax
on the yearly output.
In the same year the copper Syndi-
cate put up the price from 10 to IL
and is cents a pound. or $50, 000, 900 ad-
d...on on the yearly output.
A congressional investigation in 1893
brought out the fact that on the
strength OF a rumor that the internal
revenue tax was to be increased by
congress the Whisky Trust raised its
prices % cents a gallon, which would
amount 70 an additional profit Of $12.-
800. 900 on its yearly output.
Jump In Sugar.
In 1888, just after the Sugar Trust
was formed, the average price of raw
sugar was me same as in 1885, but
the average price of refined sugar adj
vanced so that the difference between
che price OF raw sugar and the price
OF refined sugar was 76 per cent more
than in 1885 and about 20 per cent
more than in 1887, the year the trust
was formed. Recently sugar has made
advances amounting to a total or '
cents on the pound. For a dozen years
We have paid each year a good deal
more per pound for refining sugar thal
we did in 1885 (although the cost OF
refining has been constantly diminish
ing), and our sugar bill has averaged
at least $4,000, 900 and perhaps 500
o0O.0 900 . year more because OF the
trust.
Standard OIL Again.
lhe Standard OIL Is another monop'
oily that has kept prices form falling
as much as the diminished cost o
transportation and refining would have
saused them to fall in an open market
and at times it has nfted prices abso'
lutely as we'll as relatively, In spite
OF the vast Improvements In processes
OF manufacture. great c~heapening o.
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 the price Of crude oil declined
= per cent. Oil rose at wholesale IL
New York from 3 cents in November
LIST, to 6 cents in December, 1899
end 1t has gone still higher In 1900.
One may charge the fair value o.
enc services he renders without a mon
epoly. But monopoly gives power
20 charge more than that value. In
Sther words, monopoly confers the in
sstimable privilege Of demanding
something for nothing.
The Telegraph Monopoly.
We pay twice as much for our tele'
grams as government -ystems Charge
the telephone monopoly charged thu
federal government SIS per phone FOL
service the government is 10Y sup
plying for itself at a cost OF $40 pei
phone, and even in our largest CITY
exchanges, where the monopol,
charges 500 to $3.50, tle service could
be rendered at a profit for a uniform
c.largc of $40 a year.
The Bell monopoly, In Grand Rap
ids, Wis, charged $40 for a house ant
SIS for a business place, while a CO
operative telephone exchange Is oper