The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-06-05
A GOOD WORD For TRUSTS.

"OhD EOH
In an address delivered at the Uni
versity of Minnesota yesterday James
b. Dill, the corporation lawyer of New
York who has the reputation OF hav-
ing organized more trusts than any
other man In the country, said some
good words for trusts-that is, trusts
organized for doing an honest and
legitimate business and not for put
ting upon the market securities at
prices much above their worth. He de-
clared that the trust movement In
stead of restricting the field Of edu-
Gated men and women, opened for
them new opportunities for useful
ness" That is no doubt true, as the
great corporations make many new
places for men and women educated
along certain lines, but what the trusts
do, however, is this: They strange in
dependence and obscure the Individual.
The small shopkeeper and the small
manufacturer are rapidly disappear
ing, If indeed they have not already
disappeared from the larger cities.
There are not nearly so many persons
in business on their own account, in
proportion to the population. in this
country as there were thirty years
ago.
Further along in his address Mr..
Dill said: THE corporation movement
instead of crowding men out has open
ed for them new fields of usefulness,
and has increased the financial returns
for intelligent, concentrated effort. 1t
has to a large extent eliminated the
prestige of rich mems sons and ended
the career of the Miss Nancy type
Wideawake corporation managers
know the evils of having too many
sons and too many sons-in-law in their
employ. For that reason they discrim-
mate against official relatives in ia
vor of men without means, unincum-
bered by influence. who have their
own way to make" The foregoing is
undoubtedly true, but at the same
time very few of those who are en-
ployed by great corporations, however
talented they may be, are ever heard
of. They are well paid, but they are
simply the employees of a lot of rich
men who have their headquarters in
Wall street or some other financial
center.
Mr.. Dill admits that many of the
trusts have accomplished little but the
unloading of blocks of indigestible Sc
curties, and says they have no excuse
for existing. but thinks the trust
| movement will eventually steady it.
self, get rid of its wrong tendencies
and will then be a benefit to the coun-
try.
Time will prove whether or not he is
right, provided the courts do not elm
mate the trusts before they get on the
high plane which, according to Mr.
Dill, they are striving to reach. An in
teresting thought in connection with
this address is that both of the great
political parties are making war on
trusts, and in Minnesota recently de-
cision was rendered against the North
ern Securities Company, one of the
greatest and, 1t is claimed, least OBJ
jectionable of the trusts, and yet the
leading educational institution of
the Northwest invites the great
est of the trust promoters to tell
its students that trusts, honestly or
ganized and conducted, are a good
thing for them and the country. Even
good trusts are supposed to aim at
restraining competition. If the rising
generation is to be taught that trusts
are good things what progress is pos
sioie IN the direction of the destruction
of them?