The Spokane press. [volume] (Spokane, Wash.) 1902-1939, 1904-09-28
May Be Good Trusts, but Kill
EN- I'LL, Says Tom Lawson

BOSTON, Sept. ga binding
fash of lightning forked across the
financial sky a few months ago.
The bolt turned deep into the flesh
of thousands of investors. A stu
pendous sum of money went up in
smoke. The catastrophe is known
today as the Amalgamated crash.
A roar of thunder quickly fol-
lowed the lightning and its rum
bling is still heard in the financial
centers of the country. This thun-
der is the voice of one man, and his
name is Thos. W. Lawson.
He calls his thunder "Frenzied
Finance" 1t is in the form of a
magazine article which he himself
Is writing. 1t is the story OF the
Amalgamated Copper Trust and is
a most startling arraignment OF
the country's trust promoters,
with the purpose in view of expos
ing what Mr.. Lawson calls "SYS-
tenn process or device for the
Incubation of wealth from the peo-
pies savings" He charges that
the Standard Oil Company and its
administrators constitute the frame
of the SYSTEM, and he recites a
revolving array of facts based, as
he says. upon his knowledge of the
workings of the SYSTEM as
seen from close range. He tells OF
the loss to the public in Amalga-
mated of more than 100000 900, of
resultant injury to thousands, sui
eide to over 80, prison conviction
for 90 previously reputable citizens,
and complete ruin to hundreds.
Lawson, the author of this as.
founding statement is the man
who conceived and put into opera.
ton the Amalgamated Copper
Trust and the men he now con-
dennis were his partners. His
claim is that he was deceived by
them.
After a half weeks .attle with
his bodyguard of secretaries the
writer penetrated the thunder fac
tory. Mr.. Lawson works Is hours
every day except Sunday and holi.
days, and three able secretaries are
kept hopping during every one OF
these hours. But Mr.. Lawson
found time to discuss "Frenzied
Finance" between his work and
the time the Lawson special was
due to leave South Station for
Greenwald, the magnificent 400
acre country seat of the capitalist
"Mr. lawson" began, why
have you taken up arms against
the men who control the finances
of the country, and who have been
your immediate associates in one
of the biggest trusts that has ever
been formed ?"
SHOOTING UP A SYSTEM
"You are mistaken" he replied
promptly. Il have said that take
no issue with men, but ! am con
cerned with q SYSTEM, an evil
and dangerous SYSTEM In writ
ing 'Frenzied Finance l count on
direct results to the dupes OF
Amalgamated, on direct results to
those who duped them, and on
building direct double-track line
from 'Frenzied Finance, to a grave.
yard signboard, SYSTEM.
What is bad trust?" I asked,
and this was the lightning reply:
"Bad trusts are all but those few
which have not been in the bust
ness long enough to get the hang
of the SYSTEMS ropes"
@. What then, is a good trust
A. Davy Crockett, when once
asked to define a good Indian, said ::
"a dead one" To my mind he
should have added: There may be
good ones alive, but to avoid the
danger of making a mistake in
picking the good ones, KILL EN-
ALL"
@. What, Mr.. Lawson, do you
consider the most dangerous fea-
-ture of our national commercial
and financial structure today?
A. will answer this by first
eliminating the commercial and
financial. The most dangerous part
of our national structure is our
system for taking care of the peo-
pies savings, our banking and in
surance system.
@. Has our general standard of
commercial integrity deteriorated
through what YOU have described
as "Frenzied Finance?"
A. Beyond measure. Imagina-
ton can hardly realize the extent
In every nook and corner of Amer
ica today are the products of the
frenzied finance of the past 90
years. Coarse, gilded specimens of
bloated humanity are they. reeking
in wealth, without the Unborn re-
finement to appreciate them, and
without the inherited sense of re-
sponsibility to God and man which
is by nature. and which should be
by law. attached to all wealth.
"AND, TOUCHING ELBOWS
WITH THESE SPECIMENS, is
OUR YOUTH. UPON WHOM DE.
PENDS THE FUTURE OF OUR
COUNTRY. THE PRECEPTS
TAUGHT THE GENERATION
WHICH is PASSING,AND WHOSE
EFFORTS HAVE MADE POSI-
BILE AMERICAS STRIDES OF
THE PAST 20 YEARS, WE'RE AS
UNLIKE THOSE WHICH THE
YOUTH OF TODAY ARE RECEIV-