The Washington herald., 1908-02-05

instances Of individual Injustice. but 1t
was contended that the restoration OF a
Just level OF prices would, on the whole,
promote justice, Those who at that time
defended falling prices and complained
{ OF binet8llsm are to-day using The argu-
/ iments OF bimetalists and pointing out
the fact that the dollar which rises In
value, like a dollar which falls IN value,
/ brings injustice to some
Justice should he Done.
Surely in the consideration Of SO great
"a subject as that OF money care should
be exercised 20 reduce TO the minimum
the injustice done and &c increase to
the maximum the stability of the dollar
{ as q measure OF the value OF all other
, property.
, The subject OF private monopoly fur
InlSheS us another illustration OF larceny,
and here il is rot petit larceny nor even
grand larceny; il rises 20 the proportions
+ of glorious larceny, not only because
p of the amount taken, bat because of the
, responsibility Of those who received the
stolen goods. The object OF "a private
] monopoly rs Go control the price OF the
/ thing sold; it IS TO corner the market
Z The theory is that mans necessities re-
{ Quire him to buy certain things which
Z sustain his life and add 90 his comfort
Where there is competition the sellers
bid against each other and the purchaser
! is able 10 secure what he needs at
I price which is approximately fair If,
} brought together iu a combination so
that all purchasers must buy of the same
vendor, competition is eliminated and
= the man who fixes the price, fixes it arbi-
trarilyi and we know enough OF human
d nature 10 know he is apt 10 charge all
s that the traffic VIII bear To illustrate
, TINS point, let uS suppose "a city i'm the
! midst of % desert whose people derive
their wafer supply from ii single spring.
All Must BE Served.
: All must have water. and they must
+ have ii no matter az what cost II the
L one spring 10 which they all must 60 Is
owned by am individual and he is per
: mltted 10 charge what he viii for water
{ he is sure 20 prosper as long as there is
any money ina the city But this is an
2 imaginary case. II cannot be real, be
/ cause the instinct oi self-preservatiOn is
so strong that people would not permit
7 the water supply OF ID city 90 be i'm the
hands OF one man with no regulation as
10 iGe price % Doe charged In the cities
: which permit private corporations 10 con
, rol the water plants there Is always
b provision FOR regulation of the price. /
, need only present the case of real mon
opolN 60 show how iutOlcrable it is A
2 monopoly ls as abhOrent TO the public
! as vacuum is 10 nature, and yet, We
{ nave allowed mOnup1lies to grow up in
, THIS country which do far more injustice
and reap a larger profit from the in
! justice than the owner of the spring
2 would in the supposed City iu the desert
and these mOu0p0!ies are tolerated only
because the people are less informed
about their methods uEd their influence.
Applies Ia .HOBOpoIieS.
7 insist that the commandment Thou
3 shalt not steal" applies as much to the
! mouopolist as 10 the highWayman and
, we shan not make any material progress
5 in the protection of the people from prl-
n d.
81 10 ohaterate the line that society has
b. drawn between the ordinary thief and
} JGe larger criminal who holds Up society
? ana plumbers the public through the in-
e suumentaiity of private monopoly. The
I man VINO stands by fHs WaYsldc ana.
. holding revolver % your head. demands
% your money cor your lie is no more a
{ criminal measured boy every moral
? standard than tie man who obtaining
control OF "a nation S fuel collects z trib-
ute from every householder Offering him
D tl- alternative of payment or suffering
d from lack OF hrc- / have mentioned q
p monopoly in fuel. but % monopoly n
{ light, lu food OF iu amy other necessary
r. OF NE IS just ass repugu5nt 20 the moral
$ sense II is entirely possible that very
p many of those who enjoy the benefits of
. muunppi}-sUU AS mana gers. some as
. directors, and some merely as stOckhCld-
s eFS-aFe unconscious of the principle in
2 iE1lVHd-uUcuUsoieUs of the moral cEHrar-
- ter of their conduct. bUt surely th.s IS an
3 oppprtuue dime r0 impress upon the con-
. science Of tGe nation the real moral char
, aeter of the conduct of the mouopolst
Moral Standard Too Low.
And it is not sufficient that We shall
J appeal TO the conscience of the m0nop-
p olst alone II "a hiElwayman were 90 en-
gage % lawyer % follow % few rods be-
hind him with "a horse that he mieht
, have ready means ut escape after hay-
8 ing committed an act OF robbery We
would call tle lawyer a party TO the
- crime and WE would visit upon him the
r same punishment visited upon the priu-
, eipal in the robbery. and so if some one
{ living near tle spot where the robbery
- Was committed furnished the Tobber
7 with change OF clothing or. i'm return
- aim 10 conceal The booty until suspicion
q WAS past. such "a one could not escape
{ legal responsibility for the crime. ana
D Yet 1t r. considered quite respectable to-
2 day for JHc legal representatives Of
- predatory wealth 90 visit state capitals
POI and national cap lIis ana prevent the
. enactment ai laws Intended To protect the
20 public from private muuOpoiies. and IL is
To- even more respectable for the saIaricd
% attorneys of these mguupoiies TO follow
E close after the offenders and furnish
p them horses lu the way Of legal tcChni-
calities upon which o. escape from pun
!sEueHt, and some o. our metrop0Iitan
{ papers are i'm the same class with the
: INSCRIPTIONS lawyer is Dc not time
- TO raise the moral standard and TO insist
- that our laws shall De made for the en-
+ forremcnt OF human rights and not Tor
r the protection OF those who violate these
z rights shall We continue TO be Mortified
( az housebreaEing and the picking OF ones
pocket and yet view ComplaCeHtIV and
without concern these miliCn-dollar raids
Z upon the earnings OF the entire pCpuist-
o. tiCn2 Surely We are justified i'm apply
ing 20 The trust question the command
s meHt Thou shalt not steal
Hits Watered stock.
! md viii / bee entering upon forbidden
Z ground if [ question the moral char
artar of those financial transactions
, which have resulted in the issuing of wat
- cred stock and fictitious capitalization ?
. The individual cannot cirulate his note
. unless the purchaser believes that he has
back of IL sufficient property to insure
the payment of tie note. but there is a
7 presumption In favor OF stock issued by
: "a corporation. People assume that indus
2 trial stocks represent their face va llIC.
81 company is formed with "a capital OF
|SiU'N1H13, the investors assume that that
: much money has been invested I'm plants
: and in the business. and dividends are
expected upCa that basis but fbiS sun
position has been abused and the people
+ Rave been imposed upon All sorts of
. devices have been employed to give to
E toe stock the appearance of genuiueness.
g Eminent tuanciers underWrite the bonds
? issued by the corporation or subscribe
r for large blocks Of stock and thus lend
- their names % the schemes for the ex-
p pioit8t!0n of the public
81 A few years ago il was found that one
70 Of the high officials in a prominent New
, York bank was connected with com
? panE which was Initiating the value Of
{ certain stocks by what is known as
. washed sales; that is. by the selling and
E reseilng Of stock among a group of men
l for the deception of the public and when
Z the matter was made public. the bank
official seemed unconscious of the moral
2 tUTpituGe involved i'm the transaction
Defines Honest Securities.