The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1902-04-04
CoRpoRAT1oNs AND TRUSTS

CORPORATIONS AND TRUSTS.
The Norfolk virs;nian-pilot contributes
another Interesting article to the discus
sicn between that paper and The Times
On .he subject OF trusts
In reply to our remark that the modern
corporation is logical outcome OF con-
ditions, our Norfolk contemporary. says:
Tho Times, we take IT, hardly means
to contend that the mere existence of a
tniEg Is proof that 1t is a legitimate pro-
duct and should, therefore, exist. Ihat
the corporation is q natural and legiti-
mate product Of commercial evolution.
we readily admit. Tho business of the
country could not be carried Gil without
corporations. But the trust is 4 corpora
ton that seeks to transsrcss either the
spirit or the letter Of the law. From
time imnemorial the monopoly has been
Hbhorrcnt in the eyes OF the law. Inc
1rust aims at monopoly. practical or conf-
pletc. and when we scan the fields occu-
pied by the Sugar Trust. the American
Topacco COMPANY. the Standard Oil Com
rnny and the United States Steel Cor
poration we must. in candor. admit that
fach practically ,nonopcli2es its f.eid
What competition remains Is 3 negligible
Quantity.
The vlrsinian-Pilot cannot be more OPP
posed TO grinding monopoly" than we. or
70 arrogance in corporations. But once
admit the corporate principle. we do NOT
sec how it is practicable to draw the line.
The !'irgip;an-Pilo. is in favcr CT the cor
poration and confcsscs it is 4 necessity al
the age hut says that the trust lis a
monstrosity anG an Legitimate product.
But what distinction does oui contempc-
rary make between corporation and a
trust? What is q legitimate corporation
and what Il trustc 1t speaks OF the
United States Steel Corporation as z, trust
and as though it had q monopoly Of the
stacl and iron business Of this country
In point Of fact, there are several large
md influential iron and steei-produoins
corporations in1ilc United States. notably
the Tennessee Coal and Iron Company,
the Soss-Shcfficld Steel and Iron Com
pany, the Colorado Fuel and Iron Com
pany and so on. We may remark just
here, TOO. that this so-called trust has
refused to advance the price OF its pro
ducts, in spite Of the fact that demands
Tor steel and iron have been greater than
1he supply. This was not for philan-
tllropic reasons, but 'or business reasons.
The men who manage this great corpora
ton are sensible men and they know that
it would be suicidal policy for them to
raise the price Of their products in such
a way as to cripple the industries of the
country, which are their reliance for con-
tinued prosperity. 1t would be like kill
ing the goose that laid the golden egg.
In an article in the current number Of
The North American Review on the North
crn Securities Company. Robert L. Cut
ting says: ION the economic side Of the
question, too, We find much to convince
us that combination is the natural re-
suit of a high state Of industrial develop
1nent and that it is but the working out
OF inexorable economic law. Unrestrain-
ec competition may we'll be healthful
and needed stimulus in the development of
industry up TO a certain point. But from
competition may flow the GraNcst conse-
quences. For there readily comes a time
when demand fails to keep pace with sup
ply, and when old markets are giutted
and new ones are not able to absorb the
steadily increasing supply of commodities.
then it is that competition. becoming
keener and keener, drives <he weak ones
to tho wall, causes profits TO disappear and
forces sales of goods below production
cost 1t is at this stage, and very lo.i-
cally, too, that combination steps in, like
some deus OK machina. For prices must
dc regulated and output curtailed to bring
trade back 10 a living basis of profit and
TO keep production within market require
1nents. An agreement come to for this
purpose is the first step in q series that
leads eventually to consolidation. either
in the form Of a trust or e large CON-
pany.
This was aptly illustrated in the ocsani-
eaton OF tie Unitod States Steel Corpora
1ion Several OF. these largo corpora
lions We're about TO get into q fight with
the Carnegie works. and il the 1lg.lt had
cnco begun it would have brought dis
ulster to most of the companies concerned,
IL not. 1nQecu, 10 the Wilolc country. 1uo
contemplation of such q fight was APP
pailng. It was as though two great
armies Will, the modern machines of war
weIc drawn up in battle array TO begln
an assault which would mean annihiia-
ton Before the first gun was fired tho
commanding officers got together i'll con-
ference and agreed to make terms of peace
and to harmonic instead Of fight.
Please do not lose the point of the ar
Gument by thinking that The Times IS
champioE.ns trusts. The bare suggestion
of suci, thing is absurd. When that
charge is made against lis by a conteu:-
Y,o.sl1y we withdraw from the discussion
in disgust. We are siraply trying. as
we have been tc:i::g Tor years. to point
out conditions and 10 discuss ttcI:, as they
are STo have an eye to the logic OF
events. We say that this combinat;c:,
between the steel and iron concerns of
tbs country was not only logical. but