The Lafayette gazette. [volume] (Lafayette, La.) 1893-1921, 1900-09-01

11Hx SOcx11xxSN or TRxI
TRUSTS
- yask yeasaal.
rhe Anssieaa Republic vas buile
0poa - Seouadatiea a iadtvidesl|
enterpsise. This old economic
osder. which has produced wha, We
know- . the Ameriean character.
Nth al its vigor. audaci,y and self
reliance. il threatened from two
sides. The avowed Socialists would
take al business out Of the hands OF
private cltisens and intrust IL to-
public officials. The trusts woulda
take Il Que Of the hands of ord.aasy
men and give il to few monopo-
lets.
In % Tar - the conduct of the
national Industries 10 concerned,
there - no difference between State
socialism and trust socialism. Both
business. Both reduce the popula-
ton to the position of employees.
But there is a great difference in
the distribution of the product. and
in the effects on national happiness
and character. State socialism
gives everything produced to the
workers. Trust socialism gives the
workers the lowest wages for which
they can be induced to labor and
turns over everything else to hand
A~~1 IS
cialism the employe is = self-respect-
ing public official who works for no
man, but for the whole community,
of which he is q citizen equally with
his superior officer. Under trust
socialism the employe is . servant.
He is working for men who staLd
on An entirely different level from
his own. There il no possibility Of
winning promotion that shall put
him on their grade.
BY all its traditions the Demo
cratic party is pledged to the main
tenance of the American system Of
individual enterprise as far As posi-
BILE. The ideal of its founders was
man should be his own master.
But due regard must be paid to the
course of social development. The
tendency toward the concentration
of industries in many directions
cannot be and ought not 20 be re-
sisted. Where an industry has
passed beyond the stage in which
competitive. go-as-you-please man
agement can secure the best result.
for the public, 1t ought to be or
gained under a single control
But in that case, as a rule, that con
troll should be directed by public
authority.
In other words, where the prog
ress of events has made an intu
sion of socialism unavoidable. the
Democracy prefers State socialism
to trust socialism,.
That is the case, for instance, il
the matter of the telegraphs. The
telegraph business is organized on .
thoroughly sociallstic basis.
single vast system extends it's wire'
from Key West to Puget Sound
Competition is practically non-ex
istent and individual enterprise en-
tirciy SO. In such circumstance!
private control is wholly mischiev
Gus. In every respect it's manage
ment and the distribution of it:
profits the telegraph system is :
public enterprise, and the process:
of naturalization ought to be
made complete.
So of the railroads. We have
not yet reached the single Railroad
Trust that is to control all the trans
portation routes of the country, blu
things are moving that way SO rap
idly that the end is plainly in sight
Already we have single men in com
mand of railroad systems create
than the whole mileage of impor
tant European countries. Half :
dozen men could get together abou
lunch table and dictate the polio,
of all the roads in the United States
The railroads of this countr,