A Trust is formed that the manufacturers may make a better article at a lower cost—at least, that is what the Trusts say; but the danger is that they may obtain entire control of the market, create a monopoly, and having the public at their mercy, make the prices as high as they please.

A monopoly is the sole power of dealing in any class of goods.

If there were no Trusts controlling the market, no one manufacturer would dare to put his price too high, because another one would instantly step in with lower prices, and take his trade away from him.

This would create what is called competition, because the first manufacturer would not want to lose his trade, and would lower his prices below the second manufacturer. Others would join in, and would continue to cut prices, until the selling price of the article would be brought down to the lowest possible rate at which it can be put on the market.

The public would get the benefit of this competition, and would find the cost of living less.

This competition is the soul of business, because it obliges manufacturers to better the quality of their goods and machinery in order to sell at all; but Trusts do not care to do this, and therefore desire to put a stop to it entirely.

Each Trust has its system of controlling the store-keepers who deal directly with the public, and it makes them agree to sell at such prices as it thinks best.

In this way the prices are kept up, no matter how much they ought to have been lowered through cheap manufacture, or plentiful supply of the material needed to be manufactured.

The money that is made by the cheaper conditions goes into the pockets of the members of the Trust, and they often become enormously rich, through the higher price which they thus force the people to pay.

All the necessary articles of food in daily use are controlled by Trusts.

There is a Sugar Trust, which dictates the exact number of cents a pound you must pay for your sugar. A Coffee Trust, which fixes the price of coffee. It is the Coal Trust which keeps the price of coal so high in winter. There is a Gas Trust, a Salt Trust, a Wall-Paper Trust, and indeed a Trust for almost every necessary and useful article.

You notice probably that the most of the Trusts are producers of articles that we are obliged to use.

If the Coal Barons, as they are called, asked ten dollars a ton for coal, we would still be obliged to use it. We could not go without fires.

If a Meat Trust said our meat was to cost a dollar a pound, we would still have to buy it. Our sugar is another article which we cannot do without, and for which we are obliged to pay whatever price the dealers choose to ask.

Do you see now wherein Trusts are dangerous to us?

The Democrats last fall declared that if their candidate was elected President of the United States, they would make laws whereby the Government should be able to control and regulate Trusts.

The Legislature in Albany, wishing to prevent these combinations from gaining so much power that they become a menace to the public, has appointed a committee to investigate the workings of Trusts.

State Senator Lexow was made Chairman of the committee. He is that Mr. Clarence Lexow, who was chairman of the committee which looked into the way the police were doing their duty a short while ago.

Senator Lexow has come down to New York City with full power to call the officers of the Trusts before him, and make them tell him how they manage their business, how much money it costs them to produce the articles they manufacture, and how much profit they make.

When the inquiry is finished, the committee will report to the Legislature at Albany, which will then decide what action shall be taken.

The Trust Investigating Committee has found out from the Sugar Trust, that the price of sugar has been lowered since the Trust was formed. But it has also been learned that sugar has not been allowed to fall in price as much as it ought to have, and that while sugar is cheaper than it used to be, it could be much cheaper yet, and still pay well for the making.

With all the Trusts the story is the same. They have slightly cheapened the price of the goods they handle, and have then controlled the market and prevented any further reduction.

Each Trust declares that it is a positive benefit to trade, and while it is true that they do employ a vast number of men, and make the best quality of goods at apparently the lowest possible price, it must not be forgotten that the public does not benefit as much as it ought by the low cost of production, and that all small manufacturers are driven out of the business by the enormous power of the Trust.

A man who wishes to succeed to-day dare not try to compete with the Trust; he must join it or be boycotted by it; that is to say, if he attempts to undersell the Trust, all retail dealers will be forbidden to buy from him, and he will have no market for his goods.

There has been a great outcry against this investigation, and the Trusts are very indignant. They declare that such investigations ruin trade, and make prices higher. To prove this argument, the Sugar Trust has put the price of sugar up an eighth of a cent a pound, or about forty cents a barrel.

This is, however, an argument that works both ways. If the Sugar Trust is so powerful that it can revenge itself for the investigation by putting the price of sugar up, it is then too powerful for the welfare of the people, and it shows clearly that it is high time that the government makes an attempt to restrict the power of the Trusts.

Admiral Bunce and his fleet of warships have been engaged in some very interesting naval practice off Charleston.

The especial object of the visit was to see if they could effectually blockade the port.

In making their trip down the coast, the fleet ran into a heavy gale off Cape Hatteras, and Admiral Bunce was able to see how the vessels under his command behave in a storm.

Arrived off Charleston, the Admiral arranged the fleet in a cordon across the mouth of Charleston harbor, and when night came, ordered the little cruiser Vesuvius to steam out to sea, and then try to steal back into port without being discovered by the big warships that were guarding the harbor.

In other words, the Vesuvius was ordered to "run the blockade."

In times of war, an enemy will often blockade a port by stationing big ships in such positions that they may prevent any vessels from entering or leaving the port, just as the combined fleets of Europe are preventing the Greek fleet, under Prince George, from entering the harbor of Canea.

In our late war the harbor of Charleston was actually blockaded, and vessels were regularly employed as blockade runners, many of them getting through without difficulty, and many having hair-breadth escapes.

Страница 4 из 8

Назад 1…3 4 5…8 Далее

The Great Round World and What Is Going On In It, Vol. 1, No. 18, March 11, 1897

AI-разбор доступен после входа

О книге

Читать онлайн

Вам также может понравиться

The Great Round World and What Is Going On In It, Vol. 1, No. 48, October 7, 1897

The Great Round World and What Is Going On In It, Vol. 1, No. 51, October 28, 1897

The Great Round World and What Is Going On In It, Vol. 1, No. 57, December 9, 1897

The Nursery, December 1873, Vol. XIV. No. 6

Little Folks

The Great Round World and What Is Going On In It, Vol. 1, No. 60, December 30, 1897

Dew Drops, Vol. 37, No. 17, April 26, 1914

The Great Round World and What Is Going On In It, Vol. 1, No. 15, February 18, 1897

The Great Round World And What Is Going On In It, Vol. 1, November 4, 1897, No. 52

The Nursery, August 1873, Vol. XIV. No. 2

The Nursery, October 1873, Vol. XIV. No. 4

Dew Drops, Vol. 37, No. 09, March 1, 1914