The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1901-02-14
TRUSTS REACHING OUT.
Latest Development Is the Great
Transportation Combine.

Latest Development Is the Great
Transportation Combine.
The community Of ownership idea, said
to be an invention of John G. Carlisle,
which is to be used by the Morgan Rock
efeller-Hill triumvrate in bringing under
one management the most colossal trans
portation combine the world has ever
known. is intended to accomplish among
other things an evasion Of the adverse
ruling of the supreme court against the
Joint Traffic association, says the Kansas
City Times.
BY having one company practically own
ing a majority of the great railroad lines
it is expected that the thanking of the
Sherman law prohibiting unlawful COM
bines in restraint of trade" can be effected.
The defense that these consolidators il the
law to restrain them is invoked may make
will be that they are not number OF
railroads separately owned and managed.
association in an agreement to charge
specified and inflexible rates. but that they
are in fact one organization in ownership
and management
Another purpose these three men and
their associates have in view is outlined
in an article in the Chicago Record OF
JAM I, in which it is stated that the fnan-
cial powers controlling the deStlneS OF the
great railway systems of the nation are
planning one of the biggest economical re-
forms in the history of American railroad
with the vast army Of travelling passenger
and freight agents and other officials di-
rectly engaged in the soliciting Of busl-
ness for the lines.
Should the plan be carried out The Record
estimates that it means the discharge Of
more than $4,000 men and the annual
saving of millions of dollars to the carry
ing companies.
Here we have trefoil exemplifcation
of the fruitage Of the trust development
of rtxy
has caused to blossom and grow rank
upon our soil, sucking away the strength
of the multitude of minor business inter-
ests narrowing the opportunities for wage
earners and multiplying the expression OF
popular will at the polls through the
leverage of the cOrrupting inuences that
vast wealth and the control OF the arteries
of commerce can exert.
The law restraining trusts is proposed
to be defied by the invention of an in
genious technicality, an army OF wage earn
ers is be thrown helpless into a field Of
employment constantly and rapidly narrow
ing and the millions of shippers through
out the country and the travelling public
are to be placed under whatever tribute the
participators in this community of own
ership'' scheme may choose to impose upon
them.-National Republican.
The consolidation schemes now in
progress are truely stupendous. Every
thing is working lovely. We couldn' t
have planned it better ourselves. The
railroads are taking the lead in these
consolidation schemes. They will be
first to pass under the wire in the mad
race to get under one management.
Railroads are to large extent re-
sponsible for all other monOpOlies.
Standard Oil made it's start by a rail-
road rebate Morgan has cornered and
got control of the nations coal supply
through controlling the coal-carrying
railroads. He could fix the freight rate
to be paid by his competitors and thus
force them out of business.
1t has been said The protective tariff
is the mother of trusts" but the rail-
road monopoly is the father of trusts.
Many people still believe the old
chestnut that if the government would
take off the tariff trusts would disap-
pear.
AS a remedy for the trust evil we be-
lieve one small measure of public own
ership is worth a CARLOAD of tariff
These consultations are the short
est route to public ownership of all
monopolies., Railroads are first in logi-
cal order because they are the feeders
for all the others. Let them CONSOLE
date. The sooner the work is completed
the sooner the people will see their best
interests lie in public ownership.
E. A. r.