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struggle of individuals in a chaos of destruction, with perhaps the emergence of 
one victorious type : at its highest, it is the co-operation of individuals to ensure 
the highest common level of advancement without strife and without destruction. 
Combination in industry belongs in essence to the latter, unrestricted competition 
to the former. No one who has the natural prosperity and the future of our 
industrial civilisation at heart would wish for the former, and yet the prejudice 
against ““ rings” and “ combines ”’ in this country, as far as the basic industries 
are concerned, if it has any thought whatever behind it, belongs directly to it. 
The facts given in this book have been based wholly on the information at 
our disposal, and the observations made on them have been conceived as 
objectively and as impartially as possible. There has been no attempt to distort 
evidence or modify statistics to prove certain doctrines. We have aimed at 
disclosing the truth without elaboration, and, in the Appendices, have furnished 
most of the evidence on which the publication has been based. Other evidence 
of a private nature has been used, but we have subjected every statement to 
close scrutiny so that accuracy should result. The conclusions give the essence 
of the book.