The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-10-18
TIME TO STUDY.
The Trust Question as 1t Applies
To Every Mans Home.

ordinary citizen is pitying the brave
mine workers of Pennsylvania he must
not forget himself. The cruel system
that is blighting their lives is silently al
work in his own home.
1t is in the power OF every man who
has home to turn his back on the po.
litical economists and End out for HIM.
self in single day just what the trust
question amounts to. He does not need
to be a ccllege-bred man. It matters
little whether he can read or write. The
man who really wants to know what the
trust question amounts to can make a
complete investigation of the facts
without going outside of his own house.
hold.
Let MIN ask his wife, or mother, or
sister, or housekeeper the price Of meat,
-four, sugar, oil, canned goods, coal.
shoes, clothing, household utensils and
other things that make up the bulk Of a
mans living expenses. compared with
prices year and half ago.
Then let him ask himself whether his
wages have increased in that time.
He will find that the trusts have rails.
ed the cost Of living more than 25 per
cent. while his wages have remained at a
fixed point or have advanced something
like per cent.
lchallenee ! any man it the United
States to make an investigation into
this question for himself. II is.a big
question. 1t involves millions of his
fellow men. 1t involves his own fam
lily. He may read and read until his
eyes fail him and may yet remain in
doubt and be unable TO vote intelligent
ly on the matter. But his home is an
open book in which he can find the
trust question written clearly and un.
mistakably.
Last week ! went to the anthracite
coal fields TO search for the causes Of the
pending strike. did not rely on the
organized labor leaders; did not rely
on the mine owners or superintendents.
! went to the shanties Of the miners
themselves. There found the naked,
horrible truth. Ifiwas the simplest task
imsainsb bla so III ts,ysr thatsths cousesof
Living hsd lin "a The trusts
d held s down S "a by the Coal Trust. 3
Let the citizen who would know the
truth examine his own case. Then il
will be time for him to study his neigh
Dor.
Why have wages stood still while the
cost of living has advanced? Is the con-
dition an accidental one?
/. The explanation is this: In the state
of New Jersey, for instance, in the year
1899, there were Incorporated trusts
with an aggregate capitalization Of about
two and half billion dollars.
This was in one state in -o1e year.
About half Of this enormous sum OF
trust stock represents what Wall street
Imen call water" A trust buys out 10
factories worth $5,OOO,OO in actual
value. 1t then issues $4,000, 900 Of
stock. Before this happened the lC
factories simply had to earn reasonable
profit on the &C tual capital invested in
the business. But the trust has So, ,OO0,.
coo of stock representing absolutely
nothing but the paper it is printed on.
In order to sell this watered stock to
the public the trust must earn dividends
Ion it. It must double the profits of the
factories. Having practically secured q
monopoly of the market, the trust al
once raises the prices Of its products
1t discharges clerks and travelling sales
men and closes some of the mills in
order to make the product scarce. II
tramples down all attempts at compete
tion which might reduces prices.
Neither the workingmen in the mill
nor the public which buys the product
of the mills gets the benefit of the trust
Profits sufficient to declare dividends or
the watered stock are earned, and the
stock is "worked off" on innocent and
gullible outsiders. The makers of the
trusts have gathered in millions Of dol
lars.
That is the explanation of the. extra
ordinary facts which an investigation o.
your household expenses will disclose. Z
That is also the explanation Of thf
semi-starvation in the anthracite Goa
fields which has driven l40. 600 men in.
to open revolt,
Senator Hanna said not long ago: ssSt
long as trusts have not proved menact
to business nor to the laboring INTEREST,"
of the country, so long as all that il
said about them is merely talk ane
nothing but talk, SO long as they hav,
not proved curse to the country, be
lieve they should be let alone. Is.
i Mr.. Hanna is the absolute master o
the republican party. The Presiden
and the Attorney. General have followed
| his ADVICE, and, Notwithstanding th
Federal Antitrust law, which the Su
preme Court Of the United States ha
declared to be both constitutional an,
necessary, the trusts have been tle
Alone" and Attorney General Monnett
i Of Ohio, who attempted to prosecute th
Standard Oil Company. was driven ou
I Of his party In disgrace by Mr.. Hanna
Rut ,vhot dn vn,i think ahnnt ~