The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1901-05-17
A eAEAr TRUST MANS VIEW.

Haze you heard OF Schwab? He Is
president Of h huge, devouring bill
lion dollar steel trust. called the Unit
ed States Steel Corporation. He has
been talking, this Charles NJ. He
likes trusts. He thinks them excellent
things for the country, and of course
! for the few fellows who own, who are
'in the swim" The striking thing
about Schwab's familiar talk is that If
the tariff is raced is Will be sure to in
jure h great giant combines. Just SO.
Every body OF sense knows that. and
because OF that all the tens of millions
of people who are the victims OF their
greed and expressions strongly favor
their death and burial at an early day,
n the reconstruction and reduction
Of h cruel, oppressive high tariff tax.
Schwab averred that cutting down the
high tar on steel and iron from abroad
would retard and injure the growing
export trade in these American com
modities. This is really ridiculous for
it is 10 that abroad. in other lands,
American iron and steel are easily COM
peting in other markets with their own
products. The Philadelphia Record per-
tinently asks:
"When American iron and steel are
sold abroad under free trade with
profit. and hat is not disputed, why
could they not be sold with profit at
home under free trade? The only rea-
sonable answer is that repeal of the
duties in removing the restraints upon
trade would lessen the opportunities
which the tariff gives the Trusts for
exploiting home consumers.
But such an answer would be fatal
to the plea of the tariff beneficiaries
and with Mr.. Schwab they take refuge
in a cloud of pretenSes about the danger
of tariff revision to American working
men in threatening them with a re-
duction of wages"
There is possibly no subject, no pub
lie question that ever agitated the
minds of the people around which so
much nonsense and unadulterated
blarney and. hurnbug have been
thrown to mystify a plain question
and confuse hearers and readers. In
foreign countries today not only are
American iron and steel, but engines
and tools and all kinds of implements
dIS SOlu dulOdu III CdoS competition WILL
the products of Germany. France and
England.
The rich, inflated Schwab thinks the
combines will injure smaller concerns.
which is awful, most lamentable, but
it will help the deserving, the men of
brains and energy who work to the
fore. OF course. the few millionaires.
o-l ra,,I+; r,zT-oro;roe a-I tLo;- ohiaf
agents will flourish like green bay
trees" with great incomes and big
salaries. but the sweaters and toilers
and bread-winners will delve n work
night and day on small pay and no
expectations ahead. Schwab is one of
the "Oily Gammons'' with patent right
privileges and we'll stocked mislead-
ing phrases and points, who t hink
their mission is grab, to p~alaver and
to deceive. No doubt in every thou
and men there are a dozen or twenty
who by, reason of special endowment
and qualities are able to push to the
front. But is that any reason why a
system of oppression and domination
shall b. adopted to the disadvantage
and crushing out Of most of the thou
sand men? AS the Philadelphia Times
says:
Men like Mr.. Schwab himself and
others prominent in similar combina-
lions have come forward from modest
beginnings by their individual energy
and power, but they did so generally
under the regime of individual owner
ship and with the support of the men
of originally small capital who are now
out of the business"