Regarding, then, the development of the capitalist system from the first establishment of the capitalist-employer as a distinct industrial class, we trace the massing of capital in larger and larger competing forms, the number of which represents a pyramid growing narrower as it ascends towards an ideal apex, represented by the absolute unity or identity of interests of the capital in a given trade.  In so far as the interests of different trades may clash, we might carry on this movement further, and trace the gradual agreement, integration, and fusion of the capitals represented in various trades.  There is, in fact, an ever-growing understanding and union between the various forms of capital in a country.  The recognition of this ultimate identity of interest must be regarded as a constant force making for the unification of the whole capital of a country, in the same way as the common interests of directly competing capitals in the same trade leads to a union for mutual support and ultimate identification.

Sec. 4.  Uses and Abuses of the Trust.—­This, however, carries us beyond the immediate industrial outlook.  The successful formation of the Trust represents the highest reach of capitalistic evolution.  Although the subject is too involved for any lengthy discussion here, a few points bearing on the nature of the Trust deserve attention.

The Trust is clearly seen to be a natural step in the evolution of capital.  It belongs to the industrial progress of the day, and must not be condemned as if it were a retrograde or evil thing.  It is distinctly an attempt to introduce order into chaos, to save the waste of war, to organize an industry.  The Trust-makers often claim that their line of action is both necessary and socially beneficial, and urge the following points—­

The low rates of profit, owing to the miscalculation of competitors who establish too many factories and glut the market; the waste of energy in the work of competition; the adulteration of goods induced by the desire to undersell; the enormous royalties which must be paid to a competitor who has secured some new invention—­these and other causes necessitate some common action.  By the united action of the Trust the following economic advantages are gained—­

  a.  The saving of the labour and the waste of competition.

  b.  Economy in buying and selling, in discovering and establishing new
  markets.

  c.  The maintenance of a good quality of wares without fear of being
  undersold.

  d.  Mutual guarantee and insurance against losses.

  e.  The closing of works which are disadvantageously placed or are
  otherwise unnecessary to furnish the requisite supply at profitable
  prices.

  f.  The raising of prices to a level which will give a living basis of
  steady production and profit.