The Hocking sentinel. [volume] (Logan, Ohio) 1871-1906, 1901-06-06
DISCUSSING THE TRUSTS.

American Review there is an interest
ing symposium on the question oil
great combinations of capital in rail
roads and other lines such as are. In
popular discussion. grouped under the
general head of trusts" The term Is
not literally applied. for these are not
trusts In the literal or legal sense, but
in the discussion over the problem they
present it has been found easier to use
the generic term.
This particular symposium is IN
sense one-sided. as it is participated in
only by men connected with the great
combinations, the single exception be-
ing Russell Sage; and Mr.. Sage rather
naturally is the only man of the half
dozen who sees danger in the present
tendency Of capital to consolidate.
Mr. James ]. Hill of the great North
western combination of railroads; Mr..
Flint. of the rubber trust; Mr.. Logan,
of the envelope trust; Mr.. Schwab. of
the great steel combination, and Mr..
Thurber. who has become sort of
press agent for all combinations. are
the others who avail themselves of the
invitation of The North American Re
view to set forth their views. These
latter gentlemen see only good in the
present tendency and their reasons are
worth studying.
Mr.. Hill holds that there Is radi
cal difference between the present COM
binations and trusts. holding that the
latter are justly criticised. but that
against the recently formed cOmbina-
tions which he considers good business
propositions. The trust, he argues,
was constructed on the idea of adding
to the number Of high saiaried officials;
these combinations are operated on op-
posite lines, the management being
consolidated by cutting down the high
salaried men and the output being in
creased in a way to add to the number
of workingmen. Their purpose, he
says, Is to put an end to wasteful COM
petition and wasteful production
though Just how he distinguishes be
tween this "wastefur' production and
the greater production which the COM
binations are intended to promote, he
does not make exactly clear. One part
of his contribution is particularly in
teresting in view Of the present specu-
lation. He contends that there has not
been over-capitalization or general in
flation, for he holds that earning ca
pacity, not cost, is the true basis of
value. and that the rise in prices is
due to the country getting to a three
cent basis, as Mr.. Hanna has explain.
ed, all values increasing in conse
quence.
Mr. Schwab goes somewhat more
into detail on the matter of reduction
of expenses under the consultations,
pointing out that the cost of supervi-
sion under the old system was very
great, and that great portion of this
is cut off by the consolidation. He
cites specific instances to prove this,
notably that of the Metropolitan Street
Railway Company, where one presi-
dent does, through one system. the
work that was originally done by eigh
teen presidents under eighteen systems.
He says more laborers are now employ
ed by the one big system than by the
eighteen and that better wages are paid.
Mr.. Schwab contends that ''the larger
the output the smaller relatively the
cost Of production"
Mr.. Flint, of the rubber trust, ad-
vances the rather unique theory that
combination has resulted in the distri
button of wealth rather than its con-
centration Where under the old con-
ditions there were hundred stock
holders" he writes, there are to-day a
thousand or two thousand. Never be-
fore was there such a wide distribu
ton of manufacturing interests" In
which, 1t seems, the rubber man either
stretches his imagination a good deal
or confounds the interests of specula
tors in stocks with those of legitimate
investors.
Mr.. Thurber tries to show that there
has been lessening Of cost to the con-
sumer. The New York World, in its
review of the symposium, thinks Mr.
Thurber-
rather Unfortunate in his defense of
consolidation. He quotes the figures.
juggling them to try to show that con-
solidation has meant lower prices. But
he does not succeed in explaining away
the facts shown by his own citations
of prices-that in 1893, when the Stand
ard OIL Company was still fighting in
dependents, the price of oil was AZ
cents a gallon, while to-day, with pro-
ddction enormously increased and the
Oil Trust in absolute control, oil is rs
cents; that the year before the forma-
ton of the Sugar Trust the difference
between the cost of raw and of refined
sugar was f4 hundredths of cent in
the pound, while to-day, with more and
cheaper raw sugar and cheaper refin-
ing processes, the trust has raised this
difference to 95 hundredths of cent in
the pound; that while the Paper Trust
was forming paper was 2O2 cents a
pound, while to-day the trust charges
2.5O cents a pound.
of the contentious of these gentlemen,
the current news tells of a rise Of 50
a ton in steel rails, rise of 81 ton
in coal; and according to the report of
the Interstate Commerce Commission,
S24 changes in freight rates were made
on Jan. ], of which S1S produced ad-
vances in rates and but six resulted in
These gentlemen may theorize about
the effect of these consultations until
they are black in the face. but there
will still be room for doubt of their
value to the consumer. They may be
all right for the man who holds stock,
but the middle man, who is literally
swept off the face of the earth, and the
people who either do now or will in the
near future pay higher prices for the
products of these consultations will
hardly see the beauty of them.-At-
lanta Constitution.