Mr. Philip Snowden has great independence of mind and it
is refreshing, after .the. unthinking way in which Socialists have for years condemned Trusts, Combines and Cartels out of hand, to read his considered opinions on the subject. He says that nowadays large combina- tions are inevitable because only by their means can there be real economy in production. He sees the risk that a monopoly may raise prices, but he judges from modern experience that the danger is small except in the case of a few articles of luxury. As for wages, he has come to the conclusion that the wage-earners have on the whole nothing to fear from large combinations. Finally, he welcomes combinations because they cross frontiers and - tend, by interlocking the commercial interests of nations, to prevent war. These are very sensible words. The only rational policy is, while accepting combinations to prevent them from becoming a public danger by cultivating a right public under- standing of what their functions are. • * *
Previous page
