Martinsburg statesman-democrat. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1906-1921, 1913-02-28
GIVES HIS
INTERESTING BOOK
Ne Discusses Tariff, Trusts
and Welfare Of American
People.


The men who come aud ask favors Of
congress- The old idea of protective
tariff was designed 10 keep American
industries alive and therefore keep
American lahor employed But the
fayors of protection have become SO
permanent that this is what has hap.
pencd Mon, seeing that they heed not
fear foreign competition. have drawn
together In great combinations These
combinations include factories az II Is
a combination of faetoriesi OF oil
grades. cid factories and new factor
les. factories with Anticipated machla.
cry and factories with brand new MA.
chiueFy factories that are economical.
~ and factories that are net eemomi.
cally administered. factories TINT have
been long in the family. which have
been allowed TO run down. ana factor
les with all the new modern Inventions
As soon as the combination Is effected
the less efficient factories are generally
put out OF operation. Bur the stock
issued IN payment for them has TO pas
dividends. and the United States gov
eminent guarantees profit on invest
ment in factories that have gone out
OF business AS soon MS these cumhi
nations see prices falling they reduce
the hours OF labor. they reduce produc
ton, they reduce wages. they throw
men out Of employment-in order to
DO what2 In order TO keep the prices
up in spite 81 their lack OF efficiency.
Tariff Raises Prices.
There may have been a time when
the tariff did not raise prices, but that
time is past The tariff is now taken
advantage of by the great combine
tons in such way as TO give them
control OF prices These things do not
happeu by chance II does not happen
by chance that prices are aud haye
been rising faster here than In any 9th
or country THAT river that divides Us
from Canadn divides us from much
cheaper living, Notwithstanding that
the Canadian parliament Ieyles duties
on importations
Did you ever look into the way a
trust was madeG II Is very natural
IN one sense-in the same sense In
which human greed Is natural. II |
haven't efficiency enough TO beat mg
rivals then the thing / am inclined 60
do Is TO get together with my rivals
and say: Don't lets cut each Others
throats Let's combine and determine
prices for Yes-determine the
output and thereby determine the
prices and dominate and control the
market" That Is very natural That
has been done ever since freebooting
ever since power was used 10 establish
control. The reason that the masters
of combination have sought to shut
out competition Is that the basis OF
control under competition Is brains
and efficiency. admit that any large
corporation built up by the legitimate
processes Of business, BY economy, By
efficiency. Is natural. and ! am not
afraid of 1t. no matter how big It
grows It can stay big only by doing
It's work more thoroughly than any
body else. And there Is a point of big
ness-as every business man In this
country knows, though some of them
will not admit it--where you pnss the
limit Of efficiency and get into the
region of elunisiness and unwieldiness
You can make your combine so exten
siye that you can't digest it into
single system. You can get so mauy
parts that you can't assemble them
as you would an effective piece Of ma
chinery. The point OF efficiency is
oyerstepped in the natural process OF
Development oftentimes, and II has
been oversteppcd many tines IN the
artificial and deliberate formation OF
trusts
A trust Is formed In this way; A
few gentlemen promote lt--that ~
to say. they get II up, being given enor
nous fees for their kindness. which
fees are loaded on to the undertaking
In the form OF securities Of Que kind
or another. The argument OF the pro
moters is not that every one who
comes into the combination can carry
on his business more efficiently than
be did before. the aT~nsQeft is: We
viii assign 70 you as yOsr STARE IN the
pool twice. three times. four times or
five times what you could have sold
your business for TO an individual com
petitor who would have 70 run Il on
an economic aud competitive basis
We can afford 10 buy il at such fig
ure because we are shutting ont com.
petition. We can afford to maize the
stock Of the combination haif q dozen
times what Il naturally would be and
ray dividends on it. because there win
be nobody 10 dispute the prices we
shall tx
How Trusts Prosper
Talk of that as sound business2 TAX
Of thar rs iucvilable2 1t ~ hased upon
nothing except power II is not based
upon efficiency II IS no wonder that
The big trusts are not prospecting 10
proportion 70 sHeh competitors as they
still have In sach parts OF their bust.
ness as councillors have access to,