Omaha daily bee., 1906-06-10
THE ORIGINAL TRUST
THE CORAL REEF

It HE hue and cry goes up anent the oc-
Il topus of the trusts this product OF
] the twentieth century. and socialists
denounce 1t from the platform and use
up reams Of paper and gallons of fiery
Ink In the PRONUNCIATION Of their disap-
prevail of the monster which is destroying
this fair country of ours.
And yet the conception of trusts and
corporations were not original with
Rockefeller a Hyde, a Carnegie nor the
coal barons. 1t Is but the application to
human methods of natural methods older
perhaps, than our own lind, ours about
which we are now wrlngjIg our hands and
crying that 1t is going to the 'demnition
bow vows"
1t was Josephine's dressmaker, when re-
preached by her caprlcious mistress that
her latest creation was but copy Of an
older and discarded gown, who cried out
In eXculpation Of the CHARGE
Your Majesty there is nothing new un-
der the sun!
And It can be justly said to the pessimis-
tically inclined as far as the trusts are
concerned, that they existed before man
was made.
Millions. perchance billions of years ago
a few little Insects got together for the
benefit Of their kind and decided to build
for themselves a home that should be
large enough to accommodate them and
their children and their Children's children
for countless generations.
With their insect Intelligence they de-
cded It were better to work as one; 1t may
be that the adage which is so potent with
US to-day held Eood On those dlys:-"To-
gether we stand; divided we fam and the
new city was conceived and built on the
basis OF a huge trust
The first insect built him tiny hole,
which was his house; around this he built
wall; number two built "A similar hole
to the left; number three to the right, and
so on slowly, labOrlOusly intelllgently, the
little creatures builded, and the home
grew. oh, 50 slowly, but so firmly, until
i was as large as pea, then a marble,
then as an apple and so on, year by year,
greater and greater, and after countless
generations, so many that we, with our
limited human intelligence. cannot count
them, the home assumed vast proportions
and In the ocean an island appeared and
grew and spread, until finally man in his
"reachings OUT saw il, coveted 1t and
claimed H.
The government OF this great city was
on an ideally sOcialistic plane. II was al
truistic in iJs conception. Not one Of the
laborers and jewellers therein received
more than his brothers; they Jared alike
in the long run. though It Is true that at
one turn of the tide some were lean ana
hungry, but were compensated on the next
tide
The home was 80 built that two sides OF
the structure received the fun force OF the
incoming tide, which brought with it q
great influx OF sea delicacies, such are
lrresistihly swept along with the onTush-
ing waters The inhabitants Of those two
sides made hearty meals Of the sea food
50 beneheently brought 10 them. Their
brothers and sisters, cousins, uncles and
aunts on the other side had 90 hustle in
a lively manner for the fl1tsGm and jet am
which percolated through the orihces OF
their dwelling. Therefore. when the tide
nor In fOl1 In
while the other half were content vita
the crumbs which fell from the tables OF
the rich.
But when the tide went out the other
two sides OF the house received the fun
rush Of the flood laden waters and the in
habitants OF those two sides fed on the
fat of the land. while their relatives on
the other two sides picked up their crumhs.
50 the little coral insects solved the
problem OF the trust many centuries
before man was made. SO perfect has been
their organization, so faithfully have theV
worked that they have bulded far more
securely than humans possibly could. even
with the assistance Of their wonderful in
telligence.
But one did not fare better than the
other. Each little house In the great city
was identical with all the others. YET
there was no monotony I'm the building
thereof Some streets were very fancH
ful In their coral branchingg. some ollHs
straight, some Intricate I'm their ramihca-
lions. but so designed and bullded that
each inhabitant received Just as much ana
no more than his neighbor The Income
tide fed one half the outgoing the other.
Perfect harmony prevailed (though II may
be possible that the ramihcatOns may
mean revolutions but as we have no way
OF determining, and they are wise ln saving
nothing, we can only conjecture disturb
anceD and me CITY grew and prospered
under the UtoniaR RnVernment OF IL
I@AOoTAl TraStAs