Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1900-10-17

spirit
One of the main reasons why men
struggle so hard to obtain a monop-
oily is that it enables them to charge
more than the worth of the goods or
services they supply.
In the Bramkamp wire nail case the
attorney for the trust admitted that
the combine had raised the price
from so cents to $3.50 key, whole
sale, securing thereby a monopoly
profit of several million dollars. That
trust went to pieces, but recently an
other has been formed, and wire nails
have advanced over 40 per cent be-
yond the ordinary competitive price.
Coal Trust Extortions.
The coal combine was investigated
by congress in 1893, and the report
declares % that in 1883 the extortions
OF the coal monopoly averaged more
than 81 a ton, or $50 100000 for the
year; and f2) that from 1878 to 1885
$200, 100000 more than a fair market
price was taken from the public by
this combination. 1t also appeared
that in 1892 the combine raised the
price $1.25 to S1.35 a ton on the kinds
used by housekeepers, though the
price of coal was already high and the
cost OF mining diminishing every year.
The Linseed Oil Trust in 1887 put
the price up from SO to 81 cents a gal
lon, or nearly $5000,OOO additional tax
on the yearly output.
In the same year the copper Syndi-
cate put up the price from 10 to II
and 10 cents a pound, or $50, 000,0 Geo au-
d.>Ion On the yearly output.
A congressional investigation in 1899
brought out the fact that on the
strength OF rumor that the internal
revenue tax was to be increased by
congress the Whisky Trust raised its
prices % cents a gallon, which would
amount to an additional profit Of $12,-
100000 on its yearly output.
Jump In Sugar
In 1883, just after the Sugar Trust
was formed, the average price of raw
sugar was he same as in 1885. but
the average price of refined sugar ad
vanced 50 that the difference between
the pric, OF raw sugar and the price
of refined sugar was 76 per cent more
than in 1885 and about 20 per cent
moro than in 1887, the year the trust
was formed. Recently sugar has made
advances amounting to a total of 2
cents on the pound. For a dozen years
we have paid each year a good deai
more per pound for refining sugar THAI
we did in 1885 (although the cost OF
ioI1
ipgl, and our sugar bill mas averaged
at least Sl0,000.000 and perhaps 500
090.e00 "a year more because of the
trust
STANDARD OH Again.
he Standard Oil is another monop-
oily that has kept prices form falling
as much as the diminished cost of
transportation and refining would have
caused them to fall in an open market,
and at times it has n!ted prices abso-
lutely as well as relatively, in spite
of the vast improvements in processes
of manufacture, great cheapening Of
transportation by the pipeline service,
and the falling price OF crude oil.
From 1894 TO 1897, for example, the
price of refined OF; went Up IA per cent
while the prlce OF crude oil declined
g per cent OH rose at wholesale in
New y ork from 3 cents in November.
1897. 10 cents in Decemher. 1899
and It has gone still higher in 1900
One may charge the fair value O.
the services he renders without mon
opo,y. But monopoly gives power
TO charge more than that value, in
other words, monopoly confers the in
estima able privilege OF demanding
something for nothinG.
The Telegraph Monopoly.
We pay twice as much for our teie-
grams as government -ystems charge;
the telephone monopoly charged the
federal government SIS per phone for
service the government is now sup
plying for itself at a cost of $40 per
phone, and even in our largest city
exchanges. where the monopoly
charges $50 to $3.50 tie service could
he rendered at profit for uniform
Charge of $50 year.
The Bell monopoly. in Grand Rap
ids, Wis, charged $50 for house and
SAB for business place, while CO.
operative telephone exchange is oper-