So long as the question of monopoly is not involved, competition
can always be looked for when a combination is making too great
profits; and the new and competing corporation and individuals
should be protected by law against the danger of price cutting
for the express purpose of driving the new competitor out of
business. However, it must be remembered that a combination acting
unfairly in competition may be more oppressive than a monopoly.
I myself am not convinced by the arguments of either side. It
is a matter for the most serious study.
The object of the American trust has been to destroy its competitors.
The object of the German cartel to force its competitors to join the
cartel.
In fact the government in Germany becomes part of these cartels
and takes an active hand in them, as witness the participation
of the German Government in the potash syndicate, when contracts
made by certain American buyers with German mines were cancelled
and all the potash producing mines of Germany and Austria forced
into one confederation; and witness the attempt by the government,
which I have described in another chapter, to take over and
make a monopoly of the wholesale and retail oil business of the
country.
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