The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1901-01-19
LORD RIOS EBEI.Y SPEECH
AGAIN

in commenting yesterday on Lord
Rosebery.s speech at the Wolvernampton
banquet, We said that the trusts We're
only the symptom of the real course of
Americas successful rivalry with Great
Britain in industry and trade. But the in
dustrial combines to which Lord Rose
berry referred are not to be ignored, Cor
they are the instrumentalities which
Americans have employed to put their
talents and energies into action.
The Americans and their vast and al
most incalcuiable resources,h'' said Lord
Rosebery, their acutencss and enter
prise and their huge population. which
will probably be l00,0o1,o0o in twenty
years, together with the plan which they
have adopted for putting accumulated
wealth into great co-operated synd1cates
or trusts. for the purpose of carrying on
this great commercial warfare. are. per-
haps, the most formidable. The AnieTi-
cans, scarcely satisfied with gigantic in
dividual fortunes, use these by combna-
ton to make of capital and power winch
welded by one or two minds, is almost
Irresistible; and if this power is conccn-
trated against Great Britain in trade
warfare, it will be a danger we cannot
afford to disregard. a trust of many
millions might compete with any trade
in England. underselling all its products
at a considerable loss. This is a posi-
BILE outcome of the immediate future
Lord Rosebery's observations empha-
size the fact which The Times has SO
often pointed out-that the much-abused
trusts have been the great factors i'll OK
tending our foreign trade For one
thing they have by combination and CO.
operation made such economies as to en-
able them to reduce the cost of prodlcuoA
to the minimum and to make the best
article at tie lowest price. They are
thus enabled to sell their products in the
markets of the world in competition With
foreign manufacturers. But this is not
all. With their large capital and their
vast resources they are able to send their
representatives into foreign markets to
make investigation as TO what sort Of
goods are required III this market and
that and 10 introduce and sell the goods
when they have been made 1t was by
pursuing Il policy of this character that
the American Tobacco Company was
able to introduce its goods into japan
and other Eastern markets. The COM
pany WAS able to spend thousands Of
dollars in this work. but manifestly 4
small manufacturer could not have af-
forded TO do So Destroy the great in
dustrial combinations in this country
and go back to the old system of i'll
dividual shops which prevailed several
wears ago, and we would greatly impair
our foreign trade, if we did not, indeed,
destroy it.
1t is not popular, we know. to say any
thing good about the trusts. They are
unpopular. although their goods are very
popular at home as well as abroad, and
the newspaper that abuses the trust and
talks about the iniquity of organized
wealth and all that, strikes a popular
chord. But all this has nothing to do
with the fact For several years The
Times has hccn closely studying this
subject and has been presenting the
facts about trusts rs they have appeared
TO it. and the speech of Lord Rosebcry,
from which we have quoted above. and
the editorials OF certain Vienna news
napers. from which we quoted the other
day, go very far to show that The
Times has at least been very near to the
truth in the view which it has pre-
sented The mere fact that Americans.
who are the best manufacturers and the
best traders in. the world, have adopsed
the industrial combine, is conclusive
that il is the best trade device OF the age