Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1902-09-21


Of all corporations, which. from their
size. have become important factors N
The social Development of the com
inunity.
f7fschicvous Remedies.
Before speaking. however, of what can
he done by way OF remedy, let me say a
word or two as to certain proposed rene
dies. which, Ia my Judgment, would pc
ineffective or mischievous. a remedy
much advocated at the moment is TO take
OF the tariff from all articles when are
made by trusts To DO this, 1T viii De
necessary first to define trusts. The LAM
Euage commonly used by the advocates
Of the method implies that they mean az
articles made by large corporations. ana
that the changes in the tariff are 10 be
made Will, punitive intent toward these
large co,.perations OF course. If the
tariff is TO be changed in order to punish
them. 1t should be changed SO as TO pun
ish those that do ill, not merely those
that are prosperous. IT would neitner
he just nor expedient to punish the Dig
corporations as big corporations; Wsiat
we wish to do is to protect the people
from any eydl that may grow out Oh
.betr existence or nlaladministrasion.
Some of those corporations do well and
others. do ILL If in any case the tari1I Is
found to foster a monopoly whach Goes
81, why of course no patriotic citizen
would object to q moaincauon Oh At.s
tariff sufficient to remedy the evil
But in very few cases does the So
called trust really monopolize the mar
ket. Take any big corporation. which
controls say something over half the
products of q given industry Surely, In
.esrrancing the schedules affecting such
1 big corporation, it would be neces-
ary to consider the interests OF It's
mailer competitors, which control the
remaining part, and which, being weaker,
would suffer most from any tariff design
ed to punish all the producers; for, OF
course. the tariff must be made light or
heavy for big and little producers alike
Moreover such a corporation necessa-
riy employs very many thousands OF
worl1rnen, and the minute we proceeded
from denunciation to action. it would be
necessary TO consider the interests OF
these workmen. Furthermore. the pro-
ducts of many trusts are unprotected,
and would be entirely unaffected by any
change in the tariff. or at most. very
slightly so The Standard Oil Company
offers a case in point: and the corpora
tons which control the anthracite coal
output offer another-for there is no duty
whatever on anthracite coal.
TARIFF REVISION WON'T DO.
II am not discussing the question Of
standpoint of the fundamental difference
between those who believe in a protec-
tive tariff and those who believe in free
trade or from the standpoint Of those
who while they believe in protective
tariff feel that there could be rear
arrangement Of our schedules either by
direct legislation or by reciprocity treaty,
which would result in charging our mar
kets; nor yet from the standpoint OF
these who feel that steadiness of econo-
mic policy is the MON entous prime econo-
mic need, and the benefits to be derived
from any change in schedules would not
compensate for the damage 10 business
caused by the widespread agitation which
would follow any attempted general re-
vision of the tariff at this moment. With
out regard to the wisdom of any one OF
those three positions, it remains true
that the real evils connected with the
trusts cannot be remedied by any change
In the tariff laws. The trusts can be
damaged by depriying them of the bene-
fits of a protective tariff, only on condi-
ton of damaging all their smaller COM
petitors and all the wage-workers en-
ployed in their industry. This point is
very important, and it is desirable to
avoid any save wilful misunderstanding.
1T am not now considering whether or
not, on grounds totally unconnected with
the trusts. it would be well to lower the
duties on various schedules, either by
sirect legislation or by legislation or
treaties designed to secure as an effect
reciprocal advantages from the nations
with which we trade. My point is that
the changes in the tariff would have
little appreciable effect on the trusts,
save as they shared in the general harm
or good proceeding from the changes.
No tariff change would help one of our
smaller corporations. one of our pri-
waite individuals in business and still less
one of our wage workers. as against a
large corporation in the same business
On the contrary, if it bore heavily on the
sarge corporations, it would inevitably be
felt still more by that corporations
weaker rivals. While any injurious result
would, of necessity, be shared by both
employer and employed in the business
concerned.
Eject of Free Trade.
The immediate introduction of substan-
Hal free trade In all articles manufac-
fured by the trusts-that is, by the largest
and most successful corpora;ions-wcu
not affect some OF the most powerful OF
our business combinations in the least
save by the damage done to the general
business welfare of the country: others
would undoubtedly be seriously affected
but much less SO than their weaker rivals
while the loss would be divided between
the capitalists and the laborers; and after
the years of panic and distress had been
lived through, and some return to pros
perity had occurred, even though all
we're on lower plane of prosperity than
before the relative difference between
The trusts and their rivals would remain
as marked as ever. In other words, the
trust, or big corporation would have suf-
Tered relatively to- and in the interest of,
ITS foreign competitors; hut its relative
position towards its American competi-
tors would probably be improved: little
would have been done toward cutting out
or minimizing the evil in the trusts, and
nothing towards securing adequate reg,,-
iaton OF the modern corporations. In
other words, the question of regulating
The trusts with a view to minimizing o..
tbolishing the evil in them is separate
ind apart from the question of tariff re-
fsion.
Constitutional Amendment.
II personally feel that ultimately tho
natlonal government will have to assuma
the responsibility of regulating these very
large corporations which do an interstate
b$siness- The States must combine 10
meet the problem caused by the great