It is extremely improbable that, even when officially recognized in this
way, the process of corporate combination would go beyond a certain
point. It might result in a condition similar to that which now prevails
in the steel industry or that of sugar refining; but it should be added
that in industries organized to that extent there is not very much
competition in prices. Prices are usually regulated by agreement among
the leading producers; and competition among the several producers turns
upon quickness of delivery and the quality of the service or product.
Whether or not this restriction of competition works badly depends
usually upon the enlightened shrewdness with which the schedule of rates
and prices is fixed. A corporation management which was thoroughly alive
to its own interest would endeavor to arrange a scale of prices, which,
while affording a sufficient profit, would encourage the increased use
of the product, and that is precisely the policy which has been adopted
by the best managed American railroad and industrial corporations.
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