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 b