The Atlanta constitution., 1900-07-16
THE TRUSTS AND THE PEOPLE
BY REV. SAM L. JONES.

Z
cations OF capital are considered hurtiui
l TO the MASSES and the common people.
/ This is A theory. Theoretically. thlhg
| may be So and practically IL may be very
l untrue When We speak of trusts ana
combines We think OF the Standard oii
Trust the Sugar trust, the tobacco truss,
etc. When the Standard OIL trpst was
formed 1 was paying 40 cents gallon for
| kerosene oil; 4 am getting II now for lO
cents a gallon. 1 was paying liza cents
for sugar several years ago. but when
the combines set in We get IL at Jl4 cents
When the whisky trust was organized
I 4 Was in hopes it would put up whisky
where the poor devils couldn't set "a,
but they have seemed TO cheapened tnat
down 10 where they can pay the govern
mcnt sl.l5 galipn revenue on IL and sell
IL for Si.21iz which demonstrates that
they ar, making IL and letting the pub
lie have IL at about l2i2 cents gallon.
There is no doubt about the aggrega-
,ion of wealth. with brains controlling ii,
that they can manufacture any article
cheaper Ihaa II is or mas been manufac-
tured OF A small scale. Tie great rail-
ICad combinations, many think, Will eat
Is UP blood rare. Occasionally / get on
a little Jerk-water read tlat Is not IN
the combination. and / want TO double my
accident policies and DE satisfied with u
sclf with the idea tSat l can ride all
day for dollar. but when | get OH TIE
Pennsylvania or Vanderbilt system of
reads, with their schedules forty niles
an hour vsst.bule trains. with parlor
cars. sleeping ears. dining cars, 1 have
"A hotel on wheels carrying me toward
my destination. and all for about cents
a mile. Give me the road that is in
the cOnsbine To carry me where | am go
ing.
Public sentiment is the safeguard which
Is thrown around all aggregations OF
wealth and AL combinations of interest.
The Standard OF. the railroad combina-
lions. the sugar trust are as sensitive TO
public sentiment as the snowbank to the
rays OF the sun. Trusts and combines
VIII not hurt the public. but stockholders
AID bOndholders nay suffer later on.
when these great bulky institutions be-
come unwieldy and fail with their own
weight Fifty thousand men in the Unit
"a States. perhaps not more. are interest
"a in the great trusts Of the country.
Those 51t"o men know that there are
5o.ss.9. OF other people in America. and
their wisdom teaches them where bound
AIRY lines are. over which they cannot go
without peril 10 themselves and disaster
to Their business. No combination
now says damn the public" but they
have their wcathcrcocks out on every
prominent cupola watching how lhe wind
tlows.
Of course. political capital can be made
cut of such formations of wealth. and So
cial orders msy rise the black flag to
fight them: but ! am thousand times
more afraid of dcmagoguts and politicians
than I arm afraid OF the trusts and COM
bines. Good sovernment-which means
not only the weli-heing af the citizen.
but the overthrow OF all that will hurt
the citlzeu-d -pends upon good men In
Office and We had better pay less attcE-
ton 10 what We call trusts and comuin-
atiOns and more attention 70 those whom
we elect To office ia the municipal. state
anc national governments. Mr.. Stead.
iu his book. III Christ Came TO Chlcl-
g9," s..eaks OF the big -Four Of ChicA-
60" and says OF the n that their Te,h-
eds are clean and their TRANSACTIONS are
honest. but that in the road Of their Sue
4. - lies the blood and bones OF tho VIE
Tins over whom they have ran TO Sue
cess" The successful man or combination
means the downfall of other men and
other combinations. one preacher is
preaching TO 5.Fn. twenty preachers
Ground him consider sevcnty-iive
flIl house. and hundred a perfect jam.
one physician making $4,000 "A year. and
forty little doctors IN the neishbprhuod
not making their grub. 4 Nahamaker
selling S3.wo.Uo a year means many ht-
tie merchants applying for clerkShip In
his store. IL is the survival oi the iittest,
IL uay be. when God made this world
ifc made mo lntalns towering into The
clouds and valleys below the level Of the
sea. h.. made lakes and oceans. lie spread
cut the prairies oi the west and piled up
mountains around the little valleys a.one
a A
i,s- Ia the oceans waters we find whales
and some very small fishes. and when
the whales come along the little iish have
10 hide out. ! have travelled over this
country from ocean 10 ocean. ana from
Montreal 10 Galveston. annually Tor TWEEN
q years. ! have watched the progress
uf events ami the professions as they
marched. I have -e. TO KuOw of a SIM
gle instance where combines and trusts
hurt the MASSES or permanently raisei
the price II any product. / am "a thousand
times move willing 20 deal with the trusts
ard combines and purchase their products
than / am 20 put my money into their
institutions and imperil my holdings. con-
eciotis If their want of stability and fear
ing their anal downfall.
Of course thesa great combinations af-
feet legislation. IL they do not control
IL Ia many instances. but while they may
procure legislation IN their own interest
yet they have one eve upon the public
sentiment all the time. conscious that
they can 20 just 50 far ana no farther.
Here aEd there they have shut down
a. n nanufactory or closed up an institution
and affected some individuals but We are
T1t looking from that standpoint. When
We look al the 7o.0un.eo of our population.
We say they are only procuring cheaper
and buying for less money these prod
ucts than JhCy could have done under
9th r circumstances.
With the final disintegration Of trusts
and combines-which Will inevitably come
when financial disaster ana shr.nkage
OF values shall come-of course. the sur
plus of their product viii be thrown upon
these trusts ana combines will suffer. rs
sure as that the sun stines. whenever
any institution becomes uuwieldy because
Of its size and bulk. IL viii finally fall OF
its own weight.
an an eXIausionist and believe that
one Jf the causes of the stringency and
shrimkage OF values in this country is be-
with our products As We should have done
" hile there is "A demand for our products
Of the farm and mandatory of this
country there will always be plenty OF
money, but when wheat and cotton and
all kincs Of manufactures are drag
on the m9rket, and no demand fOr them.
then We have strinsency and hard times.
Euf when the highways over the seas
.ign countries. and the gold is broush.
back in the ships, then We shall flourish
pcrennially. These great combinations
are the only TOwers IN this country that
can do this thing for Us negro ana an
old mule can make corn and cotton:
s..fluxy with "A S.fn SaWmiii can make lum-