Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1908-02-28

d0llaIs l have since as Sked thu
question of a great many we'll in.
formed people. and never have
found one who knew any more
about it than | did and when he
gave me the tariff list on iron anc
steel, | was amazed beyond mea.
sure Tariff on stee! rail, 500
per ton; bar iron and steel in
sizes above one half inch. $1,000
per ton; size one half inch and
under, $500 per ton; tin $4,000
per ton; The steel trust was
formed according to program and
the monopoly practically is CON-
plete; prices have jumped up and
stald up; no competition worthy
of the name exists. st. Paul on
his way to Damascus was not con
Verted quicker than | was, and l
saw clearly that what this COM
bination would do. similar com.
bination' based on other com
modities could also do, all of
which has come to..,,pass until the
American people are fast dividing
! into cliques, each trying to get
me cinch on his neighbor. Of
scesslty labor has taken a hand
with its cinch, and the day..of the
square deal when each man had a
even show with hi neigbbor seems
to have gone forever. All that
seems to be left for the man with
out a cinch of some kind is to 90
back to the soil. Even this sacred
refuge is being invaded by the
trust ogre. The price of live
stock at the various stoekyards of
the country is now said to be made
by one man every morning with a
margin of Is cents per 100 pounds.
within which all buyers must ope-
rate or stand a S5OO.O0O fine each
if they exceed the margin. This
is what ails the present price of
livestock.
| aksed the statistician if be-
could give me the data on the cost
of producing the various forms of
iron and steel. He replied he
could do so although government
clerks were not supposed to give
out anything of this kind to the
public. He convinced me clearly
that pig iron was being produced
at a gross cost of from $500 to
$500 per ton. steel rails and iron
and steel bars from $50 to $1,000
per ton. going through the items
in detail; and these figure hav q
since been corroborated by the
TESTIMONY of one of the leading
officials of the steel trust on the
witness stand in a Pittsburg court.
| asked why any such tariff as
imposed by the Dingley schedule
was necessary he replied that Car
negie and the steel lobby at Wash
ington who wrote the schedule.
could probably tell me.
The prophecy of the govern
ment officials in the sleeping car
that night has since been fulfilled
to the letter. The great iron and
steel trust has been formed. con-
trolling tie entire output either
by absolute ownership or commu-
nifty of interests" as Morgan
calls it. They say to the few in
dependent operators, Come with
US and you will wear diamonds
oppose US, and you will come out
between the upper and neither
mill stone", As most of the In
dependents have to procure some
percentage of their raw materials
from the trust they have no alter.
native but compliance.
At the above cost figures il
would seems that $1,000 for pic
iron. $500 for rail, and 5000
per ton for bars, was a good price
particularly as under consolidation
a great many econimies have been
effected. so that the labor cost per
ton of output is away below what
it was in competition days. The
purpose. however, of such con-