Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-11-12
ARE TRUSTS A MEM ACE?
TOPIC DISCUSSED BY WILLIAM
DUDLEY FoULKE.
Civil Service Commissioner Addresses
Unity Club-Thinks Law Impotent
To Control Combinations.

L,uuley coulke OF the CIVIL service COIN
mission gave special interest to the initial
meeting of the Unity Club for the season of
1902-19o3. held Monday at the Riggs
literary contributions. welcome to the
clubs guests from President L. H. Patter-
son and the transaction Of several items of
business preceded Mr.. Foulke's address. At
the close of this business session and enter
tainment Mr. Patterson introduced Mr..
Foulke. saying that the latter would discuss
the general subject of Trusts
Some of our profoundest thinkers said
Mr.. Foulke, believe our present industrial
concentration will cease before 1t reaches
the point of general monopolies everywhere.
They held what they called the doctrine of
maximum efhciency-that there was a GER
tain point In the growth of every industry
where it was naturally the most profitable,
and that wherever it grows beyond
this there was loss Hence, in
the long run, every combination would
a very comfortable doctrine but as the
years advanced and the industry became
more highly organized this point receded
farther and farther, and Mr.. Foulke did
not believe that any of the economists could
locate the particular place of highest eff
ficiency anywhere short of the substantial
control of the trade. The elimination of
all competition furnished in itself such
ness that he suspected the ultimate maxi
mum would at last be found there.
Laws Practically Useless.
It was safe to say that the laws enacted
up to the present time have been practically
useless. Trusts never grew so rapidly be-
fore as they have since the enactment of
these statutes. 1t was his belief that the
efforts of state legislation totally to extin-
plIiSb all Of cd n
pitiable failure, and that there were in
trinsic difficulties in all kinds of legislation
intended to have this effect
If seeking to prevent the union of many
men and large capital, how could one frame
a law so that it would not also apply to
the union of a few men with small capital?
And If one abolished every corporation and
every nation, he took away the only posi-
bilitieS which the small capitalist had Of
entering into successful trade at all.
Some proposed to break up monopolies by
repeating or amending the tariff; and in
this way something might be done to re-
store temporary competition in a few of
these industries. which depend for their
monopoly upon the tariff. But America could
today produce most articles cheaper than
any country in the world, and If every tariff
law were repealed the bulk of our great
combinations would continue to prosper and
to form even larger aggregations. More
over, If any great trust should be seriously
menaced by free trade, would we not find
international trust. body controlling pro-
duction and trade not only in America but
throughout the world?
International Trusts Possible.
These bodies will be harder to organize,
but the same motives for consolidation
which have united the Industries of Massa-
chusetts with those Of California could also
unite the industries of America with those
of Germany and England. And when
that was done the power of the trust would
be far greater than it was today. The re-
peal of the tariff would hardly scratch the
surface of the great system of monopoly
which Is assuming the control of the indus
trial world.
But even outside of legal regulation, was
there not some power somewhere which
would restrain the evil effects of monopoly
in raising prices and restricting produc-
ton? His impression was that this power
existed, and would be found in what is
known the potential competition which
always threatens monopoly itself. with the
possibility of the organization of new cor
porations and trusts to compete with those
which already existed whenever their
charges became exorbitant and oppressive.
After all was said. the present CONSOLIDATE
ing tendency of our industrial life was
largely beyond our control. We could guide
it only a little way upon its journey. For
the most part, we should have to stand
aloof whether would or no, and "Sse the
salvation of the Lord and If better things
developed than we dreamt, it would not
be the first instance in the evolution of our
race where good had been the final outcome
of apparent evil. and the agencies that seem
to portend disaster and ruin had been in
the end the ministers of security and hap
piness.