The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1900-01-06
A THE S


In an article io these columns yes
terday, we sought 10 show that, II the
Infamous com inations OF capital known
as trusts, which are killing. out compe-
tition, robbing working people Of en-
ployment and raising to consumers the
price OF the necessaries OF living and
Of the commodities they use in their
business, are TO be rendered harmless
by methods short OF revolution, the res
training hand of the people must be
laid upon them now before they get
i~mpregnably intrenched behind the
bulwarks OF the government.
They are partially i~ntrenched there
now; 1t was the trust corporations, OF
which Senator Hanna OF Ohio, is the
representative and advocate, that fur
nished the corruption fund which put
Mckinley in the White House; it was
the trust corporations whose orders
placed a large number OF the Senators
and Representatives in their present
instances the Legislatures have been
swayed by the same maligu and corrup-
ting influence.
The trust corporations have, thus,
with the aid of the national Legisla-
ture ami Of State General Assemblies,
managed so to swerve legislation. both
Federal and State, TO their own inter-
est that the law, as it stands and AS it
is interpreted, cannot be made to reach
them. Everywhere consc!enceless cap
i~talists have combined to restrain trade
and TO arbitrarily fix the prices of arti-
clcs in everyday use; and although the
people are oppressed by such combina-
nations and worried by such arbitrary
proceedings, they can find no remedy
against them. Appeals to the courts
are practically useless; the courts gem
orally rule that the combinations are
acting within the letter Of the law, and
that they can do nothing. And, so, The
best meant attempts to punish and to
coerce the trusts come to naught, as
we saw In the case Of the Standard Oil
Trust 10 Ohio the other day.
Now, if the trusts be not crushed by
the people, ii is certain that they will
crush the people-that they will. vam-
pire-like, Grain the peoples life-blood.
But the people will crush them, that is
certain; seventy-five millions of free
men are not going TO place their necks
indefinitely under the heels OF a few
thousand constituencies trusts corpora
lions.
There are only two methods by which
the trusts. are to be crushed: and the
two are ~ legal methods and (2) revo-
l~utionarv methods. We need not say
that the former methods are prefera-
BILE; the Americans are a law-abidiug
people, aud when the law 10 even-hand-
ed between mar and man, and is not
swerved so as to give more than justice
to one section OF the community and
less than Justice t. another section,
they will always respect and uphold it.
But If the American people cannot get
Justice against the trusts hy legal naeth-
DDS, they will in their despair push the
law temporarily aside and tear down
the trusts by revolutionary methods.
And our readers know what revolu>
ton means, when once it Is set on foot.
Once let the American people rise in
angry revolution against the trusts,
and not only will the combinations
themselves be swept to instant d%sstruct-
tion out all who aided and abetted the
merciless combinations, the lukewarm
enimies OF them as we'll as their ardent
friends, will be engulfed in the rain.
Now II we are to avoid the fearful
disasters that would attend a recourse
to a revolutionary movement to smash
the trusts. we must, as we said yester-
day, push the fight now and continue it
to the bitter end. 1t is only in the i'm
mediate organization Of the people, in
the vigorous legislation OF our Assem-
blies. in the energetic enforcement of
antitrust acts by our law officers and
10 the stall decisions OF our courts,
that we can find the needed relief.
Aud tina: relief we must obtain soon, or
it will come too late.-New Orle ans
Times-Democrat.