The times., 1901-05-11
ade Of the world 10 the UNITED States

| trade of the world to the United States
and Great Britain.
Byron w. Holt representing the Reform
| Club of New York City. gave his views
| concerning the relation of the tariff and
| the trust. The greatest of all trusts, the
| United States Steel Corporation said Mr.
/ Holt, would be a Samson with his hair
| shorn if deprived of tariff protection. II
might, because of other special privi-
| leges, continue to exist without tariff pro-
| lection, but it would probably cease to
| pay dividends on its common stock and
4 in time would doubtless cut down its
| capitalization. The visible assets Of the
company were only about $500, 100000, or
| the amount of its bonds, and all its stock
! both preferred and common, was water.
/ That is, the invisible assets constituted
! 70 per cent of the value of the corpora
| ton.
The record of the Tin Plate Trust con-
| sidered by protectionists as a model tariff
! trust and product of protection, shows
| that the company had several times ad-
! vanced prices arbitrarily. at one time.
/ four months after the trust was formed,
! being then within 1-5 of a cent a pound
| of the importing point. 1t was clear from
! his Investigations, Mr. Holt said, that the
| trust advanced prices arbitrarily and with
more regard to the prices at which tin
| plate could be imported under a protec-
| tion tariff than to the increased cost of
| Bessemer plates, themselves the product
| Of another tariff trust, which also arbi-
| trarily advanced prices. Mr.. Holt esti-
! mated what he called the tariff profits
| OF the trust at 81 100000 yearly. He knew
! he said, also, that the American Steel
/ and Wire Company part of the Steel
/ m tat. t.iff
| crEtches" in this country and using them
/ as clubs 10 heat down rivals in all other
countries. The small manufacturers, Mr.
| Holt said were at the mercy of the trust
| while the tariff lasted.
The Window Glass Trust Mr. Holt con-
| sidered one of the most interesting and
instructive tariff trusts. The history of
! the glass industry had been a succession
! of combinations, pools, lock-outs price
/ list committees. agreements for fixing
| prices and wages and limiting production
I on the part of the manufacturers and of
| labor unions, strikes, wage committees
| and wage scale agreements on the part
| of the glass workers. Wages and prices
| changed often and radically. and nearly
| all of these tariff nursed industries were
1 always in an unsettled, unstable and un-
/ healthy condition. As consequence the
| public paid double price for its glass and
| the workers were in a very backward
| state of development-fuliy ten years be-
! hind that of Belgium. Under such con-
! ditions it was national sin to continue
/
| The BoraX Trust was a good example of
/ the evils of Il tariff trust III that ii show
| ed unearned and undeserved profit, en-
! hanced prices, restricted production, linn
| tied consumption, employed foreign labor
| at low wages, sold at lower prices in
| foreign countries than in the United
| States, and made the false and hypocriti-
cal plea that free boraX would destroy
| the borax industry. Mr.. Holt said that
| he did not agree with the statement of
| Mr.. II. O. HaVemeyer that the mother
| of all trusts was the customs tariff bill"
| He believed that it was the mother of
| many trusts. however, and the foster
| mother Of all others. The tariff was but
| the conspicuous special privilege that
| made monopoly possible. He did not be
| lieve that the abolition Of the tariff would
| kin many of the trusts, but he did believe
| however that many of them were created
| to reap the benefits of the tariff and but
| for the absurdly high tariff there would
| not be at present the vast accumulation
of wealth in the hands of a few which
made easy the formation of great indus
| trial and transportation combinations
The evils of taTiff-protected trusts were
not measured by injuries inflicted by ar
tificially high prices. The evil extended
into political and social life and was re-
sponsible for much of the corruption in
| politics Pennsylvania was a boss-rdden
State because the Camerons and Quays
had political power and influence because
| they served the tarin-protected trusts
| The protective tariff was responsible, also.
| for the large amount of water in trust
| stocks and enabled trusts TO pay divi-
| dends on such stocks.