The evening times., 1900-01-15
President Low on Trusts.

In a recent address before the Central
Federated Labor Union in New York
President Seth Low. of Columbia College
frankly expressed his approval of combi-
nations of Industrial capital In part, he
said:
This age is tie age of surprise. of bewilder-
ment, al new inventions. processes, and new
methods The individual is more important poll
IiCaliv than hc ever was. but economically he
has almost disappeared. The individual capitalist
lss disappeared before the corporation and the
trusts. and the individual abOrer has been alb
SoIbcd by the trade union. These things are the
result OF the political freedom to combine. The
tendency combine Is a new force in society
and Is viewed with alarm bv some. Simple part
nprSEipS were once forbidden by law as danger
ous to society We can all remember when trades
unions illegal combinations, yet how far We
from that now
From the partnership gradually grew the small
corporation then the trust; and from the trade
union grows the central organization and national
federation. Society Is experimenting with both
capital and labor, and while many persons are
hurt by inventions in. the experimental stage
in the end they beneficial.
4 believe in combinations both OF labor and
capital l believe that they are not only IN
CViJahle but advantageous to the human race.
believe in the great corporation and the trade
union: IN cooperation in all its forms Both
OF coBFse. make mistakes, but the only way 10
find ont the limits of combination is by expert
lneTt. in The long run. l believe the outcome
viii be thoroughly good fer mankind.
New inventions and new methods OF business
displace labor. but the capitalists suffer also In
this daE Of change. Only two OF the firms in the
same business with my fathers firm did not fail.
and went cut OF business because did not
TO adopt the new methods. Invention pro
Eresses 50 rapidly that valuable machinery be-
comes unProftahle in a few years.
1t is not to be denied that the view Of
Tered by Mr. Low is steadily enIisting the
support OF many people among the great
majority OF Americans not open TO the sus-
picion OF belonging to the small class now
risibly the chief benefciaries Of the new
gystem whose tendency it is to concentrate
The property and money Of the country in
The hands of a few individuals, leaving the
bulk of the people in the condition of eco
homie feudatories in relation to the former
BY far the greater number of those who are
Inclined to accept the trust and combina-
lion principle of future social organization
Bs an inevitable one, at heart do so resent
Ing its apparent cruelty of discrimination
between those who are to have wealth
which Croesus might envy and the vast
bulk OF their fellowmen who are TO have
nothing but bread. and only that as a
charitable concession.
No one. the multi millionaire perhaps ex-
repted, fails TO regard the social and in
dHstrial. conditions current with aversion
nnd apprehension; but there are many who
do not see how they could be different,
considering the limitations Of average hu-
man intellect and the magnificent prizes
which the forces of the time have placed
within the grasp of those who had for
tune brains. the genius of organization.
Rnd the trained faculty of money getting to
help them on. Certainly as the affairs OF
the world and the country stand today. he
who has seen, like Mr.. Lows father and
MIR. Low himself. the small partnerships
transformed into the small corporation. the
latter into the large corporation, and large
corporations again. coalescing into the
trust. can doubt that such system and
irresistible tendency of concentration, once
fairly started and progressing under favor
ing conditions, must go on and on 10 the
ultimate limit of Commemorative possibility,
until at last all the trusts will be absorbed
in one or a very few final trusts, amounting
in character and operation to a single con-
trol.
A strong suggestion of this tendency and
of it's practical possibilities has been fur
nished of late in connection with the
Treasury scandals. Through their ex-