The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1940-12-11
FROM EDITORIAL COLUMNS
What Does Main Street Think?

What Does Main Street Think?
The economic thought the small business man
has always been subject of major interest
fairs Not only of the country most well known authors
also its most conservative writer Mark dis
cussed the subject in detail In his monumental ve-voume
study America at the turn of the century, he devotes
entire 500 book to the problem the little
he faced with the growing corporation The author gives
La popular journalistic of the findings by
writer's they traced in the everyday actions the people
The New York HeraldTribune writer describes in detail
the growth of the Standard Oil interests
Teller first began selling OIL how he dealt with the railroads
in manner which demanded curbng national legislation how
the monopoly of black gold founded how the smaller
interests smothered by the of the Standard Oil
company history prior to 900 and Sullivan
writes of from point thirty later development
hardly looked phenomena when it tax
ling place But three decades later writers and thinkers
beginning realize the significance of what had taken place
The history of this single financial empire of oil quite apty
foretod the development of other lines of
activity The industrial and financial world have followed
similar pattern IN virtually every sphere which has been care
fully studied The result is that today all America organ
lied around the idea of control Even youth
30 recall the profound change that has taken place
within his lifetime If we go to large city today and
tras affairs with the of Is there is dis
cernable marked difference Then had small branch
independent banks in the neghborhood communities
have few large banks all located downtown Fifteen
the little and individual owned theaer floursed
the side; today they eliminated or
brought into the large theaer chain organizations
had countless small artisans the shoemaker mechanic car
pente plumber plying their trade the community which
they lived they followed their small business
basis Today that independent craftsman has largely been
One could list example after example illustrate that the
small businessman independent OPERATOR and little tradesman
has largely been wiped in the larger develop
ment has been also noted in the rural and will surely
noticed in the These suggest
economic unit this or any modern nation is directed by
large centralized organizations In word the Standard Oil
company dictates price and practice the oil ndusy
s. Steel dominates the manufactng ndusy General Electric
makes law for the electrical industry the world around and
General Foods determines the price and quality of large
cenage of the foodsuffs made in this nation This
cpe operates all down the line and the corporate octopus
BODY
This implies that where the small has
already eliminated by the larger interests he is now
qumng under the applied by that mighty thumb
of the brief history here suggested even casual
glance present day American life would show that the little
town business man and the small operator have nothing in
against another much Cain and Abel Big business
bent enlargng its sphere of
possible to wipe out the small business man.
Nothing that one write alter that fact for
today taking place in community and hamlet these
United States Considering thls could well view the at
titude of the small business larger interests
And irony of rone here find the little try
clutch that his that absorbed
trying gobbe him up All that reasonable up to
this point falls aside If goes up down the land you
find the little operator defending the very interests that would
smother him. He chps 1--WE defend the right
free business keep the it's sphere
of the big business he money
sh labor to private
enterprise and give orders to the
while he uphods the corporation, bngo chops
The concentrated economic interests ruthessy on
CARELESS worship of the small business man. They are
ahead irrespective of the that the small
them with methOdca the big oil
uggle the price to clean the margin
to make impossible for little operator to
carry And in similar other major corporations in
other fields juggle their markets. prices and supplies to
wipe out the little business
We have illusion about the little business man. they
to helped they alone will do the lob No kind
benevolent big going to boost them
oery We have only this appreciation the subject an I'M
Outstanding which verified by the experience of
and Germany and France before this
he Scandinavian countries and by countless other nations
which have sought to throttle the control of big business
+,o+o rrootor
that organized labor create greater
purchasing and thus helps the little OPERATOR that
control needed when corporation becomes too
powerful and, that generally speaking business
hardly benefits his interest when to
giant big business that is trying to devour
county Free Press. f
is