Southern Republican., 1900-02-08
NUMBER Is.
TRUSTS is TIE RANT.
WnntOn Railing Of Bryan tS Gre ate
Prejudice Against Industrial
Combinations.

AS usual, Mr.. Bryan cries out
TRUSTS" and takes great care not to-
say what he means. The plain people,
as Mr.. Lincoln used to call them, are
well aware what that sort of treat
ment means. Never does it mean igno
rance only. Were Mr.. Bryan profound.
ly ignorant on the subject he would not
fail to guard himself by aiming his
shots at the corporations which actu
ally abuse their power, or at those
which have powers they are likely to
abuse. The bare fact that he is par.
ticularly careful not to limit his at
tacks, as a man of his cunning obvious
ly would if he wished to reach the
minds of intelligent people, proves that
he has a different purpose. He is not
trying to guard against any real evil;
on the contrary, nothing else so effect
ually cripples the effort to promote SEN
sible and practical legislation on this
subject as wantOn and indiscriminate
railing at good ana bad corporations
alike. He is not trying to reach or
| influence men who are guided by infor.
nation or reasoning. but to stir up
hatred against capital and its effective
use in productive industry. Whether
he hurts individuals who are material.
| ly benefiting all workers and all con-
sumers. he does not care. Whether he
hurts the country, he does not care.
For people of common sense no words
of opprobrium are needed to describe
such a purpose or such a man.
A year ago such wanton railing at all
industrial combinations did kindle pref
udice against them. Most people
had not closely followed the history of
such corporations and did not know
what they had done nor what had be-
fallen them. years experience and
discussion. with all the object lessons
the year has presented, have entirely
changed the state of public opinion. 1t
is not yet fully informed, but knows
for certain that information is neces-
sary, and that some OF the great indus.
trial corporations are doing much good,
as others are doing much evil. 1t has
become known to practical and COM
mon sense voters that the man who
rails indiscriminately at all industrial
organizations does not do it because he
is stupid. but because he is Il dema-
gogue and a knave.
Large public information has been
promoted by the conduct of new corpo-
rations toward employees. How many
persons they employ can only b. con-
jectured, but several hundred thousand
of them have materially gained in
fuller and better employment and
larger wages. and the fact is known to
them and their friends and neighbOrs
that the change has been reached in the
great majority of cases without any
struggle or sacrifice, and without even
formal request in most instances, by
the desire of the corporations to retain
and fully satisfy the most competent
and experienced men in their lines OF
work. There is no SAVIOR or pretense
of philanthropy about it. The corpo-
rations want the most efficient work
they can get. They are so far free from
fear of immediate competition that
they can afford to secure il. They cal
culate that it will add to their profits
in the end. But if that is so, the nat
ural tendency of combinations is to give
to the strong corporations the pick OF
the workers and to their employees the
best wages in their occupations.
Whether this is the lasting effect re-
mains to be proved. But the plain peo-
pie have sense enough to see that it is
the immediate consequence, and may
possibly prove permanent, and that it
means a distinct advantage for the
great army of workers in tie branches
of industry most affected. As result
the half million employees, more or less,
and the millions of friends and neigh
bors who know how the thing works
thus far have realized that more infor-
nation must be awaited before indus
trial combinations can be indiscrim-
inately assailed by any honest man.
n. Y. Tribune.