The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1900-05-31
TARIFFS AND TRUSTS.
David A. Wells Said That the Latter
Could Only Exist Through
the Former.

Could Only Exist Through
the Former.
In 1892 the late David A. Wells wrote
short and vigorous editorial on trusts,
which is as applicable today as then.
What is q trust? In the popular
and political sense, it means a combin-
alton Of the domestic producers of GER
tain commodities to control production
and advance prices. No trust of this
kind. operating on articles for which
there is a possible competitive supply
from other countries, could be main
tanned in the United States for single
month except under one or two condi-
tions, either all the competitive pro-
ducers throughout the world must be
brought into the trust or, what is the
same thing, the product of the whole
world must be controlled; or the prod
uct Of all the foreign producers must
be shut out from the markets of the
country.
THE first result is not attainable. 1t
would be obviously impracticable to
Induce all the manufacturers of starch.
for example. in all the different coun-
tries of Europe. to unite and put the
control of their business in hands OF
trustees residing in the United States.
The second is made not only possible,
but effective in the highest degree, by
the imposition of tariffs, or duties, on
the importation of the arA'les in which
the trusts are especially interested, so
high as to completely bar them out of
the American market. The duties the
Mckinley tariff act provides. (The
Dingley tariff re-enacted or increased
them)
1T thus becomes the creator and pre-
server of trusts and monopolies, the
like of which cannot and do not exist
under the tariff system of Great Brit
ain, as the starch trust, plate and win
dow glass trust, nail trust, linseed oil
trust, lead trust, cotton bagging trust,
borax trust, AK, saw and scythe trust,
cracker, cake and biscuit trust, rubber
boot and shoe trust. and many others,
all of which, freed from foreign compe-
titon, are advancing prices to American
consumers to an extent that will afford
them from so to 100 per cent more
profit than can be fairly considered as
legitimate, but in which profits their
tluplOytS uO Hbl pdIllClDdle'
There are more than 100 trusts in
the United States that could have no
existence except for the high duties
that have been enacted or kept on in
order to maintain and protect them.
How did your representative in the late
congress vote?
"Did he vote for the salt trust, pro-
tected and alone made capable of exist
ence by a duty of "A to SIS per cent?
did he vote for the window glass
trust, with a protection of from 100
to 1876 per cent?
"Did he vote for the linseed oil trust,
with protection of over 80 per cent?
"Did he vote for the white lead trust,
with a protection of rs per cent?
did he vote for the starch trust,
with protection of 80 per cent?
"Did he vote for the steel trust. with
a protection running from 40 to lis per
per cent?
And so Of all the other trusts pro-
tected by the tariff, and especially by
the Mckinley bill land the Dingley
bilD. Look them up. and If you find
that your representative voted for such
an imposition of taxes as alone per-
mits them to exist, make him explain
why he did So"