The Life and Adventures of Carl Laemmle (1931)

72 CARL LAEMMLE whether something could not be done about it. He decided that it could. What it might be he could not tell, but the fighting spirit in the man was quickened by a call to action far shriller and more challenging than any that he had heard before. He was convinced on the spot that the Trust was in every way an evil thing, menacing the whole future development of the industry, and proposing to crush competition by a merciless abuse of privilege. The whole character of this new tyranny was corrupt and demoralising — so he believed, and the belief was not captious, but a deep, a passionate conviction. It was not that Laemmle's personal interests were assailed. He was not a big enough man for the Trust to fear as an antagonist, but he was big enough to be welcomed as a confederate. Had he chosen at this time to comply with the Trust's demands, the accommodation would have been very richly rewarded. His refusal was inspired by genuine hatred for what he conceived to be abominable trade morals. He considered the position. On reflection it became clear that the only hope lay in communicating his own sense of injustice to the rank and file of consumers throughout the country. Frontal attack on the Trust was hopeless, indeed there was no way in which it could be launched. But if a spirit of revolt could be organised in the consumers as a body, some effect might be made. It was a strategy that would entail immense courage, pa