The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1927-05-13
ELEMENTS OF POLITICAL EDU-
CATION
Continued from last week.
9. WHAT is A CAPITALIST TRUST?

welded together into one economic whole and are
merged without residue into one tremendous en-
terprise losing every sort of independence what
sover. In the formation of trust, all the capital
of the respective enterprises is de-personalized
E., it is transformed into single mass of CAPT
tai which is administered by the single managing
board standing at the head of the trust, consisting
Of the biggest stockholders of the trust. The sep
arate capitalist-entrepreneur disappear and be-
come the stockholders of the trust
The formation of trust means not only the
complete commercial, but also the technical merg
ing of the enterprises. The trust with the aim
of raising productivity and increasing profits,
delves into condition of production and the tech
nical side of all the enterprises, makes curtail-
ments, extensions, and re-groupings within them
divisions of labor, etc. and when necessary shuts
down those badly-equipped or for some other rea-
son less advantageous.
20. WHAT INFLUENCE HAVE THE CARTEI4S,
SYNDICATES, AND TRUSTS UPON COM
PETITION?
Competition within cartels, syndicates and trusts
stops soon as they are formed Similarly, they
lead to the lessening or even to the complete alb
sence of competition those markets on which
they appear with their commodities This domin-
alton over the market depends before everything
on the number of enterprises of or another
branch of industry that have entered into the
various alliances, the number of these alliances,
and whether there still many enterprises out
side the alliances and unions.
The interest of the capitalists brings them fin
ally to the condition where in every branch of in
dustry the overwhelming majority of enterprises
are allied or united into one or a few trusts or
syndcates, and these are complete monopolists and
lords of the market and have the very broadest
possibilities of imposing prices upon the consum-
ers.
Such trusts and syndicates which hold the mar
ket in their hands and dictate their prices to it.
are called mOnopoists, e., unlimited lords of the
market.
AT first syndicates and trusts generally take
the form of alliances and unions of similar enter
prises only; enterprises of one and the same
branch of industry (e. g., steel, oil, sugar. etc.
AT this stage the syndicates and trusts do not
comprise different branches of industry There
fore, between syndicates and trusts within each
separate country struggle is going on over prices
and profits.
AT a latter stage of development, syndicates
and trusts become complex, or combined. i. G..
there enter into alliances enterprises and groups
OF different and even of several branches of in
dustry. An example of such combined trusts
would be trust embracing metallurgical plants
(lron 1oundries, steel mills, etc. with coal mines
supplying the coal for the metallurgical enter
prises, and machine works, getting the metal on
which they work from the metallurgical plants.
Combination often takes place along the line of
uniting within trust transport, as well as indus
trial enterprises. For example, the oil and coal
trusts embrace gigantic railroad and water trans
port enterprises, necessary for the transportation
OF the tremendous masses of liquid and solid fuel
The combined syndicates and trusts represent q
still higher degree of concentration and centralza
ton of capital.
trusts as well as syndicates, are often formed
as result of a more severe struggle between the
capitalist enterprises and groups.
AT the present time in the most develope6 can
tast countries, trusts and syndicates have spread
TO an enormous extent and control the market al
most completely within the biggest bourgeoise
states
Themselves arising out of the struggle with
competition, the trusts and syndicates crushed
competition on the domestic markets and set I'M in
Us stead capitalist monopolies, ie., the cartels.
trusts and syndicates dominating the market.
Inc United States of America is the native
and OF the trusts and syndicates and the country
II their greatest development In the United
states already in 1900 the part of the svndicates
ma trusts IN production was: lin the iron and
steel industry $780, in the chemical industry 81 o.
n paper 500, etc.
Actually all production in America is now con-
'entrated IN the hands of two trusts-oil and
teel' Approximately the same condition is to be
een in other countries also.
In Germany IN 1913, the output of coal in the
1ggest coal region (Rhineland- Westphalia) was
more than 929o concentrated in the hands of one
ynncate; the steel syndicate produced nearly a |
All OF all steel made in the country; the sugar
rust embraced 1919 of all the domestic, and 800
I all foreign sales and so on.
In Russia before the war a number of branches
industry were also in the hands of syndicates.
nus Tor example, the strongest Russian syndi-
ate-" Prodamet' embraced on the eve of the
'ar all the most important metallurgical regions
russia and concentrated $40 of all the struc-
ural IRON and 74@0 of the sheet iron of the whole
mplre Further the Donetz coal; the syndicate
Arovlya" 500 Of all the roof iron; the copper
ynolcate 900 of production; the sugar, the
mole production of sugar, etc.
according to data referring to the beginning of
ne zOth century, One-half Of all the capital of
ne whole world was already at that time in the
ands OF syndicates and trusts
& q e II l.