Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1902-03-10
Light On the Trusts.


teresting subject of the trusts by the
figures presented by Director w. r.
Merriam of the census. Recently he gave
out a bulletin on the subject and now
he has followed it up with an article in
the Atlantic Monthly for March which
gives additional details of much value.
There is so much misconception on
this matter OF great trade and indus
trial combinations that it is hoped this
article will be generally read. The cry
of octopus is not heard so much as
a few years ago, for the country has
learned a few things.
The whole number of ''trusts'-and
Mr.. Merriam includes under this head
all the companies which have as
sembled together a number of plants
engaged in the same industry-is given
at 1S3. They control 22O3 plants scat
tered throughout the country, of which
only ia were idle during the census
year. They are engaged in almost all
the lines of industry, including the pro-
duction of foodstuffs on a large scale.
Yet few of them have succeeded in
establishing anything like monopoly.
Much,is heard of the great United
States Steel and Iron corporation, and
no doubt many have believed that it
practically had control of all the manu-
features of these metals. But Mr..
Merriam tells Us there are siXty-nine
distinct steel and iron companies, each
big enough to be called a trust, now
operating in the United States, and he
shows that the output of the United
States Company is.much less than half
of the whole. These metal companies
conducted 400 plants during the cen
sus year.
1t is unnecessary to give in detail Mr.
Merriam's analysis of industrial condi-
tions. His summing up shows that the
| combined output of all the trusts in the
country was s1,661 100000 for 1900. 1t
has been the popular impression that
the trusts were foremost in the matter
of production, and thousands of col
umns have been written by panic-strick-
en- people to show that the industries
of the land had been entirely gObbled
up by the trusts. Yet the census fig
ures show an industrial output in 1900
of nearly $4,000, O0O, 900, and it is obvious
that the trusts did not control more
than one-tenth of the total. 1t would
be very interesting to know exactly
what influence the proportion handled
| by the trusts had upon the total with
respect TO prices. 1t is, of course, i'm
possible to know this, but it ought to be
plain that companies controlling only
one-tenth of the output can not be re-
garded as complete masters of the
situation,
| Mr.. Merriam found that the 1888
| trusts were capitalized at So, 500, 615, sos
The actual assets of lands, plants, etc.
upon which this capitalization is based
are fixed at s1.45s, 500, 573. So it is OBJ
vious that of the total capitalization
S2,01S, 100000 must be represented in
goodwill, water" or whatever one
wishes to call it. However, Mr.. Merriam
notes that the public is at least par
TALLY aware of the presence of this
\ water He finds that the average
price Of the stocks in the market is 61.S
or. in other words, that the people have
discounted the face value of the stock
by a total of 1856, S09, 900. Still it will
be seen that the market value of the
stocks represents much more than the
visible assets of the companies. This
is fact, however, which is neither un-
| usual nor dangerous, as the value of all
productive plants is fixed by the bust