People's voice., 1900-10-18

Ibahslt Iiaz s3tz2t 5if;a aez i-E
g. 315.5 s
80 O6e9bfS tile fnsins REASONS Why men
GlssSueglee 30 hard to. obtain a rnonop-
> soey scthatiita enables them to charge
!. IntGre Than 9the wefth otTthe goods or
1Iserfiees they supply 81 -z,. ~ s.s.i
sGt fRtbe2 2BranIkanp wire nail case the
attorney for the trust admitted that
the combine had raised the price
from so cents 30 $3.50 a keg, whole
sale, securing thereby a monopoly
profit OF several million dollars. That
trust went to pieces, but recently an
other has been termed, and wire nails
have advanced over 140 per cent be-
y0nd the ordinary competitive price.
Coal Trust E1tortiOns.
The coal combine was Investigated
by congress in 1893, and the report
declares (1) that in 1883 the extortons
of the coal monopoly averaged more
than 81 ton, or $59,0OO,OOO for the
year; and ~ that from 1873 TO 1886
$200,0O0 600 more than fair market
price was taken from the public by
this combination. 1t also appeared
that in 1892 the combine raised the
price $125 to Sl55 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 So cents a gal
Ion, or nearly $5,OO0,OOe additional tax
on the yearly output t..'
IN the same year the copper Syndi-
cate put up the price from 10 to II
and Is cents pound or S3O,OOO,0e0 au-
td.aon on the yearly outppt
.i A congressional investigation in 1893
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 Is cents a gallon, which would
amount to an additional profit of S12,
5OO,0OO on its yearly output.
Jump In Sugar.
In 1888, 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
ithe price OF raw sugar and the price
!!ot refined sugar was 76 per cent more
than IN 1885 and about 70 per cent
more than In 1887, the year the trust
twas formed. Recently. sugar has made
Yadgaftes amounting to a total Of
cents on the pound. For a dozen years
? ! We have paid each year a good deaI
more per pound for refining sugar than
4;we@ ffd' in 1885 -taithough the cost Of
Il iEeAAine has been ;censtaRtly diminish
sli499s!aRd cur sugar biiklna averaged
lag least as19eee,,eOs and perhaps So
yl0ooN0o2 a. year more betatfse Of tht
q saSnssy I5E <-easis s-os -sgs5.ss
S .s,ss{ll Standard oil Assinsg- sV4e
gfy~zAAe- -Staadass Oh iis. another. H4eaop
oily that has kept prices. form falini
Pas much as the diminished cost o
transportation and refining would hav,
Seaused them to fall in an open msrKet
and at times it has hfted- prices abso
lutely as well as relatively, in nrspit,
| fOf the vast improvements 'inapreSesSe
| {Of manufacture, great cheapenfng o
| transportation by the pipeline service
sand the falling price Of !. crude oil
Z From 1894 to-ISS7, for example, tn
price of refined oil went up IA per cen;
while the pnce Of crude oil declinet
90 per cent. Oil rose at wholesale ii
New York from cents in November
1897; to cents in December, 1899
'and-i hss- gene still higher in 1909.
One may charge the fair value o
the services he renders without a mon
opoly. But monopoly gives powe
TO charge more than that value, i,
other words, monopoly confers the in
estimable privilege Of demanding
something for nothing.
The Telegraph Monopoly,
We pay twice as much for our tele
grams as government -ystens charge
the telephone monopoly charged tn
federal government $40 per phone 70
service The government is now sup
plying for Itself at cost of $40 pc
7Dhene. and even in our largest CT
exchanges, where the monopol,
charges $50 to $3.50, tAe service coul,
he rendered at a profit for a. uniform
q sc.large of $50 a year, ..e.e.... l..
- The Bel monopoly, in Grand Rap
IDS, wis. charged s35 for a, house an,
4S Tor a business place, while a. co
operative telephone exchange is opef