Iron County register., 1900-05-03
KENNAUGH.
TRUST INSCLENCE.
A Striking Instance OF the Arrogance
of the Growing Monopo-
list.

A Striking Instance OF the Arrogance
of the Growing Monopo-
list.
A day CT two ago the American Steel
&. Wire company, trust which has
made its eNactions felt most cruelty
by farmers who have to make much
use of it's product for fencing, issued
q peremptory order closing down IL
of its mills situated in Illinois. Indiana,
Ohio and Pennsylvania. Al the head
quarters of the amalgamated associa-
tiOn of iron. steel and tin workers III
Pittsburgh it was estimated that the
loss to wOrkingmen would aggregate
about $4,000 a week. The Chicago
Times-H erald, a stanch republican
newspaper, gathered reports from the
mill towns themselves. which indicate
that about 6.350 men were thrown out
of employment and loss of about
$SS, 900 in wages each week is incurred.
Col. John w. Lambert, one of the di-
recting officials of the trust, explained
the shutdown with the characteristic
insolence and brutality of the typical
trust magnate thus: Our company
is running its business without any
need of explaining. We shut down and
open our mills when we see fit
No well regulated mind nor any con-
science not completely ossified by the
persistent pursuit of money making to
the exclusion of all other ideals will
for a moment accept the theory that
business which employs nearly 1000
men, business upon the continuance
of which the livelihood of probably
35, 900 people is Immediately depend
ent, is the sole concern of few in
dividuals who, by methods familiar to
corporation managers, have seized upon
its control. The people as a whole have
some rights in these premises. The
ration cannot honestly remain silent
and supine while the domination of
corporation over the lives and happl-
ness of a great body of industrious
men and their dependents is thus wan
tonly and brutally abused. In this
specific case different explanations are
given for the shutdown. 1t is said that
it was caused by overproduction, but
that is lie. for all through the west
| farmers and mechanics have been
stopped from satisfying their wants
for the products of this monopoly be-
cause its managers have repeatedly
increased prices until they have
reached almost the prohibitory point.
Il there is any over-supply of its prod
uct in the market. it is because the
prices put upon it are such that the
ordinary consumer is driven to all
sorts of eNpedients to avoid purchasing.
It is said by others that the true rea-
son for the shutdown was that the
ruling spirits in the trust. one OF
whom, by the way, John W. Gates, is
republican aspirant for g United
States senatorship. have certain plans
for manipulating the stock market,
which the shutdown Will furthe~- This
is possibly true, but it only lays en-
phasis upon the folly and the GRIM
inality of permitting the control of a
great and necessary industry il: the
United States to pass into the itandS
of a small body of men, men who would
not have gained control of it if they
had not possessed the instinct of IA NJ
blers and who naturally utilize their
control to further their gambling
transactions.
We have said that business of THIS
no individual can rightfuily make such
statement as Col. Lambert is quoted
as having made. and that the people
as whole must not sit quietly by and
allow his position to be maintained
without protest. But in saying this il
is not necessary to go to the othe"
extreme and hold that because the
business has attained such qualities os
monopoly it should be conducted by
the government according to the So
cialistic idea. The reason the 7,0(-3
employees of the American Steel & Wire
company are suddenly and arbitrarily
thrown out of work is because one
single governing board controls the
employment of all of them and con-
trolls the industry in which all are eu-
gagged. If the II mills in, clved were
operating as corporations should op-
crate independently. one CT two might
shut down, but the others would cct-
tinue. Indeed. it is most unlikely that
any would shut down, because TIE
mill so doing would be in danger af
losing its trade to those which re-
manned in continuous operation. If,
therefore. the existing antitrust law
ndu Deeu enIOTceu against lulS LlOHop-
olistic corporation, not only would tire
farmers not be compelled to pay cx
tortionate prices for their fencing, nor
the mechanics mulcted of extortion-
ate sums for wire nails and metal RODS,
but the workingmen now out of eia-
ployment would still be in enjoyment
of their wages, their families would be
living in comfort and the tradesmen
dependent upon their custom would
not suffer. 1t is probable that Mr.. John
W. Gates. the president of the present
monopoly, might be unable to lose
100000 at poker, as he was reported
TO have done few weeks ago in one
of New York's gorgeous hotels. but the
country at large could struggle along
even though Mr.. Gates sportive~ in
clinations might be restrained.-Willis
J. Abbot, in Democratic Press Bulletin.
! No doubt the castles in the air that
we frequently hear about are built OF
noil