The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1900-09-27
.BRYAN'S HOME THRUST.
Attacks Starch Trust in One of
Its Strongholds.

Nebraska City. Neb.. Sept. 27.-Will-
lam J. Bryan spoke here to a large
crowd last night. The speech had been
looked forward to with much interest
because Mr.. Bryan had announced that
he would deal with the trust question as
affected by the suit instituted by Attor-
ney General Smythe to annul the sale
of the Argo Starch Works of this city
to the National Starch company, popu-
larly known as the starch trust. Mr..
Bryan came down from Lincoln in the
afternoon He was accompanied by Mrs.
Bryan and personal friends, and also
by quite a number of supporters from
Lincoln and other towns on the way
The party occupied special train and
was met at the railroad station by two
or three marching clubs and by a large
number of other admirers, who escorted
the party to the Grand Pacific hotel.
When the meeting began at half past
eight there was a light rain falling and
the weather extremely chilly. The un-
favorable weather did not, however,
have the effect of dispensing the crowd
They held on bravely, remaining to the
end. There were not many unfriendly
interruptions, but evidently some had
been expected, for previous to the meet
ing the mayor of the city issued an or
der that there had been rumors of
trouble, and warning against it, The
grounds and the people stood under the
trees and much of the time in the rain
while Mr.. Bryan spoke. He plunged into
the local trust question at the very be-
ginning of his speech He gave a his
tory OF the Argo Manufacturing COM
pany, quoting copiously from the Ne
braska City CONSERVATIVE, published by
ex-Secretary of Agriculture j. Sterling
Morton. The company, according to the
Conservative of May Is, 1899, competed
successfully in America and Europe
with the starch trust. Nebraska City"
said the Conservative, sin its cereal
mills and Argo factory has two success
full plants which no trust has as yet
been able to buy, bully or wheedle."
About September 1, 1899, the Argo
company Joined the United Starch COM
for the ostensible purpose of fighting the
National Starch company. Finally, in
August or September, 1900, the National
Starch company absorbed the United
Starch company. Mr.. Bryan continued:
First we have an independent com
pany, growing and prospecting upon its
own merits; second, this independent
company joins other companies to fight
the starch trust, and third, this indie
pendent company, with its associates,
joins the starch trust and competition is
at last destroyed.
IF the people of Nebraska City defend
the starch trust, they must be prepared
to defend all the other trusts, for 1t Is
Gated elsewhere and defend a trust 10
Gated in their own city Are the people
of Nebraska City willing to subject them
selves and their countrymen to the extor-
ton practiced by all the trusts in order
to maintain one trust which has one fac
tory in their city2 AS a matter of fact,
terested in the dissolution Of the starch
trust than the people of other parts OF
the state. When the Argo was an indie
pendent company it was controlled by
citizens of Nebraska City and Nebraska
City interests could be considered by its
company. with headquarters in New York
is allowed to absorb this industry the con-
troll will be removed from Nebraska City
to New York and the wishes and in
terests of the people of Nebraska City VIII
have little consideration
1.-The people of your town have already
seen distillery closed down by the
whisky trust What is to prevent the
Argo company from being closed down
by the starch trust? When all the fac
tories belong to one corporation the clos
ing down of one factory does not bring
loss to the corporation because the work
can be carried on somewhere else, bat the
pany could not close down without seri-
Gus loss, therefore the chances are greater
in favor of the local factory being closed
down under a trust than under irdepen-
dent mana cement. The Argo company. as
an independent company, could not afford
to close down and turn off its employees,
but when the Argo company becomes a
the employees have way of protecting |
themselves, because the work can be sus-
pended while the employees are starved |
into submission. Under the trust system /
a strike in one factory brings no loss to |
the company, but it does bring great loss |
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