Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1902-01-17

tANAs anu IliuuSCFlaI TRUSTS nave. DAMON u
much thought which, as yet, has produces
little result Originally they were, us the
names names imply. concerts Of independent com
ing the business of the several constituent
parts parts In that sense they have. substan-
stltuted for them incorporations' that nave
become the absolute owners Of the property
and business affected by them. / shall not
porations are wise or Nnwise. The extinc-
ton Of the independent trader, merchant
the standard of manhood SO essential to free
institutions. II this shall be its effect. ave
may depiore the tendency; but If il be who'd
hibition Of government. but by that imper-
ceptible warming which changes the cur
81 ne na 70
that the government can safely deny the
right OF association under established
dustrial organizations, however large their
capital or extend their operation. II com-
petition, remains. eonstitute menace to the
motive which underlies the socnlled trusts
and combinations Is apparent; 1t is the ordi,
nary selfish desire to make. money, coupled
with the belief that it can be more readily.
surely and largely made in that manner
than BY any other. ! do not criticse the mo,
tive; for 1t is the handspring of material
progress, and to eliminate it would be to
paralyze the arm OF industry. fatal alike to
Ifest evil Of these tremendous nggregations
Is their effect upon competition. Competi-
ton is the paramount law of Industrial life.
my Judgment it must exist in full vgor if
we do not desire the government to assume
the power of fixing the prices o Of J. industrial
corporation owned and controlled all the
transportation facilities Of the United
the government to prescribe and enforce the
rates for transportation service. 1t Is equal
~ clear =. that if single corporation rE con on
commodities required by modern life, and
the monopoly was likely to be long contin-
e ent to fix the price at which such com
modities should be sold. 1t cannot be sue
cessfully denied that every consolidation.
products in which it deals, narrows the field
of competition. There may be sharp and
effective competition With wi two competitors;
er number. have mentioned these things,
not to indicate that think there is per
must be RENTED to the natural laws of in
dividual enterprise; but rather to point out
the lines along which interference is not
motive to organize such corporations could
be. and should be- limited to the natural de-
sire to make profit from the business in
which the cooperation is to engage. My OBJ
servation leads me to believe that many of
the large Industrial combinations would not
have been proposed or effected, had it not
been for the knowledge that the promoters
or organizers could make stupendous for
tunes in the mere operation Of consolidation.
more than 30 percentum of the stock of
every trade combination now In existence
Bile upon the stock exchanges in worthless
stocks has been uppermost in the minds of
those who have been most active in bring
ing together, these organizations, Every
cooperation should he required to have its
capital stock paid for at par, In money, be
fore It is authorized to transact business.
The genius for deception has too often been
accepted as legal tender for stock and it
should be declared the counterfeit it is. The
evil of DISQUALIFICATION has still another
motive for excessive prices. 1t is perfectly
natural for the managers OF corporation
SO organized to endeayor to pay dividends
not only upon the real capital invested in
the business, but also upon the .basclcss
stock which represents nothing put the au-
dacfty of promoters and the weakness of the
law. =
These suggestions would be idle If there
wrong. There is no hopes of attaining uni
formity through state legislation. The state
in which the greater number OF these com
panies is organized secures a revenue from
them more than sufficient to defray the ex-
penses Of it's state government, and seems
easily convinced of the justice Of its laws.
that the time has come to nationalist IL.
recognize the difficulty Of amending the CON
that whenever the people are sufficiently in
earnest, it can. and will be done Before
thy an to do wheh
people Of one state are quite as much inter-
ested as the people OF another, are per-
PEELED to show that their capital stock has
been paid for In money, and that. the. real
value Of the propertyh they acquire is as
evils may exist in these organiza-
ready ready saeiently public So that Every t intel
lgent man understands In general way of
what they are composed what they are
doing. and what they are earning. 1t is we'll
enough to require them to make statements,
and submit to examinations, but If we are
to limit our regulation to mere publicity
we are bestowing upon the subject.
recur to an expression of d moment ago,
that competition Is the force upon which we
complacency the alternative to which we
mated. i sincerely hope that we will find
sufficient protection against the efforts to
monopolze or unduly restrict the field of
tons however large, can be put and main.
tanned upon lawful basis, / confidently be-
lieve that Industrial monopolies cannot en-
dure
Pursuing the subject one step further I
am led to observe that il we accept the
proposition that competition, and that alone,
lions, we must see to it that If we cannot
artiicially induce. competition, we can at
be fert e ba nn 40 no1
the past through tariff duties, believing, and
well believing. that the general interests of
the people would be better served by devel-
oping our own resources to the fullest eX-
tent even though in so doing the American
price rose higher than the foreign price: be-
lieying also thot home cnr,-n'1+ic-, r--~--Id
I'D every commodity manufactured here
upon a fair American leycI. 40 nc. ~.
ever it seems plain that whenever consoli-
dation of manufacturers with respect to any
commodity stiles competition at home, or
SO restricts its operation that its force is not
fairly felt then it is the imperative duty of
tO Immediately remove the Urtif-
cial restraints we have created. l am not an
of general revision of the tariff:
of the republic If possible, but Of the world
If necessary. regard the consequences of
a monopoly, or substantial monopoly, in any
important product, as infinitely more disas-
trous Than the consequences Of foreign i'm
Permit me also brief consideration of
the tariff and of reciprocity. In this pres
ence l need hardly reiterate my profound
conviction in the wisdom Of the policy