The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-09-30
TRUSTS ~ THE TRIBES
And Their Economics In Civilization.

To TIP EDITOR or The UN-Sir A father
once gave his sons a bundle of sticks TO break.
Each son tried TO break the bundle and failed
Then the father gave each son one stick 10
break, and this was not a difficult task. Thus
this early Roman father showed his sons thai
there is strength in unions. in combinations, in
trusts.
All our civilization goes back to n time Of
tribes-wandering tribes. II We could go back
far enough we would get TO a pre-tribal state.
II was found In the course OF human experience
that the combining Of individuals was Its only
/, mode OF safety against other combinations.
These tribes gradually made rules and laws to
protect themselves against other tribes. They
formed the first elementary government; tie
first cosmos out Of a chaos. They wanted to
keep from being killed, prompted by tn, in
stinct 4 elf-prcservntion. 1t was perfectly
natural that they should form a trust not
withstandinR he opposition patty In the tribe.
In tho course II events the more far-sighted
bosses" OF the tribes san that II would be a
good thing 10 enlarge the trust, the comhin1-
ton. And thus In the evolution Of government
larger tribes, or States, or trusts for the Uur-
pose OF furnishing government. were developed.
Some Char!emagne comes along and COM
hines the whole thing and changes fratricldal
strife TO war against the foreign enemy.
ment trusts, France. under its dukes and petty
chiefs. was long q prey 10 every enemy until
the combination became permanent. And n
England such trusts" we're male by Alfred
the Great, William the Norman. and other
political bosses.
At ore time IL took quite n bit Of money TO
supply a young lady with nin-noney, With pin
money she bought pins. The poorest laborer's
cents. And the poorest laboror's W ife can buv
bingham dresses at four cents u yard and can
buy, a new dress every month With her grand
mother II wa an event n a lifetime to get a
new dress, And the llborer ran smoke tobacco
and drink tea. because tobacco l. not now a
days q luxury and because tea does, not come
from China. More tea comes 20 the United
States in ore week to-day than came In
iaborer can Rave coal and gas and n match
wherewith 10 light them. He can have a whole
thousand matches for two cents. T. can eat
supner. his grandfather was lucky 10 get
meat once a week, j. Old John his fathers
butcher. were supplying The trade with neat
would be eating meat ONCE n weck instead of
SKI times. a week. But Old John has ex-
combining and growing he has managed 10
give the grandson work and meat every day Of
,hc ye@TTt 1nd a million other sTands9ns be
clots little cargo-purchassble only by tho
r,ch-has become tho ocean ~l!nora hundred Of
them; And these OCEAN line's have made II
possible for you and me to buy many and many
a GOOD thing that was formerly only for the
wtalthy,,tsame principle as the butcher 'hon,,
EF,"' 'i"T' ''.NsN HhN' klONu lE'il Nlltl-
hood 10 manhood. they have done 50 m such
basil. principles as quick sales, NAL rroHts,"
and in union there Ia strength" Tho great
business, combinations" or evolution II this
century have greatly lessened the pric = ~ all
commodities and kent up the pricp Of
labor. When competition became too sh1rn.
the small tradesman enlarged his b"si-
n%ess-Quit making shoes in his Ii tie shop
and went into shoe selling on the main
street, md In course Of time no built a fac
tory. two factorics-a dozen, He kent growing
with the times. And YOU and ] now nav 81 f"r
shoes Just ne good rs any $40 shoe fftv years
ago Only nfty people used 10 buy tho $50 shoe
md five millions now can buy and do buy tho
% shoe. That's one Of the bad results Of COM
binirg, YOU seel Competition and various other
causes have forced men 10 do things on large
scales. They have done them honestly without
doing any wrong 70 any one. They have simply
followed a natural law Of growth and progress.
There arc other things that have combined 10
form "irusts"-for example, labor unions
Labor unions recognize thai the old rrinciple
of strength In unity II true. and their unions are
as, legitimate ard productive Of good a. any
other combination when properly used Any
trust may be misuspd. HERMAN L. KNAPP
NEw YoRK, Sept3