The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1900-05-04
THE TRUST EVIL.
Thomas G.. Shearman Says the
Remedy Lies in the Repeal
of Laws Which Give to any
Man Protection A gain S t
Natural Competition.


American people are subjected by
the powerful combinations com
monty, though enormously, called
"TrustS," have been so effectively
demonstrated in detail, by prev
lous articles in this series, that
no better statement of them
could now be made. The evil is
universally acknowledged by
members of all parties, Republi
cans as much as Democrats or
POpnliStS. The real and only
! question is the ancient one:
"What are You going TO do about
it,"
MORE RESTRICTIONS WILL NOT
KILL TRUSTS.
The very foundation principle
of these trust combinations is re.
strictiOnS. Probably on the
theory that fire must always he
fought with fire, every effort thus
far made by legislatures, TO de
stroy the powers of So called
trusts. has been in the form of
still further restrictions. One
restriction is piled upon the other
and still IA third upon both, and
Ill this way it is somehow hoped
that liberty Will be established
by multiplying restraints upon
liberty The commerce and trade
OF the country are tied up with
chains by the trust monopolies,
and then Congress and the |, giS
latureS seek to nullify the effect
of these chains by claiming the
chains.
1t is SCI iouSly proposed to re
store free competition by prohibit,
ing trust binatiunS from enter
ing into competition. Laws have
been passed for the av0wed pur.
pose of preventing combinations
which control two-thirlS OF the
production of any article from
selling their goods in competition
with the producers of the remain
ing third. 1t is no cause for won.
der that all the s0-called anti.
trust laws have resulted IN igno.
miniouS failure, and that the mum
Der of trust combinations never
increased so rapidly as Since these
laws were enacted.
There is but one remedy foI
slavery, and that is liberty.
There is but one remedy for mo
nopoly, and that is to set free
those currents which have been
restrained by monopoly. Nc
combination can ever be pernla-
nently successful unless it il
founded upon some monopoly OF
natural resources.
La very rare cases Such a mo
nopoly is founded upon the ex
traOrdinary genius of one or two
men. For this there is and ought
to he no remedy. Nature makes
it impossible hat such IA monopoly
of genius should last more than a
few years, and during that period
its benefits will far outweigh all
Its disadvantages. Genius may
have All occasional monopoly, but
no one could long have a monop-
oily in genius. Nature is sure to
produce rival genius, who does
III another way what the first
genius did i'll his own peculiar
way. This was strikingly illus
trated i'll the history of the steel
manufacture. BesSemer having
invented one immensely valuable
and cheap process for making
steel, Siemens followed with an
other method, and Gilchrist and
Thomas with still another.
The great monopolies of this
country owe their existence to
special unjust privileges, confer
red upon them by a course of leg.
islation, which the people OF the
United States adopted of their
own free will, and which are still
maintained 10y the votes of the
very people who most loudly de-
claim against monopolieS. Fore
most among these are the tariff
laws, the internal revenue laws
and the patent laws. We shall
briefly consider these in the order
OF the least important.
PATENT LAW MoNOPoLIEs.
Taking first the patent laws,
which avowedly concede a mo-
nopoly for the term of seventeen
years, for good and solid reasons
in each case, we have only to say
that they afford striking illus
tration of the dangers attendan
upon any legalized monopoly.
however meritorious.
This is shown by a compare
lively recent scandal, with regard
to a pretended conflict of claims
in the patent Office. Two Oppos
ing claims were secretly purchased
by corporation, which afterward,
employed attorneys Oh both sides
to keep up the sham contest fol
many years, resulting in prac
ticaI monopoly OF single inven