Virginian-pilot. (Norfolk, Va.) 1898-1911, 1900-09-16

emit business activity. If Republican
leaders really regarded private monop-
Oily as an evil: if they really Intended
to apply an effective remedy. they
would not hesitate to denounce trusts
ana suggest means for their extermina-
non, put they express far more solicit
.uue Tor the corporation than for the
people at large. One is reminded of the
picture which mother once showed
10 her boy to impress upon his youth
iui mind the sufferings of the Chris
.'uh martyrs. who We're being thrown
INTO the arena and torn to pieces by
the lions. The boy looked ut the pic
,ure Tor a moment. and then his face
DrlShtened up as he thought he caught
the idea. Pointing down into one cor.
ner Oh the picture, he said, why mann
isn't getting at bit. 1t is even so with
the Republican leaders, Their svmpa
thy goes out freely to any corporation.
which in their opinion is not getting its
SHARE, put they are not moved by the
hardships imposed by monopolies upon
an VINO are outside of the charmed
circle Three sessions of Congress have
convened and adjourned since thu
PRESIDENTS inauguration. and yet he
has never recommended specific
measure looking toward the overthrow
of monopoieS
HON. Mr.. Bryan enumerated some
OF the leading trusts formed under.
nchiniey and gave their capitaliza-
ton.
THE EFFECT OF TRUSTS.
The lawyers are finding that with
the growth of trusts the business Is
sravltating toward the offices OF the
piS corporation attorneys. While less
fortunate practitioners are becomins.
law clerks.
The actors suffer from the theatrical
trust.
The small manufacturer is constant
~ menaced by the trusts.
He does not know at what moment
some large corporation will attempt to
nonopoliZe the business in which he
is engaged, and give him the choice
between bankruptcy and participation
IN an industrial conspiracy against the
rest Oh the country. Mans have been
driven into the trust organization by
the larger corporations engaged in the
same business, or by trusts formed 20
control iron. steel tin plate, or some
o.ner product used as a basis for fur
ther manufacture. In what business
can your son safely Invest n small
amount OF capital to-day? If he starts
INTO any independent business he will
una 1t difficult. If not impossible, to-
compete with a large organization if
II attempts to underseII him in his ter
rltory, because it can sustain itself
ny collecting high prices in other parts
ol the country. IL he suppresses his
moral objections and takes stock in n
..'V''DpOAs' iiC QOcS ilOL KNOW now soon
thoSe IN charge may attempt to freeze
out the smaller stockholders
The merchant is losing his indepen-
dence. The trust fixes the terms upon
which he shall sell. and often binds
him by contract not to sell a compet-
ing article. When the monopoly is
complet2 credit will be shortened and
the merchant will be compelled to bear
all the risks of trade. When the trust
raises prices. the merchant usually has
fl,n
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
stock. When. for instance, the Ameri-
can Steel and Wire Company closed
several OF its factories a few months
ago and threw some six thousand en-
ployeeS out of work, 1t dropped the
price of nails and barbed wire in or
der to work off surplus stock which
had accumulated because the high
prices had lessened 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 is now considerably in excess of
the demand. but lest the Republicans
may try to explain this upon the theo-
ry that the people are too busy to 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 re-
port 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 We're during the same
months of last year, and this occurs
in the midst of good crops. and when
two wars are IN progress.
DECLINE OF FARM PRODUCTS.
Let me call attention to the statistics
given in the Investment guide already
referred to- According to Henry Clews
< GU, TIRE avgrTge prices fGGCTveT by
farmers for oats, during the seven
years beginning with 1898, and ending
with 1899, were as follows: 1893, 294;
1891, 32.4; 1895, 1876; 1896, 1871; 1897, q 9;
1898. 25.5; 1899. 24.9. According to these
figures oats averaged 25 cents a bushel
during the four years of Mr.. Cleve-
lands administration. and only "a cents
per bushel during the three years of
Mr.. McKinieys adninistration-the
present year is not yet complete. but
oats are at the present time below the
average.
According to the same authority the
average prices received by the farmers
for corn were as follows; 1893, 36.5:
1894, 45.7; 1895, 26.4 1896, 21.5; 1897, 26.3;
1898. PSI; 1899, 90.3, making an average
of about S0.5 during the four years of
Mr.. Cleveland administration and PSI
during the three years of Mr.. McKin-
ley's administration--the fourth year
is not yet complete, but corn is at this