Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1900-10-30
ON TRUSTS
Director Of the Mint Discusses the
Question From ! Common Sense
Standpoint
Senator Jones Of the Democratic
Committee q Witness in Defense
Of Combinations

VI VVHVAN0AAVS4esst 445sil
Democratic Committee Preparing to
Obstruot the Election BY Bull.
DOING Tactics
Special to Times Republican.
Des Moines, Oct. 30. George p. Rob-
|erts, director OF the mint, has an article
lin the November Forum on the trust
question, in which he has Senator
James K. Jones chairman of the demo-
cratic national committee, as witness
in defense OF large combinations OF capi-
tai, so-called trusts. a
Mr.. Roberts, with his fondness for
facts and industry in discovering them,
has compared the great iron and steel
boom Of 1879 with that Of 1888, showing
that the rise OF prices was not due TO
denominations but to other. and natural
causes.
Referring to Senator Jones and his
lround cotton bale trust, Mr.. Roberts
says:
senator James K. Jones. Of Arkan-
sas, has made reply to the charge thals
| he is, one OF the important sharenolders
land projectors OF a trust. He admlls
Ithat he owns stock in a company organ
lized TO develop and put into !. use the
lround -lap bale cotton press. He explains
THAT the capital, which is 81 100000. is no
lgreater than is required for the business
liz proposes to do, and that the dividend
lon this large capitalization will come
jneither from cotton producers nor cotton
censume.s but Will be met by a part
4 of the savings which the new process
4 will effect. He claims that by compres-
sing the cotton into smaller space ana
4 by preserving 1t from waste saving OF
i from SO to 81 per bale is achieved: and
LIE this is true it is evidently possible
sithat ample dividends may be paid on
j the stock Of his company after confer
Slring benefits upon the public suff1cienl
to induce it to discard the old method
land use the new.
: ..The facts being as Senator Jones
Istates them, it is difficult to discover
A any flaw in his defence. But his reas son
ling disposes Of complaints against
q great many individuals other than HIM
isslf, and OF hostility to a great many DIE
q Icorporations besides his own. It3refntes
come popular theories concerninrg the
A accumulation OF large fortunes. g as- ss
y. sun,es that q corporation 10 not to be
). condemned because X has q large capi-
sital. or because 1t destroys the estab-
llished bus.ness and renders valueiess
1.-The plants OF numerous small compsti-
4 tors. or because 1t dispenses with some
z lof the labor previously employed.
II So Ia y =
.tAccording to Senator Jones. the test
OF a corporatiorl's right to exist is not
4 Ito be found in its size. The question he
lraises is. can II pay dividend Is out of the
a Economic savings which 1t effects He
II answers for hia own corporation that II
4 can. and presumably would Justify any
q Capitalization upon which that could be
done This is something tangible This
: his something definite on the. trust q ues-
'Ition. Thisis no sweeping condemnation
of corporations simply because they are
: 50 large as practically to forbid COM
Slpetition by an individual. II the mosi
I economical methods, can not not be OBJ
ltained by the use Of 100000 under one
management he would get together 81
! OOO. 900. and IL that did not secure the
Z best reslIts he would make 1t $5.o00.000
lin the case of the roufd-lap bale COM
Ipany. they have made Il $1,000. 900. Il
sl!rhey could have made the Organization
Imore efficient by making 1t as big as orlc
e iof the sso-called steel trusts, the logic
Iof Senator Jones' defense compels us tc
Ibe..eye that he would have favored do
ling 80. Certainly they did not stop al
$1,000. 900 to avoid making It monopolis
Itic and from considerations of individu-
!, al competitors They fixed upon thai
4 Ifigure doubtless as thetone most advan.
tageous to themselves.
Z Now the so-called trusts OF this day
are plain corporations like the one u
(which Senator Jones is interested. AZ
lrule they have no power or Immunity
ffrom competition except such AZ largt
! Icapital gives. Therefore demand FOL
. the supre ssion of trusts must be predi
! Ecated upon the proposition that thetl
size makes them dangerous and Is sum
llcient reason for legislating them out O
existence. Mr.. Bryan is leader amont
althose who hold this view. He ridiculet
1.-THE Idea that there can be both good ant
= lbad trusts All are bad in his eyes
q Ibecause their size gives them undu,
power. Az opposed to this view we hay'
I the practical business mans view, a
!, voiced by Senator Jones' that the capi
e tai Of a corporation may be OF any siz
Required to conduct its business mos
adrantageously, and that go long as !
: pays its dividends out Of the economic
n savings effected by its superior capita
n lno5 objection can properly or reasonabl!
I. IlieSagainst 1t,
: The conditions of the iron industry ar
explained by Mr.. Roberts as follows:
"a wave Of alarm that almost reache,
! the stage OF panic swept over the coun
! try about year ago. when the fever TO
! organizing big combinations was at II
: height. A general, and in some case
J. lextraordinary. advance In prices at TN
time gave plausibility to the fear tina
!. these concerns would be, able to max
: prices practically what they pleased
8 that the law OF competition was behin'
the times and had gone out OF opera
ltion. We know more about that now
II the advance In prices wae proof Q
the power of the trustss what does IN
]. .Iprogresssve decline, which has now bee
s going on for nearly 9 year. prove
a The Held mort thoro,fghly covered 4
s 1888 by c6mbinat tions was the. iron in
. dustry.s and the advance In pricee Il
2 that line for the hrst nine months OF tn
:: year was phenomenal. But 1t was b
g no means unprecedented. A esmila