People's voice. [volume] (Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas) 1890-1917, 1900-03-08
Some Trust Statistics.

THURSDAY, MARCH s, 1900.
Some Trust Statistics.
In his speech in opposition to the cur
Tency bill on Feb. 18th, Congressman
Myers of Indiana, set forth some start
hing figures in reference to the organiza-
ton of trusts which are worth reading.
We quote the following extract from his
speech:
81 say to you, my Republican brethren
who have this bill in charge and are re-
sponsi6le for it, III the passage Of this
bill you make it possible for one of the
greatest combines ever entered into, and
you will see a trust formed that will
cause all others, as disastrous as they
may be and have been, to pale into utter
insignifcance
Trusts are today the menace of this
republic. Under Republican legislation
a system of combines and trusts has
grown up that controls all forms Of bus
mess. say under Republican legisla-
ton; yes, the natural and legitimate
outgrowth of the legislation of the Re
publican party.
''In 1895, there were new trusts of
nearly 81 600 600 900 formed There was
in amount of stock issued the enormous
sum of 1878, 263, 600, and the companies
issued bonds for S42,9I3,o O6 more; total,
SoI6, $4,000. The companies names
and their capitalization are a matter of
public record.
"The trusts were greatly on the in
crease during the year 1909 On March
10Th, list of trusts, including I62, was
published in the New York World ag-
gregating the enormous sum Of S2,6S3,- |
1914, 467.
"Prior to this, J. Pierpont Morgan had |
succeeded in combining eight railroads |
in his gigantic coal trust, with a capital
ization of $3.50, IoS,756.
"Mr Whitney has also consolidated p
street car lines in New York in six years
and made for. the stockholders SII9,ooo,-
900. He has also an electric monopoly |
in New york City with a capital Of |
$25,ooo,oOo.
The trusts controlled by the Rookie
fellers are as follows:
Standard oil, s 97,25o,ooo
Federal trusts, $1,000, 600 |
Cotton oil, 3O,435,75o |
Sugar refining, 100000 |
American tobacco, 35,534,ooo
Copper, 10000, 900
Glucose, 27,oS6, 900 |
Consolidated gas, 36,236,ooo
Total, 459, sol, 100
Meanwhile such men are constantly
evading taxes, and thus doubly plumber
the public
with the opportunity for making
millions without risk and with but small
investment of capital, it is not surpris-
ing that when political party came INFO
power which allowed this wholesale sys-
TEN of robbery, trusts should spring up
as plentiful as blackberries in July. The
first effect of these trusts is to create
what appears to be prosperity. The
owners of the mills and the stockhold-
ers have received cash for their holdings, I
and that cash is put into circulation. {
The PEOPLE generally have money. AT I
such times gilt-edged paper can be i
placed i'll the money centres at small T
per cent. Profitable investment can not \
be found for money; it lies idle in the 1
vaults. When the lines of business are f
we'll in the hands of the trusts, and the Il
individual competitors are driven from {
the fields of commerce and industry, the Il
reaction will come. s
There will be no effort to increase
trade, but all the effort will be directed
toward keeping down the supply to II
lowest possible point of consumption in 7
sTder to secure the highest prices. A e
large proportion ofthe laboring men will =,
be out of employment; its baneful effect Il
does not stop with the labor class. When s.
the avenues Of individual efforts are closed 81
and business is placed in the hands of ST
corporations, a man with small capital :,
can find no investment. Prices will :
range higher than now and the wage o
carriers dollar will have less purchasing h
power. The man who sold his interest II
IN mill can no longer find profitable =,
employment either for himself or his :"
capital. When this condition is COM Il
plete, the history of other nations teach Il
us that the people of the country become d
dissatisfied and will rise in revolt. !.
'The recent issue Of the national bank =
statement by the comptroller of the cur e
cency shows that between May 5, 1895, t
and April S, 1899, there was an increase f
in individual deposits lying idle in the :,
national banks of this country of $751;
eI4eSI.33. This is large per cent. of C
the entire circulating medium, including S
all forms of money. Thus large per a
cent of the money lies idle in the banks
because there is no longer any revenues
for individual investment. The New t
York Journal makes the total capital S
ization of all the trusts in the country, =
May nth, s7,4I6,23S,799. The capital
invested in these combines increased
more than Is per cent. in little more c
than a month. 1t is more than any ma a
tonal debt in the world. 1t is seven
times the bonded debt of the United
States. 1t is $500 for every family in the
the country; 500 for every man, woman
and child in The land. The menace ir
these figures almost terrifes. There can
be no evading the alternative before the
people; either they must crush or be
crushed"