Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1900-10-09

The lawyers are finding that with the
I growth of trusts the business e gravitat-
Ing toward the odices Of the big corpora
uon attorneys, while less fortunate prac-
tuonerB are becoming law olerks-
trust
The small manufactures Il constantly
nnenaced by the trusts.
he does not know at what moment some
large corporation Win attempt to mon
opoiize the business in which he IS en-
gagged and give him his choice between
bankruptcy and participation In an In
dustrtals conspiracy against the rest OF
the country Many have been driven Into.
the trust organization by the larger cor
poradons engaged IN the same business,
or by trusts formed to control iron steel.
tin plate, or some other product used as
a basis FOR further manufacture. In what
business can your son safely invest a
small amount of capital today2 II he
starts into any independent business he
VIII md It difficult II not impossible, to
compete with large Organization IL 1t
attempts TO undersell him In his ter
rttory. because It can sustain itself, by
collecting high prices in other parts of
the country. If he suppresHes his moral
objections and takes stock In a mon
! opoly. he does not know how soon those
in charge may attempt to freeze OUT
the smaller stockholders.
The merchant is losing his independ-
ence The trust hxes the terms upon
which he shall sell, and often binds him
| by contrac. not to sell a competing arti-
Gle. When the monopoly is complete
credit win be shortened, and the mer-
chant will be compelled to bear all the
risks of trade. When the trust raises
prices, the merchant usually has to divide
the advance with his customers. 80 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.
Nhensl for instance, the American Steel
& Wire Company closed several OF its
IlnfnRIAQ q mai he = m HNnrr
some six thousand employees out OF work,
1t dropped the price of nails and barbed
wire in order to work on surplus stock
which had accumulated because the
high prices had lessened the demand.
Every merchant lost money on the nails
and wire hand.
There Is already overproduction In many
mes. The supply of common chairs is
now considerably In excess Of the de-
mand, but lest the Republicans may try
to explain this upon the theory that the
people are too busy to sit down, may
add that there IL also dullness In the
shoe trade. The Iron Age in a recent
issue pointed out that the production of
IRON was falling OF, the decrease then
amounting to more than 5000 tons per
month. Dun's report of July 21st 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
pun'S report, the business failures have
been greater during each month OF 1900
than they were during the same months
OF last year, and this occurs in the midst
OF good crops and when two wars are
In progress.
Trusts and Arbitrary Fluctuations.
The contractor can figure with some ac-
curacy so long as natural laws control,
but he cannot protect himself against the
arbitrary fluctuations. which are not only
possible but probable when a monopoly
controls the market
The farmer is one of the most import
ant factors in our national life Some
one has said to hirA. sHThe hand that
guides the plowshare feeds the world"
He is not a stockholder in any of the
trusts. but he feels the extortion prac-
ticed by them all. am not farming
a large scale, but the Misleading reports
which have been circulated concerning
my oat crop justify me in making ref
erence to my own experience. The New
York Tribune recently printed dispatch
from Nebraska to the efrect that 1 had
just sold forty-eight hundred bushels of
oats at 30 cents per bushel (supposed to
be the yield of 100 acresl, and that the
amount received for the oats was more
than double the price paid for the land.
The Tribune article then proceeded to a.
late upon the prosperity OF the farmer,
. using my experience as an Illustration
and asserted that the farmers of Nebras-
ka were becoming 50 opuient that they
were Joining the Republican party. The
facts are, first: That I had I've acres
of oats instead of one hundred and
twenty acres: second. That the cats
have not yet been threshed, 20 that the
selling for less than q cents In Chieago,
instead Of 30 cents In Nebraska, and
fourth, That the land cpon which the
oats were raised cost me over $40 an
acre instead of s. II, Wnen threshed
my oats yield 20 bushels to the acre,
and sell them IN Nebraska for 20 cents
per bnshel the total income from the hve
acres win be $40. or less than eight per
mn he Inv rfr 81
the cost of blowing, sowing, harvesting
ana threshIng. the net income from that
hve acro tract, VIII not exceed four per
cent on the money invested I do not
mean to judge others by my own expert
ence, but mention the facts In this case
to show how the Republican papers ex-
aggerate the farmers' prosperity, and
credit Republican administration with
good crops, making no allowance for the
crop failures which occur from time to
time.
Decline OF Farm Products.
But while on the cat question let me
call attention to the statistics given In
the Investment guide already referred to-
According to Henry Clews & Co., the
average prices resolved by farmers for
oats, during the seven years beginning
with 1893, and ending with 1883. were as
follows: 1888, -; 1891. ga; 1895, 1o.e;
1885, Isl; 1857, H.2; 1858, 25.5: 1883, 3lS. Ac-
cordinR TO these figures oats AVERAGED
s cents 4 buBhol during the four year, OF
NJ. SleNeland eanllnlstFetlons ana only
a cents per bushel during the three years
Of Hr. McKinlOy'S administration-tho
present year Is not yet complete, but
cats are at the present time below the
According to the same authority the
average prices received by the farmers
for corn. were as follows: 1888, 3s.B; 1Ss4
45.7: 1895. 26.4; 1885, Z1.5: 1897 26s; 16eS
HI; 1889. sos, making an average OF about
sS.5 during the four years of Mr.. CIeve-
lands administration. and 81 during the
three years of Mr.. McKinIey's adrniniS-
tration-the fourth year IS not yet COM
average.
Wheat. according to the same author-