St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1905-11-29
Credit and Blame for the Trusts.

Armour is given credit-and justly-for
devising cunning methods OF economy in
utilizing every ounce OF the carcasses of
cattle and hogs; be is excused because he
saves in valuable by-products what the
smaller butcher throws away. Blood,
hair, boots, tail, horns, by his wonderful
system, are converted to the public use.
But let us be clear in our distinctions
Every dollar he saves by these excellent
economies we pay him gladly; tor such
work he is to be admired and rewarded
as a public servant, but the success OF
the beet trust is not founded on public
service of this sort, but upon what may
truly be called public betrayal. Armour
and his associates, not contented with
the fair returns of their genius and indus
try, employed secret, underhand methods;
they entered into illegal conspiracies to
obtain advantages in railroad taxation.
They were traitors to the principles of
democracy. AS result, we have fasten.
ed upon us, as a people, this veritable
leech of commerce, the railroad rebate.
And like eech it preys secretly and
insdiously. The enterprising ambitious
butcher in the small city, in spite OF his
best efforts, finds his business dwindling
away. He may be certain that he is
butchering as cheaply and pro6tably as
the Chicago trust-as not a few smaller
establishments are in reality doing to-
day-and yet he goes down to discourage
ment and ruin. He never even discovers,
perhaps, that it is because the highway,
the public road, is not as free to him
as it is to Armour.
Similarly, the railroads have not
dealt with all citizens alke"in the -four
milling business. All over this country
may be found ruined -four mills and
ruined milers. 1t is conceivable, indeed
probable, that many bright boys, because
of that ruin, have failed of their rghtiul
chance in life, and that many men are to.
day hoplessly discouraged. | am not
here defending. antiquated or wastetul
methods against improvement and con-
centration, nor am seeking to awaken
any sympathy for the man who failed
through lack of energy or enterprise. !
am not attacking the principle OF COM
petition, but Of unfair competition. Such
part of this ruin of the millers as was due
to improved methods or to economy re-
sulting from manufacturing in large
quantities, is both necessary and legiti
mate. But the greater part was not due
to such superior public service-and public
service is, after all, the final test-but tc
undemocratic railroad determinations.
So the steel trust today controls many
independent iron mines OF Minnesota by
an nlquitous. unfair system of railroad
favorltism. So the harvester and sugar
trusts have stranged competition. Sc
the grasp OF the elevator owners rests
upon the wheat and corn industry, prey
ing upon the farmers of the country il
T the most secret and insidous ways.
Let it be understood that this is not ar
! attack upon individual enterprise anc
industry, nor upon large fortunes, but il
is an attack upon the piggish individual
!; ism which succeeds by taking more thar
, its share of the public highway, which
does not observe the common decencie,
OF the gentleman in the street, but CONES
to its fortune by crowding other men in
+ to the gutter. For that is what rebat
is; it is the mark of commercial boorish
ness From Railroad Rebates" bv Ra,
: Stannard Baker in the December Nc
u Clure's.