Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1912-10-10

duce unpr0gressive, slipshod manage.
ment. The attempt to secure loo prices
through price hring oould prove a. I'm
potent a. the sfGt1tes soAick haze sought
to protect the public IN railroad rates by
limiting tho dtvideHds.
'The interstate commerce commits.
sion has been invoked as an argument
IN favor Of licensing monopoly. That
commission has stopped many abuses;
It has practically put an end to cor.
rupt and corruptng discrimination in
rates: It has protected the shipper
from oppression and arrogance and in.
Justice: It has prevented unreasonable
GdroSccs In rates: but It has secured
comparatively few notable reductions
In rates, except those involved In stop.
ping discYiminat ton between persons,
places or articles. II has been po,oerlcss
to rcdsce operating costs. and greater re.
dwcti0ns IN rates can come only 10Th re-
dwcttons IN the cost Of producing trams.
povt0ti0n. The injustice and corruption
attending the earlier railroad period
were extremely serious. But we must
not forget that the speepin0 reductions
IN American operating costs and rates
belong to the earlier period Of competition
among railroads. In the ten years from
1850 to 1900. while competition among
the railroads was active. the freight
rate per ton per mile was gradually re-
duced from .941 to 724. The years
1902 l00O mprked the great movement
for combination or community Of In
tefest" in the railroad world as well
~ in the Industrial world The freight
rate pcr ton per mile began to rise. In
each Of the eleven succeeding years It
was higher than in 1884, and in 1910
Il was .7h3
1.-THE deadening effect Of monopoly
II illustrated by its arrest Of inven-
ton. The shoe machinery trust. form
ed In 1871. resulted In combining. d.
rectly and indirectly. more than 100
shoe machinery concerns. II acquired
substantially monopoly Of all the es-
sentlal machinery used In bOttOming
bOOts and sh.Ms. as well az many 9th.
er machines. 1t believed itself mas.
come to regard their subsection to the
trust a. una vOidnble Nevertheless. In
1910 the trust found its prestige sud
denly Threatened and its huge profits
imperiled. It was confronted with q
competitor ~ Formidable that the
trust. In fragrant violation Of law. paid
&5.O00.O0O t. huy him out. Thomas G.
Plant had actually succeeded in devei-
oping in about ave years. while the
trust was stOlid from monopoly. a
substantially complete system Of shoe
machinery which many good judges
declared t. b. superior to that Of the
trust.
George w. Perkins. apostle Of the
economic and social efficiency Of mo-
n0poly. quoted to the senate commit
tee on interstate commerce the state
ment that:
""The corporations that Mr.. Edison's
business inventions had made posi-
bio were today capitalized at $1,000
100000
The Inventors guild, IN association
In which Mr.. Edison Is naturally prom.
lnent, said In q memorial addressed to
the president:
IT 10 well known fact that mod
ern trade combinations tend strongly
toward cOnstancy Of processes and
products and by their very nature are
opposed to new processes and products
originated by Independent inventors
and hence tend to restrain competition
IN the development and sale Of patents