The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1903-01-23
MIR. REEDS WARNING
THE LATE Ex-sPEAKER ON TRUST
AND TARIFF LEGISLATION.

His Last Message to the American
People Counsels Caution and Con-
servatism and Deprecates Interior
ence With Tariff Laws.
tFrom the North American Review for
December.1
The elections for this year have taken
place. and we have escaped the one great
danger of q democracy. which Is the de-
cision OF great questions without discus
sion. but we have by no means got rid of
the questions. We have now upon. us the
duty OF discussing them with such care
as will tend to decide them correctly. We
have had season OF prosperity which
has no parallel, even in our own remark
able history. There has been a movement
81 concentration. and business has been
carried on on so great scale that we are
ourselves frightened by the tremendous
growth, but we are doing ii In such a
fashion as to influence the old world.
Conservatism or the unwillingness to
welcome new things has its uses Most
new things are not good and die an early
death, but those which push themselves
forward and by slow degrees force them
selves upon the attention of mankind are
the unconscious productions of human
wisdom and must have honest considera-
ton and must not be made the subject of
unreasonipg prejudice. Toward such a
movement no one has right to look
nskance Above all, no one has right to
presume such a movement wrong. 1t
may be wrong, but when business men all
over great nation pursue the same
course the presumption ought to be that
they are right. Nevertheless, the first
idea is to make them stop.
The history of corporations can be put
Into few words. Men of sense are unwill-
Ing to risk their all in one enterprise or
business. If they can limit their risks
and II by union with others, whose risks
can be in like manner limited, they can
make a strong company, much idle money
can be utilized and both capital and labor
employed. On this basis and the basis Of
easier management corporations were
formed and have gradually grown in full
proportion to the growth of the world. In
our day this growth has taken a new
form. That form has been forced upon
business men by competition with one
another. If number of concerns united
to save expense and the duplication of
management, others had to do likewise
These unions of capital have been forced
upon the capitalist.
This element of force we must all bear
In mind If we wish to understand this
question. Perhaps you think that men
were glad to get into these unions and
went cheerfully into combinations. Such
was not the fact. Men hated to give up
their independence. They and their ia
theirs had built up their business. They
were proud of their success and meant to
leave their establishments to their chill
dren. In the new combination only one
could be the head. The others must go
out or take rear seats. Then came the
task of valuing which encountered the
natural unwillngness to have others do
better than we do until the task of con-
solidation grew almost impossible. Why
was 1T not absolutely impossible? Simply
because of the murderous competition. 1t
was union or bankruptcy. OF course after
there had been few examples 1t became
easier. The rising tide of prosperity helped
also, because it raised not prices only but
values, and men were reconciled by get
ting more than they had hoped for,
though they got no more than belonged to
them.
1t would be natural here to say, Why
not let competition go on? What we want
is the results of competition-low prices
so that we can buy all we want. The
answer to this can be made, and 1t Is
worth attention. With small factories
scattered around and country store In
every village competition did insure
low prices. but did not escape the evils
we will hereafter speak of. So long as
competition could be carried on on the
basis Of living and letting live all went
well, but as capital grew in amount and
mills in size competition became more
violent and property ceased to make re-
turns. Now, the doctrine of competition
most invaluable in its way, has its limta-
tons. Being human, 1t is not an unmixed
good Destructive competition is an evil.
The world cannot afford to have trade
which does not, pay fair profit; hence.
when trade ceases to offer fair profit
there has to be a remedy, and the remedy
chosen here was In reality not new one.
1t is impressed upon us at this time on
account of its size. In a small way 1t
has gone on ever since business became
business.
But are we to be exposed to the mercy
n fhOQa manila uvb nil I'M mil and
have we no remedy by law or constitu-
tional amendment? Yes we have many
remedies on the stump and in the news
papers. but the experience Of mankind Is
universal that Providence has not left US
to the stump orator or the newspapers or
even to the statesman. Somehow-after
much laundering, perhaps but somehow
every new movement has in itself the ele-
ment of protection of the race. For in
stance, we are all afraid of monopoies.
We fear that somebody by some new
scheme will squeeze us permanently, and
yet that has never happened. But, you
will say, what can prevent these great
aggregations of capital from charging
what they like: The answer is, that what
prevents them from charging an unfair
price is the well founded fear that they
will thereby risk and lose the vast sums
already piled up.
In other words, the same state of the
world, the same general wealth. which
gether will enable a larger pile to get to-
gether and by means of more modern ma
chinery to destroy the attempted monop-
oily. When one set of capitalists of great
renown year or two ago attempted to
take control of Pacific business, the un-
dertalSing was not so vast as to prevent
men whose names were, up to that time.
but little known from meeting them and
making at least, a drawn battle The
fact is that every business man now
knows that the only monopoly anybody
can get. except the temporary one of
patents, TO which no one objects. Is by
producing some article cheaper and sell
ing II cheaper than any other maker.
Whether such a monopoly is obnoxious
and to be stamped out leave to the wise
defamation of the friends of the people
II would be a good plan II somebody
who believes In the efficacy Of legislation
would sit down and draw his statute and
put into words his constitutional amend
ment and see where he would arrive.
Error" says the wise Latin. turks in
generalities." To talk of doing something
/ means of something IL you do not
ecfy the something to be done or the
wa 10 do IL is a waste of time.
After all the language which has been
pso about the great corporations one Is a
little surprised at the lack of specification.
Almost everybody announces that what
we need Is publicity" Even this is