Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1905-09-27
THE GREATEST Or TRUSTS.
OPERA Tf0HS on BEEF TRUST AND
RAILROADS INTIMATELY
CONNECTED.
Charles E. Russell Concluded Maga-
zine Articles Describing. Methods
of Trust and Suggests that Moral
Side Of Question Has Been Neg

A remarkable series of articles was
concluded In last months Everybody
Magazine, entitled ''The Greatest
Trust in the World" by Chas. F..
Russell. Reciting at length the var
| ious methods of the Beef Trust, which
Mr.. Russell shows controls not only
beef but practically all perishable pro-
duets, and which he characterizes as
the greatest and most pernicious com
bnation extant, Mr.. Russell backs up
his assertion with facts and figures to
show that this giant combination not
only grinds the producer of cattle and
other livestock down TO d bare exist
ence, entirely controlling the amount
of the production Of meat afiiiiials. but
that it regulates aid ifiafiiptlates the
price of meat for the whole American
people with the sau1e certainty that
the owner of d patent medicine, whose
secret compoufids are known only to
himself, fixes the price of his noStrum.
Mr.. Russell asks.
What is the Remedy?
"Now what is to be dohey There
would be plenty of independent pack
ing concerns id operation wftliil SIX
months to prevent MONOPOLY iii cattle
| buying and meat and general prodtce
selling, if there could be any feas5n-
able certainty Of fair. treatment In
railroad rates and facilities. Twenty
firms would commence building to-
| day if they could have the assurance
of an honest enforcement of the law.
Therefore, the nainspring of this mat
ter is the railroad question. Solve
that, and at once you settle the fate
| of this greatest of moriOpolies.
| "But how" he asks, twill you solve
the railroad question? Not by passing
more laws about 1t. Is it anything
hut lunacy to suppose that a power
able to override. defy and nuiiify the
existing statutes will be awed by any
more Of these phber. bulletinsY We
have laws enoiigh now.
Present Laws Should Prevent
| Retatcss
"Human ingenuity cannot And any
| more explicit prohibition Of rebates
| than the present laws contain. What
| is the sense Of multiplying prohibitions
] that do not prohibit? How
can you prevent a thing that MANY
thousands of reputable business ifieh
are trying to obtain for themselves,
and about which the community has
hazy or underlined views?
| 1.-The weakness of the Anti-Trus
movement so far is that it is economic,
| instead of humanitarian and moral
That is. it is based ON the idea that
some trust has diminished the profits
of some individuals, and these indi-
viduals are justified in complaining
until their profits are restored, and
then they are equally justified in keep
| ing silence. So long as we can be
fooled into thinking the trusts good If
they make our individual business
good, so long we shall have these
great combinations eficroaching upon
and overpowering the Government
Public Opinion Always Supreme.
Laws are enforced by the pressure of
public opinion behind them. There Is
little pressure of public opinion behind
the enforcement OF law against re-
bates. The part 81, the people that
suffers from the results of rebates does
not know why 1t suffers. and the part
that does know does hot care, because
| it either gets or hopes to get rebates
| for itself; hopes to get them and tries
| in all possible ways to get them. 1t
J is a painful fact, states Mr.. Russell,
that of the men that complain most
often anu most loudly against these
conditions, few would admit anything
wrong in rebates If they could secure
| for themselves the advantages which
they dpcry In others
Idle Schemes of Politicians.
There must be no more rebates!
cries the excited reforiner. well aware
that the rebate is the root of all trust
evil. Well said, good feformer. But
how will you stop rebates? One pro-
poses to enlarge the powers of the In
terstate Commerce. CVftimission. and
one proposes to establish rate-regu-
lating courts. and Die proposes a
special session or Congress-, and, one
proposes this law or the other. Beau
l tiful pastimes of the political mind?
When we get sick and tired Of re-
bates, we can abolish them, but not so
long as any considerable number OF us
are trying to get them for ourselves.
a Highly Moral Question.
So that, after ALL the question IS a
moral one. Unless the people of the
country are willing to adopt a some
what new plan Of business, refuse
compromises and refuse to accept
specially advantageous arrangements
for themselves; in other words. until
we get upon a higher mora. plane, and
resolve, at the same time that we are
demanding that there shall be equal,
fair, and Just treatment for every
one. that we ourselves will reftise to
seek or avail ourselves of any special
privilege-unless this sentiment be-
comes general throughout all the peo-
pIe-there is little hope OF any real
permanent relief, Certainly it cannot
be accomplished by legislation and
the enactment Of laws which are NOT
cannot. and will not, be enforced be-
cause of lack OF public sentiment and
demand TO require enforcement.