Omaha daily bee., 1900-01-11
wORKtNGmEN ANn rRrsrs.

see a word in one OF them about the Assoc
ciated Press trust-the oldest and %cruelest
trust in the world. Oh, no! That is differ
ent, you know. Yet a lot Of democratic and
republican papers and leaders would like to
get the members Of organized labor tangled
up in this fake fight on trusts.
A trust is a combination OF men. a union
is a combination Of men. A law that will
prohibit the trust will prohibit the union.
Union men are getting along all right.
The past year showed trades unions more
prosperous and their members better paid
than any year in a dozen last past. 1t was
also the greatest year for the organization
Of trusts. a trade unionist would not in
slst that It was right for him to join a union
and wrong for his boss to do the same thing.
The people who are squealing on the trust
are the middle men and drummers, neither
one of which ever lost any sleep for the
troubles Of the striking trade u%nionist,
The two great parties will adopt plat
forms against the trust this year and then
send committees out to touch the trust
managers for the price to conduct the cam
paign-and get 1t, too.
Trades unionists should keep out Of this
fake fight on the trusts,-Western Laborer.
This is the selfish point of view taken
by labor leaders who have not studied
the relation of labor to combinations in
restraint of trade in all its bearings.
They see only the immediate benefit
derived by skilled workmen from
steady employment at good wages, as
Stunning that the trusts and colossal
combinations engaged in industrial en-
terprises are the chief source of pros
perity.
AS q matter of fact high wage and
steady work simply mean increased
consumption and great demand for the
product of the factory and mill, and in
creased consumption, as everybody
knows, is the consequence of general
prosperity. There were trust and syn
dicate-made fabrics in abundance dur.
ing the recent era of hard times, but
there was light consumption or over
production, and hence low wages and
little employment at any price.
The baneful effect of the trusts upon
wage-workers is exerted in two direc-
tons. First, il their ability to close
their mills and factories in one locality
while running mills or factories produc-
ing the same article in another locality.
For example, If the tinplate trust
should decide to reduce wages it would
not make the reduction in all its mills
at the same time, but would make a
beginning with one or two mills, and
having closed these mills in case of re-
sistance would continue to operate its
other mills in other localities until it's
rebellious workmen were frozen out or
driven in.
In the next place the most serious
blow to the interests of labor by trusts
is the raising of prices, which always
tends to reduce consumption, and con
sequently reduces the demand for la
Dor, carrying with it Il lowering of
wages.
which control production in any par
ticular line will not attempt to In
crease their gains by arbitrarily raising
prices is absurd. The raising of wages
by the trust concerns has always been
followed or preceded by a raise in
u iN'' VI NiN iuc' st' S'ouS III III
every instance that increase is very
much greater han the increase of the
wage fund. The consumer of course
always pays the freight and the work
men pay more than their share of the
freight because they are more numer-
Gus than the employers and middle
men.
The trades unionists may remain in
different to the abuses of the trust so
long as they individually and collect
lively are not affected, but such a pol
icy would not commend itself to the
great mass of toilers on the farm and
in the factory who do not belong TO the
unions.
The assertion that the metropolitan
papers that oppose the trusts are mem
bers of the oldest and cruelest trust in
the world is decidedly wild and utterly
baseless. The present Associated Press
was organized just seven years ago.
Prior to that there We're half a dozen
press associations collecting and eX-
changing news, the parent being the
New York Associated Press, organized
by the New York dailies. Although or
ganiZed as "A stock company, the new
Associated Press pays no dividends
and is operated purely as Il mutual
news collection and news distribution
agency whose members are heavily
taxed for the news service they re-
ceive. The association has no monoD-
oily of news which is a commodity in
the market just the same as print pa
per OF printing machinery. Those who
can afford to buy the best get the best.
The fact that the metropolitan dailies
eXpend as much and often more for
special news dispatches than they pay
for Associated Press news explOdes the
delusion that the Associated Press con
trolls all the news of the world. The
reason the papers of small means can
not get the Associated Press report Is
simply because they cannot afford to
pay for leased wires and costly cable
dispatches.
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BOER OBDURACl.
The indications are that the Amerl-
can consul now at Pretoria is having