But John Taylor was dead in earnest. He did not smile.
‚ÄúFirst, there‚Äôs England‚ÅÝ‚Äîand all Europe; why not bring them into the trust?‚Äù
‚ÄúPossibly, later; but first, America. Of course, I‚Äôve got my eyes on the European situation and feelers out; but such matters are more difficult and slower of adjustment over there‚ÅÝ‚Äîso damned much law and gospel.‚Äù
“But there’s another side.”
“What’s that?”
‚ÄúYou are planning to combine and control the manufacture of cotton‚ÅÝ‚Äî‚Äù
“Yes.”
“But how about your raw material? The steel trust owns its iron mines.”
‚ÄúOf course‚ÅÝ‚Äîmines could be monopolized and hold the trust up; but our raw material is perfectly safe‚ÅÝ‚Äîfarms growing smaller, farms isolated, and we fixing the price. It‚Äôs a cinch.‚Äù
“Are you sure?” Taylor surveyed him with a narrowed look.
“Certain.”
“I’m not. I’ve been looking up things, and there are three points you’d better study: First, cotton farms are not getting smaller; they’re getting bigger almighty fast, and there’s a big cotton-land monopoly in sight. Second, the banks and wholesale houses in the South can control the cotton output if they work together. Third, watch the Southern ‘Farmers’ League’ of big landlords.”