§ 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.