Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1902-10-13
GOV. LA TOILETTE
REPUBLICAN GOVERNOR OF Wis.
CONSIN ON TRUSTS.
Greed Of the Coal Trust Is but Forstasts
Of What Is Coming In Greater Measure
Unless Prompt Steps are Taken to Pre-.
vent Il.

Wisconsin. in speech at Milwaukee,
last week, denounced in unmeasured
terms the greed of the great corporations
and claimed that if they were not de-
prived of their autocratic power, the
people would suffer still greater oppres.
sion at their hands. That part of his
speech bearing on this all absorbing
question, was as follows:
"a new law, an artificial law, is sup
planting the natural law of competition.
BY secrect agreement the producers of
. like articles limit the number or quaint.
ty produced and fix prices. Combina-
ton is destroying competition.
II believe that the hour has come
when the tariff revision must stand close
guard over tariff schedules. l believe
that all citizens, indepen lent of political
consideration, would concede that tariff
revision cannot effectively grapple. in
deed, would be butA feeble. i'aiequate
and uncertain remedy for the trust evil
which confronts US today. Their gigap-
tic power, their masteryof the Industrial
world, cannot be exag yerated. q g.
Anthracite coal is not protected by
the tariff, but glance at the situation the
problem presents. Ninety-five percent.
of the entire coal field is owned and con.
trolled by eight railway companies. The
lines OF these eight companies furnish
the sole available means for transporta-
ton of anthracite coal to market. In
pursuit Of a settled policy these railway
companies have forced private owners to
3 sell their coal mines and coal lands at
half value. first by increasing the freight
rates, and second, by refusing to carry
the coal for private owners at any price
whenever such owners could not be
brought to terms by tire establishment
OF exorbitant transportation rates.
Owning the coal and owning the rail-
roads over which the coal is transported
to market, they fixed the freights rates
a. an exorbitant figure in order to make
consumers pay dividends on the over.
CAPT lialization OF the ra Dads and coal
mines.
"While rates for other and like pro.
ducts have fallen, anthracite coal rates
have been advanced by the railways un.
til they are nearly twice as great as cot
ton or wheat. They limit the supply in
order to force strong demand and high
market price. AS shown by sworn testi-
many upon trials and investigations.
more than 500, 900, 900 in excess of fair
market price has been enacted from con.
sumers.
"This Coal Trust bears harder upon
the unfortunate helpless labor that
mines the products at the wage level Of
ageneration ago than upon the consum-
e;, who in these days must purchase,
hat in hand. Its attitude of indiffer.
\ ence to the appeal Of press and pulpit
suggests utter contempt for public opin.
ion. This is typical of the oppression
which awaits the people of this country
unless prompt and effective measures are
taken to strip this combination of Its
unlawful power.
3The plsn developed and consummat-
q Yin building up the Anthracite Coal
lnst is indicative Of the power OF the
railroads in combination. As the mag
.nitude of the question presented is un.
derstoOd it becomes manifest that no
power outside the supreme court of the
land can control Lie situation. These
great combinations OF wealth, owning