With all the Trusts the story is the same. They have slightly cheapened the price of the goods they handle, and have then controlled the market and prevented any further reduction. Each Trust declares that it is a positive benefit to trade, and while it is true that they do employ a vast number of men, and make the best quality of goods at _apparently_ the lowest possible price, it must not be forgotten that the public does not benefit as much as it ought by the low cost of production, and that all small manufacturers are driven out of the business by the enormous power of the Trust. A man who wishes to succeed to-day dare not try to compete with the Trust; he must join it or be boycotted by it; that is to say, if he attempts to undersell the Trust, all retail dealers will be forbidden to buy from him, and he will have no market for his goods. There has been a great outcry against this investigation, and the Trusts are very indignant. They declare that such investigations ruin trade, and make prices higher. To prove this argument, the Sugar Trust has put the price of sugar up an eighth of a cent a pound, or about forty cents a barrel. This is, however, an argument that works both ways. If the Sugar Trust is so powerful that it can revenge itself for the investigation by putting the price of sugar up, it is then too powerful for the welfare of the people, and it shows clearly that it is high time that the government makes an attempt to restrict the power of the Trusts. * * * * * Admiral Bunce and his fleet of warships have been engaged in some very interesting naval practice off Charleston. The especial object of the visit was to see if they could effectually blockade the port. In making their trip down the coast, the fleet ran into a heavy gale off Cape Hatteras, and Admiral Bunce was able to see how the vessels under his command behave in a storm. Arrived off Charleston, the Admiral arranged the fleet in a cordon across the mouth of Charleston harbor, and when night came, ordered the little cruiser _Vesuvius_ to steam out to sea, and then try to steal back into port without being discovered by the big warships that were guarding the harbor. In other words, the _Vesuvius_ was ordered to "run the blockade." In times of war, an enemy will often blockade a port by stationing big ships in such positions that they may prevent any vessels from entering or leaving the port, just as the combined fleets of Europe are preventing the Greek fleet, under Prince George, from entering the harbor of Canea. In our late war the harbor of Charleston was actually blockaded, and vessels were regularly employed as blockade runners, many of them getting through without difficulty, and many having hair-breadth escapes.