The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1902-06-11
COMBINATIONS BREED TRUSTS.

OduSSIS ul4cC NO11IAOA4V SAhSAi1 -
obtaining money from its sub
scribers under false pretenses-
it pretends to be a friend when,
indeed, it is an enemy in dis
guise. We have nothing in the
world against individuals who,
to give employment to labor and
to bring about progress IN a COM
munity, organize industries for
the purpose of making money,
whether the same is done by
''ioint stock companies" or by
individual investments, but we
are. at war with the combinations
Of corporate wealth that seek to
monopolize, as is being attempted
by the cotton seed oil mills in this
State. If we did not warn the
people we would feel that we
have deceived them; the more
we watch the movements Of these
mills, the more are we convinced
that unless the people are
aroused they will wake up when
too late to release themselves
from the tentacles of this corpo-
ration octopus. The independ-
ent companies, as they call them.
selves, are as much of a thrust"
as are, the companies controlled
by the Virginia Carolina Chem
ical Company. The latter is a
weather. trust, and has more
companies in it's control, but the
independent companies are in a
combination under one general
manager, and there are seven
mills in the combine.
The latest move to create a mo-
nopoly is what is known as the
cotton ginning combine. The
independent trust proposes to
offer such inducements to the
farmers as will cause them to
bring their cotton to the oil mills
to be ginned and thereby crush
out of existence the cotton gins
dong the work at a living price.
There are two results to this
scheme: One, by getting the cot
ton to their gins the mills will
have better chance to manipu-
late and secure the seed at such
prices as the independent
trust" manager may fix. The
other, when the ginneries are
broken up and possibly shipped
out of the community, the mills
will have a monopoly Of the gin
ming and charge any price the
trust manager may see fit to i'm
pose. The oil mill ginneries will
take the seed after it has gone
through their gins: run them
through another kind of a gin
and secure enough lint to help pay
them for their reduction in the
price Of ginning.
This attempt to monopolize the
cotton ginning is not confined to
one place-it is the scheme of
every cotton seed oil mill that is
in a combination, whether in the
''big trust" or the &'little trust,
and we do not see the difference
so far as the effect is concerned,
whether the farmers are to be
victimized by foreigners or peo-
pie at home.
If the farmers OF this country
permit themselves to be tempted
by the glittering hook Of these
cotton seed oil magnates, they
will see the day when they will
wish they had needed our warn
ing. Let everything alone which
has a tendency to monopolize,
scorn it as you would pest, and
stick to those who are giving
you honest labor, for your honest
dollar.
When the great apostle of De-
mocracy, William Jennings Bry-
an, stood up in the Chicago Con-
vention and uttered these burn
ing words, "YOU SHALL NOT
PRESS DOWN UPON THE BROW
OF LABOR THIS CROWN OF
THORNS, YOU SHALL NOT CRU
CITY MANKIND UPON a CROSS
OF GOLD" he had in mind the
avarice Of corporations that were
making combinations for the
purpose Of monopolizing. It was
a solemn warning against the
very thing these oil mills
are boldly attempting today.
They not only want to crush out
competition. but corporations
want men in the Legislature to
give them such legislation as will
keep competition crushed out.
People, are you going to be
hoodwinked into such a condi-
ton?
We know that 1t IS a nara nSnt
to make where money is antag
onized, but we are making what
we conceive to be a conscientious
effort to keep the money-chang-
ers out Of the temple. If we
had not antagonized this element
of greed, today we would not be
the object Of the combination
wrath, but we will continue the
fight as long as we can WELD a
pen and we defy the money pow
er, and the combination of spleen
and greed. We have been eau
toned not to write too severely.
To this we replied, We will take
o,,7, .honcaS +b;c - ~ f,.1o oo,,>,