Greenbrier independent. [volume] (Lewisburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1980, 1900-10-04

/ Tho Effect Of Trusts.
| The lawyers are finding that with the
! growth Of trusts the business Is gTaTitat-
| ing toward the Offices OF the big corpora
! ton attorneys, while less fortunate prac-
| titioners are becoming law clerks.
| The actors suffer from the theatrical
| trust
The small manufacturer Is constantly
| menaced by the trusts.
Fe does not know at what moment some
! large corporation will attempt 10 mon
opolize the business in which he Is en-
/ gagged. and give him his choice between
| bankruptcy and particulation in an IN
| dustrial conspiracy against the rest OF
the country. Many have been driven inso
| the trust organization by the larger cor
poratlons engaged in the same business
| or by trusts formed to control iron. steel
tin plate. or some other product used as
! a basis for further manufacture. In what
| business can your son safely invest 2
| smaill amount o. capital today? II ne
| starts cSnto uLy independent business he
viz findSlt difficult, il not impossible, 10
compete with a large organization II It
| attempts to undersell him in his ter
| rltory, because IL can sustain itself, by
| collecting high prices in other parts OF
the country. If he suppresses his moral
| objections and takes stock in mon
opo!y. he does not know how soon those
| in charge may attempt 10 freeze our
| the smaller stockholders.
The merchant is losing his independ-
cnca. The trust fxes the terms upon
which he shall sell. and often binds him
! By contrac' not 10 sell competing arti-
! Gle. When the monopoly is complete
credit will be shortened. and the n1er-
| chant will be- compelled TO bear all the
risks of trade. When The trust raises
prices. the merchant usually has 10 divide
the advance with his customers. so far
as stock on hand is concerned. but when
the trust overstocks the market and then
let's the price fall the merchant must
bear the loss on accumulated SOCK.
When, for instance. the American S;ec!
&c Wire Company closed several OF IFS
factories n f"w months ago and threw
some six thousand employees out o. work.
it dropped the price OF nails and barSed
wire in ort.er 10 work OF surplus stock
which had accumulated because the
high prices had lcssened the demand.
Every merchant lost money on the nails
and wire on hand.
There Is already overproduction In many
lines. The supply OF common chairs IL
HOW considerably In excess OF the de-
mard. bIt lest the Republicans may try
To explain this upon the theory that the
people are too busy 10 SIT down. may
add that there is also dizziness In the
shoe trade. The Iron Age in recent
issue pointed out that the production OF
iron was falling OFF. the decrease then
amounting to more than $4,000 tons per
month. Duns report OF July 2lst stated
that the wooden mills were running at
less than half their capacity: and even
recently the cotton manufacturers have
been threatening to either reduce wages
or shut down temporarily. According to
Dun's report, the business failures have
been greater during each month OF 1900
than they were during the same months
of last yea. and this occurs in the midst
OF good crops. and when two wars are
In progress.
Trusts and Arbitrary Fluctuations
.FThe contractor can figure with some ac-
curacy so long as natural laws control.
but no cannot protect himself against the
arbitrary fluctuations, which are not only
possible but; probable when a monopoly
controls the market.
The farmer is one OF the most import
ant factors IL our national life. Some
enc has saiG TO him, THE hand that
guides the IblowShare feeds the world"
He is not q stakeholder in any of the
trusts. but I've feels tho extortion Prac-
ticed by the3k all. I am not farming on
Il largo scale ,Sbut the misleading reports
which have been circulated concerning
nv oat crop justify me In making ret
crencc 10 my own experience. The New
York Tribune recently printed dispatcn
from Nebraska to the effect. that had
Just sold forly-eight hundred bushels or
oats at 30 ceats per hushel supposed 10
bo The yield of 40 acres). and that the
amount received for the oats was more
than double The price paid for the land
The Tribune article then proceeded TO Ci-
late upon the prosperity or Inc FARMER
using my experience a. an illustration.
and asserted that The farmers of Ncbras-
ka were becoming so opulert that they
were Joining the Republican party. The
facts are. irst: That ] had five acres
Of oats instead Of one hundred and
twenty acres: second. That the oats
have not yet been threshed. so that the
Weld is rot known: Third. That oats are
selling for legs than % cents in Chicago.
instead OF 30 cents in Nebraska. and
fourth, That the land upon which the
oats were raised cost me over Sl"p an
acre instead OF IS. II, when threshed.
nv oats yield 30 bushels To the acre.
and + sell them II Nebraska for 70 cents
ner bushel the total income from tho five
acre. will be $40 or less than eight per
cent on the investment. After taking out
the cost of blowing. sowing. harvesting
nrd thrnshinK. the nrt income from that
five acre tract, will not exceed TOUR per
cent on tho money invested. | do not
mean 10 judge others by my own expert
once. but mention the facts In this case
10 show how Tie Republican papers e1-
agcerate the farmers prosperity. ano
credit a Republican administra ton with
good crops. making no allowance for the
crop failures which occur from time to
time.
Decline Of Farm Products.
E,It while on the DAT question let me
call attention TO the statistics given in
the Investment; guide already referred TO.
According to Henry Clews K Co. tho
avcrac. prices received by farmers for
oats. during the seven years beginning
with !S9S. and ending with 1882 yer" as
Fellows: 1873 @94: 1894 32.+ i%i. 1916:
1875 49,: !ss7. ei.:; lsaS. 25.5: 1870. 249. Ac-
cnrdir- 10 these figures OATS average!
o. cents hrshe! during the four years OF
Mr., C:l.vrland's administration. and only
% cents ,,er bushel during the three years
OF Mr.. Mckinley's administraiion-the
present year is not yet complete. but
oats are at the present t!'nc below the
average.
According to the same authority the
average prices received by the farmers
ror corn. we're a1ifoliows: 1893. 36.5; 1894.
z5.I. 1895. sg647 TSS6 IT'S: 1877. 26.3: 1885,
os.7: 1899 sp.3, making an average Of about
3h5 during the four years Of NJ. Clere-
nj ,rir %