Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1904-02-08
SHORT BUT FORCEFUL.

p11ONx d ~ - OAUOA1A ~ -
What the Chicago Record Herald, a
republican paper, calls "a short but
forceful sermon on our trusts" is pub
lished as a leading article in recent
number of the London financial weekly,
The Economist The Record-Herald
saws the text OF the sermon is found in
the recent action of our railroads in re-
ducing the freight rates on steel for ex-
port at the dictation of .the steel trust
AMI that the reduction in rates was
made to enable the trust to sell certain
OF its products abroad.at prices far be-
low those charged to American consum-
ers,
The Economist says that railroads
that assisted this:project are not merely
causing grave prejudice to the trade Of
the country, but they are going beyond
this and are actually assisting in the
operation Of pickingltheir own pockets.
The Economist adds:
1.-THE sinister influence of the trust
tinanciers is everywhere felt in the
United States. Their power over the
New York banks enabled them to com.
pei these institutions to..over-lend their
resources, with results little short OF
disastrous. Their attempts to dominate
the industry Of the country have been
productive Of grievous injury to the PEG.
pie, and the control which:tbey exercise
over the railway systems of the United
has given them the power to mulct the
shareholders in a fashion that would
never be tolerated here. One cannot
help wondering at the lamblike sub.
mission Of the American public under
this tyranny, and asking whether the
trusts are sufficiently powerful to domi-
nate the legislature as well as the gen.
eral interests of the country"
1t will be generally agreed, we think,
that this is "a short but forceful sermon
on our trusts;'' and commenting upon
it theChicago Record Herald says:
"The American people are probably
not so 'lamblike' as the Economist
thinks, but this plain statement of the
extent to which some of the trusts are
able to dictate to other industries at the
expense of both stockholders and con
sumers has in it All unpleasantly large
amount Of the truth"
If the Econo mist desires to present
authority on its "lamblike" claim-an
authority which the Record. Herald will
doubtless accept as correct-The Econo.
mist might examine another issue OF the
Chicago Record Herald in which, after
describing the methods employed by
John D. Rockefeller, the Record Herald
said:
'The truth is that he (Rockefeller)
has become resistless force in the in.
dustrial world and that he will proceed
from one monopoly to another, regard
less OF all that is said and done to pre-
vent. If he could live to the age of the
patriarchs, the United States would
come to be merely one of his appurten-
ances.'
According to this, the Record.Herald
as well as The Economist bel YES that
there is considerable "lamblike submits.
sion' about the American people. 1t is
not strange, however, that while news.
papers like the Record Herald admit
that the Rockefellers are acquiring all
too enormous power, while they admit
that such charges as are made by The
Economist have in them an "unpleas.
antly large amount OF truth" when
election day draws nigh these news
papers are found lined up in support of
the Rockefelers and using their great
power in defense of the system and the
men under whose impositions it is agreed
the people are suffering?