Evening journal., 1911-10-21
A Product of the Trusts
By The REV. R. L. JACKSON

The big trusts of the country are on
the defensive They are being As-
sailed from all quarters. The COM
mon people are denouncing them, the
magazines are exposing and indict-
ing them. The courts are trying and
convicting them. Verify they are in
deep trouble.
The chief count against the trusts
concerns itself with their RESPONSE
bility for the increase in the cost OF
living How much there is in this 1
am not prepared to say. No doubt
they deserve IN no small degree to be
quarreled with on this score. but my
quarrel with them springs from an
other consideration. / would indict
them for the kind Of men they areI
making; not that they are making
dishonest, lawless men, far from It
The men who work for the trusts areI
as upright and lawabiding as are kQl
be found anywhere. They are amoAg|
the finest to be found In the commu-|
nifty
But when it comes TO the discharged
of their civil and social obligations,
they are Significantly wanting WhyI
is il that the employees of the bigI
trusts do not come TO the front andI
assist in the political and social rel
generation OF the community in which,
they live? Why do the good, worthy
social movements lack their PERSONAL
support? The answer is not far toi
seek. I have gone to some Of ourI
finest college-bred men in the employ
of trusts and have asked them to uni
dertake a special line OF civic OF so
cial service and have been repeatedly
refused. One young man plainly told
me that the company he worked for|
would not like It and he could NOT
respond to my request. immediate-
ly turned from him to a prominent
business man operating a business
OF his own and made the same re
quest of him and he Immediately re-
| sponded. 1t is easy to say to a man
your duty is thus and so, never mind
the risks and hazards. But whaq
man cares TO hazard his livelihood es1
pecially when he has a wife and fam
| lily dependent upon him for support
/ This is not the issue under consider
alton in this article. The issue isl
should conditions prevail in the in /
! uu5itldl WOIlu WHICH luulull Oul
most intelligent and efficient meII
from taking part in the political and
social uplift OF the community II / I
more than possible that many EN-
/ ployes imagine an intimidation wherf
It does not exist, but there are onll
too many places where It does exist
and 1t is giving us class of men VIII
though they have convictions dare no
express them, who though they wan
to do a certain thing, dare not do il
| It is contended that we have cheapE
er products than we have ever had
What if this is true. they are costin Z
US all too dearly when We have 4
pay for the in terms of moral man
hood l do not know what the mex
step in our social evolution is TO be
do know that a system that is di /
rectly or indirectly responsible 70
a cowed, colorlees manhood canno
last The stars in their courses ar
against it, AS I see it, the grea
problem before the American peoplN
is to draft and pass such wise TEN
perate laws as will enable us to pas
as peacefully as possible from thI
present regime to one under which /
man may once more be able to Ell
press and execute his convictionN
without fear of losing his means
subsistence.