The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1906-12-14
BAER BEFORE AND AFTER
How the Coal Trust Man Has
Changed Front.

Minneapolis Journals How mems OPP
inions change with their environment
and circumstances is emphasized by the
life of George f. Baer, the divine agent
for the conservation of the coal sup
ply of Pennsylvania, through Keeping up
the price and charging discriminatory
rates for hauling it via the Reading
railroad.
A correspondent of the Philadelphia
North America has dug up an address
made by Mr.. Baer before the law stu
dents of the University of pennsyl
vania in 1887 on Land Tenure" In
that address Mr.. Baer remarked: 1T
1.-THE mineral wealth of the state) has
passed into the hands of gigantic as
sCciations kept together by state char
tiers on some cunning called trust, whose
principal stockholders are not among
MS or of us. Daily they carry off our
treasures and leave us only enough to
pay the labor which prepares them for
and transports them to the market.
The profit which should enrich our citi
zens and state goes beyond our borders
and we receive little benefit from it.
1t is through the manipulation of these
associations (trusts) that men ride to
sudden wealth and thereby provoke the
discussion of social problems and the
PRONUNCIATION of theories winch are at
variance with all sound thinking and
past experience" These evils Mr.. Baer
then thought owed their existence ito
the delegation by the state of sovereign
powers to creatures of the state" Just
what Mr.. Baer's plan for handling the
coal then was not entirely clear. In one
part he limited apparently at the state
mining and distributing the coal and
getting the profit for itself and its citi-
Zons. In another he evidently inveighs
against the PRONUNCIATION of false the
cries which may have meant theories of
public ownership of the coal mines.
The point that is clear is that then
Mr. Baer was dead against lie trusts
which had cunningly manipulated the
trolled the supply, but also the supply
of transportation to the market. They
took the highest selling price for the
product and paid the lowest buying price
for labor. This could not have been
dangerous even then had the coal mar
ket been free. The point was that mar
keting of coal had passed to be free,
but had passed into the hands of gigan
tic associations which had made a trust
of the business.
In 1887, says the correspondent, this
was regarded as the expression of a
'jurst." In 1906 Mr.. Baer would be
obliged to ..smiss it as that of a 'blath-
erskitc"
Mr.. Baer was born in 1912. In 1887
he was no longer a sophomore. He was
man of 45. He had been practicing
law for twenty three years and had al
ready held retainer as railroad law
yer, from which employment he had re-
tired on account of disagreement With
the president of the Reading railroad.
But Mr.. Baer became about this time
the confidential adviser of j. PierpOnt
Morgan, and in 1893 he took prominent
part in the reorganization of the thila-
delphia & Reading, and eight years later
was elected its president. Coincident
with the birth of the confidential ad
visor was the funeral of the ''jurist"
above mentioned, who is now remember
ed by Mr.. Baer only dimly as person
of immature ideas with whom he once
had mental conflict and whom he con-
qnered and downed completely.