Having said this, he declares himself powerless to prevent any of the evils which he deplores. He thinks an amendment to the Constitution will be the only real means of remedying the evil, because the Trusts manage their business so cleverly that they avoid doing anything that breaks the law so openly that they can be punished, while all the time they are contriving to disobey and set the laws aside.
One member of his Committee was, however, of opinion that the Sugar Trust had not been fairly dealt with. He presented a report of his own, in which he tried to show that this Trust was of great benefit to the State.
A member of the Albany Legislature has, however, found out a way to stop Trusts.
He has offered a bill making it a crime for a Trust to give any money, property, or thing of value to help any political campaign, or to attempt to bribe Congressmen to vote for its bills. The penalty for doing this will be a very heavy fine and the breaking up of the Trust.
While we are on the subject of Trusts, we must mention a very interesting case which came up the other day.
An action was brought by a workingman against the Knights of Labor, sometimes called the Labor Trust.
The workingman, an engineer named Charles Curran, was employed by the Miller Brewing Company in Rochester.
He was a clever workman, and had a steady job, and good wages.
One day the Knights of Labor called on him, told him that he must join their society, pay the necessary fees, and allow himself to be guided in future by their rules.
They told him that, if he refused, they would see that he was discharged, and make it impossible for him to get further employment.