The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1913-05-07


statistics Of any trust. They are con
stantly nervous about competition and
they are constantly buying up new
competitors In order to narrow the
field. The United States Steel corpo
ration Is gaining In its supremacy In
the American market only with regard
TO the cruder manufactures of iron and
steel. but wherever, as In the field of
more advanced manufactures of iron
and steel, 1t has important competitors,
its portion Of the product is not In
creasing, but Is decreasing. and its
competitors, where they have a foot
hold, are often more efficient than 1t is
Why? Why, with unlimited capital
and innumerable mines and plants ey-
erywhere In the United States can't
they beat the other fellows I'm the mar
ket? Partly because they are carrying
too much; partly because they are IN
wieldy. Their organization Is imper-
feet. They bought up inefficient plants
along with efficient, and they have got
to carry what they have paid for, even
II they have to shut some OF the plants
up I'm order to make any interest on
their Investments, or, rather. not inter
est on their investments, because that
Is an incorrect word-on their alleged
capitalization. Here we have a lot of
giants staggering along under an al
most intolerable weight of artificial
burdens, which they have put on their
own backs, and constantly looking
about lest some little pygmy with a
round stone in a sling may come out
and Stay them.
For my part I want the pygmy to
have a chance to come out. And l
foresee a time when the pygmies will
be so much more athletic, so much
more astute, SO much more active, than
the giants that II will be a case of
Jack the Giant Killer. Just let some
Of the youngsters l know have a
chance and they'll give these gentle
men points Lend them a little money.
They can't get any now. See to II that
when they have got a local market
they can't be squeezed out of It, Give
them a chance to capture that market
and then see them capture another
one and another n until these men
who are carrying an intolerable load
Of artificial securities find that they
have got to get down TO hard pan &c
keep their foothold at all. ! am will.
ing to let Jack come into the field with
the giant. and II Jack has the brains
that some Jacks that l know In Ameri
ca have then I should like to see the
giant get the better OF him with the
load that he (the giant has to carry
the load OF water-for I'll undertake
to put a water logged giant out OF
business any time II you will give me
q fair field and as much credit as | am
entitled to and let the law do what
from time immemorial law has been
expected to do-see fair play.
Capitalixing Control.
As for watered stock. / know all the
sophisticai arguments. and they are
many, for capitalizing earning capac.
ity. 1t Is a very attractive and inter
esting argument, and In some instances
It Is legitimately used. But there is
q line you cross, above which you are
not capitalizing your earning capacity.
but capitalizing your control Of the
market. capitalixing the profits which
you got by your control Of the market.
and didn't get by efficiency and econ.
omy. These things are not hidden even
from the layman. These are o half
hidden from college men. The college
mems days Of innocence have passed.
and their days Of sophistication have
come. They know what Is going on.
because we live In a laxative world,
full Of statistics, full of congressional
inquiries. full of trials Of persons who
have attempted to live independently
Of the statutes Of the United States.
and so a great many things have come
to light under oath, which we must be
heve upon the credibility Of the wit
nesses who are, indeed, In many In
OsoA~SS vSAy ShAAhCub dhu tScpSSbubtS
witnesses.
take my stand absolutely where
every progressive ought to take his
stand. on the proposition that private
monopoly Is ~indefensible and intoler
able. And there ! will fight my battle
You will notice from a recent inves-
tigation that things like this take
place: A certain bank invests In GER
tain securities. 1t appears from EVIL
dence that the handling Of these se-
curities was very intimately connected
with the maintenance Of the price of a
particular commodity. Nobody ought
to and, In normal circumstances, no
body would for a moment think of U
pecting managers of a grent bank Of
making such an investment In order to
help those who were conducting a par,
ticular business In the United States
maintain the price of their commodity,
but the circumstances are not normal.
e = beginning to be believed that IN
the big business Of this country moth
Ing = disconnected from anything else
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