Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER II. TRUSTS. Their Origin; Their History of Corruption and Oppres- sion, and Their Diabolical Purposes Exposed. "After being elected to Congress, I lost no time, but immediately began to study the trust question; there was no other question to me but that. I read, investigated and studied, and in every way sought to post myself on the subject. "When the session opened I was on hand. The incidental sights and experiences through which I passed were many. But aside from those which relate to the main subject I will say nothing, though to me they were interesting and exciting enough. "In spite of my previous experiences and investigation, my real study was to commence now. I soon saw and learned much about the inside workings of these institutions; things that a busy public never dreams of. And 1 wish to give the people the benefit of my discoveries. But that none may say I am narrow and give only my own views, I propose to corroborate all I say by public and legal records, reports of commissions, magazines andnewspapers, together with the opinions of leading statesmen, lawyers, business men, etc., etc. "Before touching on the wrongs and abuses of trusts, a brief history and analysis of them is necessary. "The close of the Civil War found the country taking on great industrial and commercial activity. Wonderful business opportunities presented themselves, as the demand for goods and labor was unlimited, owing to the horrible waste of war. "At this time the first large and successful trust was projected, namely, the Standard Oil Trust, the forerunner of many more, rich and powerful, which were to follow in its footsteps. With almost universal success, these trusts have sprung up, flourished and grown to such enormous proportions that our entire indus...