TRUSTS THEIR OWN CORRECTIVE. 743 



teen cents per pound and one half of whatever the syndicate 

 should be able to get above that. The immediate effect of this 

 gigantic conspiracy was that the price of copper in the United 

 States rose from thirteen to sixteen cents per pound. But the syn- 

 dicate did not take the precaution to buy up all the old scrap cop- 

 per in the world, nor all the metals that could be substituted in 

 the arts for copper. Nor did it arrange with those who had been 

 consuming copper that they should use it in the same quantities 

 whatever the price. The result was that the syndicate collapsed, 

 dragging down with it one of the great banking institutions of 

 France, ruining an untold number of individuals, and driving to 

 suicide the man who conceived the undertaking. 



The same points of weakness are apparent in the other combi- 

 nations now before the public. Despite the tremendous power of 

 the sugar trust, it has never been able to control the market for 

 any length of time, as an examination of the prices of sugar for 

 the years of its existence will show. The independent refiners 

 have forced it to reduce its quotations, and later buy their plants 

 up at a high valuation if it wished to escape competition. No 

 sooner has that been done, however, than new refineries have been 

 started, as is the situation at the present time. Obviously there 

 must be an end to this procedure, even for a corporation with such 

 resources as the American Sugar Refining Company has. The 

 same is true of the cordage trust. So strong an opponent of 

 trusts as the New York Commercial Bulletin said of this at the 

 time it was at the height of apparent prosperity : " The enormous 

 profits which the trust is now making can not but lead to the 

 establishment of additional independent plants. These will be in 

 as strong a position for successful competition as has been found 

 to be the case with the independent refiners of sugar. Under 

 these circumstances the present enormous profits made by the 

 cordage trust will not continue." The later fate of this same 

 cordage company is a sad but striking commentary on the weak- 

 nesses to which such enterprises are open. 



It is not contended that these corrective agencies will of them- 

 selves work the downfall of the trusts. That is an impossibility 

 under the present industrial conditions. But they will fix a 

 limit beyond which the trust can not go. Furthermore, they will 

 hasten the overthrow of all those combinations which seek to 

 carry along old and worthless plants and to follow discarded pro- 

 cesses of manufacture and wasteful methods of business. The 

 trust mode of doing business as a means of getting large capital 

 and realizing the economies consequent on extensive production 

 may be a success ; but as a means of practicing extortion upon 

 the public it is doomed to failure. Natural laws, after all, are 

 stronger than the contrivances of man. 



