Evening star., 1900-02-07
Monopolies Discussed Last Evening
Before Mems Club.
FALSE VALUATIONS OF PROPERTY
Senator Stewards Views of the
Money Combinations.
THE MIN RITY SID E

NOulU 1Ou DO with IruStS-
The president of the club. Mr.. Justice
Harlan of the Supreme Court of the United
States, presided and among the speakers
of the evening were the following members
of the club: Rev. Wallace Radcliffe. Geo.
C. Gorham, formerly secretary of the
United States Senate: F. H. Morris. audi
tor of the treasury for the War Depart
Inent: Representative Hamilton of Michi-
gan, Senator Stewart. C. E. Foster, former
Governor Perham of Maine, former Com
missioner John w. Douglass of the District
of Columbia and Noble D. Larner.
Mr. Gorham was the first speaker. He
said one of the abuses of the trusts is the
false valuation of the property they repre-
sent The prices of all commodities are
supposed to be such as will yield fair
return upon the investment made by those
who will produce them either as raw mate
rial or finished products. Consumers are.
therefore. interested in having truthful
statements of the cost of all articles of
consumption.
4 Greater Evil.
Another and much greater evil he
said. ''is when combined capital creates vir-
tual mOnopolies- For example: A handful
of men sit in an office in New York and de-
eide how much coal shall be taken from
the earth along the line of great railroad
system: what amount shall be received for
it in the market. and how the proceeds
shall be divided between the laborerS, the
mine owners and the railroad companies.
Labor is not represented at these confer
ences- In thus manipulating this natural
product of the earth. the desire for gain is
the only controlling motive for deciding
what proportion of the poor people in the
country shall go cold in the winter.
But all this does not answer the ques-
tion of what would do with the trusts.
Upon the lawmakers of the nation and of
the several states rests the responsibility
of answering that question. Corporations
created by the states can only exist upon
such conditions as the state may impose.
The first and simplest duty would be to re-
duce the amount of stock to the real value
of the assets of each corporation. Pen
alties can be prescribed in each state for
frauds perpetrated upon stockholders by
the directors Monopolies can be dealt with
as ccn>practes against the public and
can those approXma tions TO monopoly
which operate restraints upon trade
through 4 Limitation upon outputs and
agreements to raise the prices upon the
nece<Sa-ieS of IIfe. The power of the ma
uonal government over these trusts may be
found IN the power to regulate foreign and
interstate commerce and in the taxing
power. If our lawyers who are in public
life Will use their abilities to find proper
remedies against trust abuses as energet-
lca!iE as the private attorneys of trusts
which practice them labor to shield their
clients. the saving remedies will be found
For any undue interference by the trusts
with the national and state governments
the remedy les with the people.
Constitutional Powers.
"A question just now engaging the at
t5ntiOn Of legal minds throughout the coun-
try IS whether Congress in legislating for
newly acquired territory must act within
the governing powers conferred upon it by
the Constitution This question has arisen
under proposition TO impose duties upon
the products Of Porto Rico coming into
other ports of the United States. The Con-
Stitutlon provides that ali duties shall be
UNIFORM throughout The United States If
Porto Rico is in the United States duties
can no more be exacted on products coming
from there into other ports of the United
Sldtes S,S than they can on goods taken from
ts"St'n % New York If. on the other hand
Fort" Rico is no part Of the United States
but only an outlying plantation its inhah.
tants may be treated as property attached
I" the soil. with rights under the Constf-
luton which onr government is bound to
respect, and this would be equally true of
Hawaii and the Philippines
AS | understand it, rEe Sunrep,a Corr-
Is committed to the doctrine that wherever
the political department of the government
pants the flag of the Union there is the
SOL S".i "I Ihe Inltei States. and there the
court VII. administer justice under the linn
It's Of The Constitution. as in other nortinns
of the United States
If our new acquisitions of territory are
as We are told, so definitely portions of the
tn'ted states that the national honor is
!IF'lEed in suppressins an alleged insurrec-
N9n against United States authority. in
v Alc1 the natives are the Insurgents ran
The sugar Plantations therein he kent oI.+
Of the United States at the same fineo If
this should b. determined in the affirma
i've tho question of what We shall do with
the trusts may be changed to what VIII the
trusts do with u.s.
On Minority side.
Mr.. F. II, Norris said he was on the mi
rpr-tE side of the trust question. and gave
number OF reasons TO show the good ef
feet Of trusts. which he regarded as a
natural factor N the advancement of the
nation and Of the world. The word trust in
this connection, he said, was misapp1ied.
as iIpm being one Of the best words of the
language. II had become, in the minds of
The public. one of the worst He refarre5
10 the Standard Oi, Company, and said he
knew from personal experience that no
man VINO rad eyer started in the oil busi-
i-'SS Hdd 5aen driven out of that business
without 4 Chance 10 go into the combina
t"h- Individual effort, he thought could
not nav produced oil SO cheaply as the
combination had done. He thought fhs
combinations Of capital Were largely am ad-
vantage to the people of this country, He
3sIiefed legislation might be used with
advantage to prevent over-ca itaIizatfon of
industrial coubinat ations
Rev Dr. Radcliffe pointed out that COM
binati5n Is the chef characteristic of the
age. II Is especially strong, he said. in the
chtrches and the societies within the
Churches. He announced that he believed
in the power and grace of combinations.
as out OF combinations came the largest
ana richest results in the worlds ad-
Eancement But combinations, if intro
duced' may be harmful. Might is not al
ways right. and when combinations make
coward assured monopoly. the speaker an
nounced he was opposed TO them
Dr- Radc!lfe believed that the remedy
Tor trusts wos in conn etition and in Iegis
l&tion that Will control might with rigbt
The rights OF the common man. he declared
must be protected. for therein lies the glory
OF the republic IL was not he said a
good thing that n giant should be permit
led TO have his way along our streets His
strength mast be made to minister to his
iellow-men, When combination moved to-
ward monopoly he was against ill.,
Senator Stewart was introduced by Jus-
uce Harlan. who said the trusts they were
considering Gid not include the silver rr-,st
Mr. Stewart remarked that he s,1pposed it
Old include the gold trust. and he, n-oceed-
ed 10 give an argument to show thar the
tieater Of all the combinations the world
has ever known is the money trust. lie
dcscrihad and condemned pending financial
i eislatio1 in Congress.
Former Commissioner Douglass said ha
was against the trusts because he thought
they drove men out of business and 10
1sa.