Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1900-05-03
We suspect that editor Foster Of the

Elmer Times is preparing to 60 into the
Trust business himself, hence he hopes
they are good thing. Ia his editorial
column he tells his readers about the
good times in Elmer, and how easy it is
for everybody to pay trust prices for
everything, while right in an adjoining
column he prints that the personal property
of the old Elmer Glass Works was sold at
Trustees sale for about one-fourth its
cost while the personal property of the
Broad Street Shoe Factory brought
''hardly twenty per cent Of it's value" at
public sale. He, Foster, improved the OPP
portunity to buy a $S5 bill file for So,
thereby increasing prosperity to the
creditors of the "Old Glass Factory" who
are legion.
When Bro. Foster gets down to thinking
seriously on the Trust question. we venture
be will revise his present opinion that
they are good thing"
How much of the 100 per cent. advance
in the price of agricultural implements
has gone to labor? Bro. Foster, and how
much of the Trust price of nails, lumber,
paper, leather, oil and the thousands of
articles controlled by combinations reaches
the pockets of labor. An intelligent labor
ing man said in our hearing the other day
that trust exactions had increased the
living cost of his family nearly 800
year, yet his wages remained same as last
year. What does five or ten per cent.
increase in wages signify with an increase
of from twenty-five to fifty per cent, and
in some instances 100 in the price of all
that labor requires? And not all lsborers
are getting even that increase in pay, but
vast majority of workers are working on
the old schedule.
And there are yet many other sides to
the trust question, and every one of them
prove the opposite to Mr.. Fosters conten-
ton. Small dealers and small msnufac-
turers are crowded out of business; manu-
featuring plants are bought and closed up,
ruining whole communities and impover
ishing labor. Why, within week the
president of the steel trust has thrown
thousands of men out of work for the
simple pul pose of influencing the market
value of steel stocks, and putting $5,0O0,-
600 into his own pocket.
The evils of Trusts cannot be stated in
the brief space of a newspaper article, but
the actual strong points of argument
against them were summed up in COM
munication to Philadelphia paper some
time ago, which we commend to Mr..
Fosters thoughtful consideration. They
are
1. Competition between buyers of the
raw material enhances the price to the
producer.
manufactured article reduces its price to
the consumer.
3. Reduction of prices multiplies the
number of consumers.
A. Increase of consumption stimulates
production to supply the increased de-
mand.
5. Increase of production implies an in
crease to the employment of labor.
6. Competition between the employers of
labor enhances the wages of labor.
z. Enhancement of the wages of labor
the material and moral ameliora-
ton of the condition of the laboring class
8 Competition to sell stimulates to i'm
in the quality of the article
offered.
9. Competition to sell urges reduction
in the cost of the article, ingenuity is
quickened to the invention of expense
saving and labor-saYing machinery, and
so a stimulus is applied to the progress of
the useful arts and sciences.
In short, competition ministers to the
welfare of all classes of the community
and augments the resources and power of
the State. But the evil of excessive COM
petition is counteracted and arrested by the
principle of self-interest and the operation
of the law of supply and demand On the |
other hand, by monopoly all these results
are arrested and prevented -
/. There being but single buyer of the |
raw material, he dictates to the producer
what price he pleases.
2. There being but single seller of the |
finished article, he EFFORTS from the con-
sumner an exorbitant price.
3. The increased price to the consumer |
diminishes the number of consumers and |
restricts consumption.
A. Diminished consumption necessitates |
diminished production.
s. Diminished production diminisbes the |
employment Of labor
6. There being but single employer of
labor, he hires it at his own reduced price |
z Monopolizing the market. and assured
Of sale in any event, the seller has no |
motive for improving the quality of the
article. and SO it necessarily deteriorates.
8. Monopolizing the market, and so COM
his own price, and assured of his
profit, the manufacturer has no motive to
reduce the cost of production by the in
Vention of expense-saying and labor-saving
machinery.
8. Monopolizing the production and the |
market, and SO commanding what profits
be pleases, the manufacturer has no motive
10 increase production, but, on the con-
srary, is urged by interest to save the ex-
oense of Ito him) unnecessary production,
and so takes factories in the combine for
he purpose only of dismanthng and stop
ping them.
In word, monopoly despoils and op-
presses all classes of the community and
facilitates and impoverishes the State.