,1: J
-mm
Annual Message Deals
With One Subject.
DEFENDS DECISIONS OF COURT
, In Cases of Standard Oil and
Tobacco ComDanies.
THINKS AMENDMENTS NEEDED
Believes Present Statutes Good as Far
as They Go but Suggests Supple
mental Legislation For Fed
eral Corporation Law.
Washington, Dec. 6 President
Taft's annual message, which was read
In both houses of congress today, deals
exclusively with the anti-trust statute.
The full text of the message Is as fol
lows: To the Senate and House of Repre
sentatives: This message Is the first
of several which 1 shall send to con
gress during the Interval between the
opening of Its regular session and Its
adjournment for the Christmas holi
days. The amount of Information to be
communicated as to the operations of
the government, the number of Impor
tant subjects calling for comment by
the executive, and the transmission to
congress of exhaustive reports by spe
cial commissions, make It Impossible
to Include In one message of a reason
able length a discussion of the topics
that ought to be brought to the atten
tlon of the national legislature at Its
Cm regular session.
The Anti-Trust Law The Supreme
Court Decisions.
In May last the Supreme court hand
ed down decisions In the suits In
equity brought by the United States to
enjoin the further maintenance of the
Standard Oil trust and of the Amerl
can Tobacco trust, and to secure their
dissolution. The decisions are epoch
making and serve to advise the busl-
dhss world authoritatively of the scope
and operation of the anti-trust act of
1890. The decisions do not depart In
any substantial way from the previous
decisions of the court In construing
and applying this Important statute
but they clarify those Important decl
ions by further defining the already
admitted exceptions to the literal con
struction of the act. By the decrees
they furnish a useful precedent as to
the proper method of dealing with the
capital and property of Illegal trusts.
These decisions suggest the tiepd and
wisdom of additional or supplemental
legislation to make It easier lor the
entire business community to square
with the rule of action and legality
thus Anally established and to preserve
the benefit, freedom and Bpur of rea
sonable compel Itlon without loss of
real efficiency or progress.
No Change In the Rule of Decision
Merely In Its Form of Expression.
The statute In its first section de
clares to be Illegal "every contract,
combination In the form of trust or
otherwise, or conspiracy. In restraint
of trade or commerce among the sev
eral states or with foreign nations,"
and in the second, declares guilty of a
misdemeanor every person who shall
monopolize or attempt to monopolize
or combine or conspire with any other
person to monopolize any part of the
trade or commerce of the several
states or with foreign nations."
In two early cases, where the statute
v.as Invoked to enjoin a transportation
agreement between Interstate railroad
companies, It was held that It was no
ticfense to show that the agreement as
to rates complained of was reasonal
at common law, because It was said
that the statute was directed ugalnst
all contracts and combinations In re
straint of trade wheiher reasons! at
common law or not. It was plain frcm
the record, however, that the contracts
complained of In those cases would
not have been deemed reasonable at
common law. In subsequent cases the
court said that the statute should be
given a reasonal construction and re
fused to Include within Its inhibition
certain contractual restraints of trade
which It dominated as Incidental or as
Indirect.
These cases of restraint of trade that
the court excepted from the operation
of the statute were Instances which, at
common law, would have been called
reasonable In the Standard Oil and
Tobacco cases, therefore, the court
merely adopted the tests of the com
mon law, and In defining exceptions to
the literal application of the statute,
only substituted for the test of being
Incidental or Indirect, that of being
reasonable and this, without varying
In the slightest the actual scope and
effect of the statute In other words,
all the cases undor the statute which
have now been decided would have
been decided the same way If the court
hud originally accepted In Its construc
tion the rule at common law
It has been said that the court, by
Introducing Into the construction t
Bargains.
"Once I could havn bought the site
oi Chicago for $100 In Mexican
money."
"I know bow It Is, old chap. I nad
a chance to buy a beefsteak once for
11 cents a pound " '
Premature.
Stage Hero (In backwoods town)
At last, fair Gwendolyn, we are alone.
Lone Member of Audience Not yet.
Call It off till the end of this act. I'm
KPing then.
the statute common law distinctions,
has emasculated tt. This Is obvlouBly
untrue. By Its Judgment every con
tract and combination In restraint of
Interstate trade made with the purpose
or necessary effoct of controlling prices
by stifling competition, or of establish
ing In whole or In part a monopoly of
such trade, Is condemned by the stat
ute. The most extreme critics cannot
instance a case that ought to be con
demned under the statute wblcb Is not
brought within its terms as thus con
strued. The suggestion Is also made that the
Supreme court by Its decision In the
last two cases has committed to the
court the undefined and unlimited dis
cretion to determine whether a case
of restraint of trade Is within the
terms of the statute. This Is wholly
untrue.' A reasonable restraint of
trade at common law Is well under
stood and Is clearly defined. It does
not rcBt In the discretion of the court.
It must be limited to accomplish the
purpose of a lawful main contract to
which, In order that It shall he en
forceable at all, It must be Incidental.
If It exceeds the needs of that contract
It Is void.
The test of reasonableness was
never applied by the court at common-law
to contracts or combinations
or conspiracies In restraint of trade
whose purpose was or whose neces
sary effect would be to Btlfle competi
tion, to control prices, or establish
monopolies. The courts never as
sumed power to say that such con
tracts or combinations or conspira
cies might be lawful If the parties to
them were only moderate In the use
of the power thus secured and did
not exact from the public too great
and exorbitant prices. It Is true
that, many theorists, and others en
gaged In business violating the
statue, have hoped that some such
line could be drawn by courts: but
no court of authority has ever at
tempted It. Certainly there Is noth
Ing In the decisions of the latest two
cases which should be a dangerous
theory of Judicial discretion In en
forcing this statue can derive the
slightest sanction.
-
Force and Effectiveness of Statute a
Matter of Growth.
We have been twenty-one years
making this statue effective for the
purposes for which it was enacted.
The Knight case was discouraging
and seemed to remit to the states the
whole avallnble power to attack and
suppress the evils of the trusts.
Slowly, however, the errors of that
Judgment was corrected, and only In
the InBt three or four years has the
heavy hand of the law been laid upon
the great illegal combinations that
have exercised finch an absolute do
minion over many of our Industries.
Criminal prosecutions have been
brought and a number are pending,
but Juries have felt averse to convict
ing for Jail sentences, and Judges have
been most reluctant to Impose such sen
tences on men of respectable standing
In society whose offense has been
regarded as merely statutory. Still,
, as the offense becomes better under
stood and the committing of It 'par
takes more of studied and deliberate
defiance of the law. we con be confi
dent that Juries will convict Individ
uals and that Jail sentences will be
Imposed.
The Remedy In Equity by Dissolution.
In the Standard Oil case the Su
preme and circuit courts found' the
combination to be a monopoly of the
Interstate business of refining, trans
porting, and marketing petroleum and
its products, effected and maintained
through thirty-seven different cor
porations, the stock of which was
held bv a New Jersey company. It
In effect commanded the dissolution
of this combination, directed the
transfer and pro-rata distribution by
the New Jersey company of the
stock held by It In the thirty-seven
rorporatlcns to and among Its stock
holders, and the corporations and In
dividual defendants were enjoined
from conspiring or combining to re
store such monopoly; and all agree
ments between the subsidiary corpor
atlons tending to produce or bring
about further violations of the net
were enjoined
In the Tobacco case, the court
found that the Individual defendants,
twenty-nine In number, had been en
gnged In a successful effort to ac
quire complete dominion over the
manufacture, sale, and distribution of
tobacco In this country and abroad,
nnd that this had been done by com
binations made with a purpose and
effect to stifle competition, control
prices, and establish a monopoly, not
only In the manufacture of tobacco,
but also of tin foil and licorice used
In Its manufacture and of Its products
of cigars, cigarettes, and snuffs The
tohaf-co suit presented a far more
complicated nnd difficult case than
the Standard Oil suit for a decree
which would efectuate ihe will of the
court and end the violation of the
statute There wns here no single
holding company as In the case of
the Stnndnrd Oil trust. The main
company was the American Tobacco
rcnipany. a manufacturing, selling,
nnd ho'dlng company The plan
adopted to destroy the combination
nnd restore competition Involved the
redlvlslon of the capital and plants
of the whole trust hetwren some of
the companies constituting the trust
and now companies organized for the
purposes of the decree and made
parties to It. and numbering, new and
old. fourteen.
Situation After Readjustment.
The American Tobacco company
(old) radjusted capital. $92,000,000;
the Liggett and Meyers Tobacco com
pany (new) capital, $117,000,000; the
P Lorlllnrd compnny (new) capital,
$17,000,000, and the R. J Reynolds
Tobacco compnny (old) capital. $7,
625.000. nre chiefly engaged In the
Unlikely to Pass.
"Can't you settle this bill today,
sir'" asked the tailor of the delinquent
senator.
"No, Shears; It wouldn't be parlia
mentary. I've merely glanced over It.
you know, and I can't pass a bill until
after its third reading." Judge.
Monkeys.
There ts a Chinese proverb which
says a monkey may occupy a throne.
A monkey may alBO pay for a cham
pagne dinner.
manufacture and sale of chewing and
smokiug tobacco and cigars. The
tormer one tln-foll company Is di
vided Into two, one of $825,000 cap
ital and the other of $400,000. The
one snuff company . Is divided Into
three companies, one with a capital
of $15,000,000; another with a cap
ital of $8,000,000; and a third with a
capital of $8,000,000. The licorice
companies are two, one with a cap
ital of $5,758,00 and another with a
capital of $2,000,000. There Is, also.
the British-American Tobacco com
pany, a British corporation, doing
business abroad with a capital of
$26,000,000, the Porto Rlcan Tobac
co company with a capital of
$1,800,000, and the corporation of
United Cigar Stores, with a capital
of $9,000,000. Under this arrange
ment each of the different kinds of
business will be distributed between
two or more companies, with a di
vision of the prominent brands In the
same tobacco products, so as to make
competition not only possible but
necessary. Thus the smoking tobac
co business of the country Is divided
so that the present Independent com
panies have 21.39 per cent., while the
American Tobacco company will have
33.0K per cent., the Liggett and
Meyers 20.05 per cent., the Lorlllard
company 22.82 per cent., and the
Reynolds company 2 66 per cent. The
stock of the other thirteen companies,
both preferred and common, has been
taken from the defendant American
Tobacco company and has been dls
trlbuted among Its stockholders. All
covenants restricting competition have
been declared null and further per
formance of them bus been enjoined.
The preferred stock of the different
companies has now b-en given vot
ing power which was denied It under
the old organization. T;'e ratio of
the preferred stock to the common
was as 78 to 40. This constitutes a
very decided change In the character
of the ownership and control of
each company.
In the original suit '.here were twenty-nine
defendants who were charged
with being the conspirators through
whom the Illegal combination acquired
and exercised Its unlawful dominion.
Under the decree these defendants
will hold amounts of stock In the va
rious distributee companies ranging
from 41 per cent, as a maximum to
28 H per cent os a minimum, except
in the case of one small company, the
Porto I'.Ican Tobacco company. In
which they will hold 45 per cent. The
twenty-nine Individual defendants are
enjoined for three years from buying
any stock except from each other,
and the group U thus prevented from
extending Its control during that pe
riod. All parties to 'be suit, and the
new companies who are made parties,
are enjoined perpetually from In any
way effecting any combination be
tween any of the companies In viola
tlon of the statute by way of resump
tion of the old trust. Each of the
fourteen companies Is enjoined from
acquiring stock In any of the others
All these companies are enjoined from
having common directors or officers
or common buying or selling agents,
or common offices, or lending money
to each other'.
Size of New Companies.
Objection was made by certain in
dependent tobacco companies that this
settlement was unjust because it left
companies with very large capital In
active business, and that the Betlle
ment that would be effective to put all
on an -equality would be a division of
the capital and plant of the trust into
small factions lu amount more nearly
equal to that of each of the Independ
ent companies This contention re
sults from a nilsunderttandlng of the
anti-trust law and Its purpose. It Is
not l.n tender" thereby to prevent the
accumulation of large capital In busi
ness enterprises In which s'icb a com
bination can secure reduced cost of
production, sale and distribution It
Is directed ag-ilnst such an aggrega
tion of cupltnl only when Its purpose
Is that. of stilling competition, enhanc
ing or controlling prices nnd estab
llshlng a monopoly. If w'e shall have
by the decree defeated these purpofcs
and restored competition between the
large units Into which the capital and
p'ant have been divided, we shall have
accomplished the imeful purpose of
the statute.
Confiscation Not the Purpose of the
Statute.
It Is not the purpose of the statute
to confiscate the property and capital
of the offending -mists. Methods of
punishment by fine or Imprisonment
of the Individual offenders, by fine of
the corporation, or by forfeiture of Its
goods In transportation, are provided,
but the proceeding In equity Is a spe
cific remedy to stop the operation of
the trust by Injunction and prevent
the future use of the plant and capital
In violation of the statute
Effectiveness of Decree.
I venture to say that not lu the his
tory of American law has a decree
more effective for such a purpose
been entered by a court than that
against the Tobacco trust As Circuit
Judge Noyes said In his judgment ap
proving the decree:
"The extent to which I' has teen
necessary to tear apart this combina
tion and force It Into new furmB with
the attendant burdens ought to dem
onstrate that the federal anti-trust
statute Is a drastic statute which ac
complishes effective results; which so
long as It stands on the Ftatute hooks
miiBt be ebeyed and which cannot
bo disobeyed without Incurring far
reaching penalties. And, on the oth
er hand, the successful reconstruction
of this organization should teach that
the effect of enforcing this statute is
not to destroy, but to reconstruct; not
to demolish but' to recreate In ac
cordance with the conditions which
the congress has declared shall exist
Where We Are Strong.
We may be derelict In safeguarding
hurilun life, but no people on earth
can equal the moral fervor with which
we hunt for the responsible man aft
er the event New York Evening
Post.
Useful Railroad Device.
Connecting a hinged step with the
airbrake system, an Englishman has
Invented a device to prevent a train
starting while a passenger Is alighting
Iroiu or boarding a car. -
among the people of the United
States."
Common-Stock Ownership.
It has been assumed that the pres
ent pro-rata and common ownership
In all these companies by former
stockholders of the trust would Insure
a continuance of the same old single
control of all the companies Into
which the trust has by decree been
disintegrated. This Is erroneous and
Is based upon the assumed Inefllcacy
and Innocuoiisness of judicial Injunc
tions. The companies are enjoined
from co-operation or combination;
they have different managers, direc
tors, purchasing and Bales agents If
all or any of the numerous stockhold
ers, reaching Into the thousands, at
tempt to secure concerted action of
the companies with a view to the con
trol of the market, their number Is so
large thnt such an attempt could not
well be concealed and Its prime mov
ers and all Its participants would be
at once subject to contempt proceed
ings nnd Imprisonment of a summary
character. The Immediate result of
the present situation will necessarily
be activity by all the companies un
der different munagers, and then com
petition must follow, or there will
be activity by one company and stag
nation by another. Only a short time
will Inevitably lead to a change In
ownership of the stock, as all oppor
tunity for continued co-operation must
disappear. Those critics who speak
of this disintegration In the trust as
a mere change of garments have not
given consideration to the Inevitable
working of the decree and understand
ittle the personal danger of attempt
ing to evade or set at naught the sol
emn Injunction of a court whpse ob
Ject Is made plain by the decree and
whose Inhibitions are set forth with a
detail and comprehensiveness unex
ampled In the history of equity Juris
prudence. The efTect of these two decisions has
led to decrees dissolving the comblna
tlon of manufacturers of electric lamps,
a southern wholesale grocers' assocla
tlon, an Interlocutory decree against
the powder trust with directions by
the circuit court compelling dlssolu
tlon, and other combinations of a slm
liar history are now negotiating with
Ihe department of justice looking to a
disintegration uy uecree u wn
Izatlon In accordance with law. It
seems possible to bring about these re
organizations without general business
disturbance.
Movement for Repeal of the Anti-Trust
Law.
But now that the' anti-trust act Is
seen to be effective for the accomplish
ment of the purpose of Its enactment.
we are met by a cry from many differ
ent quarters for Its repeal. It Is said
to be obstructive of business progress,
to be an attempt to restore old fash
ioned methods of destructive competl
tlon between small units, and to make
Impossible those useful combinations
of capital and the reduction of the cost
of production that are essential to con
tinued prosperity and normal growtn.
In the recent decisions the Supreme
court makes clear that there is noth
ing in the statute which condemns
combinations of capital or mere big
ness of plant organized to secure
economy in production and a reduc
tion of Its cost. It Is only when the
ptirHjse or necesBary effect of the or
ganization and maintenance of the
combination or the aggregation of im
mense sizo are the stifling of competi
tion, actual and potential, and the en
hancing of prices and establishing a
monopoly, that the statute Is violated
Mere size Is no sin against the law.
The merging of two or more business
plants necessarily eliminates competl
tlon between the units thus combined,
hut this elimination Is In contravention
of the statute only when the comblna
tion la made for purpose of ending this
particular competition In order to se
cure control of. and enhance, prices
and create a monopoly.
Lack of Definiteness In the Statute.
The complaint Is made of the statute
thut It Is not sufficiently definite In
Its description of that which Is forbH-
den, to enable business men to avoid
Its violation. Tho suggestion Is, that
ve may have a combination of two
corporations, which may run on for
years, and that subsequently the attor
ney general may couclude that It was
a violation of the statute, and that
which was supisised by the combiners
to be Innocent then tums out to be a
combination lu violation of tho stat
ute. The answer to this hypothetical
case Is that when men attempt to
amass stupendous capital as will en
able them to suppress competition,
control prices and establish a monop
oly they know the purpose of their
acts. Men do not do such a thing
without having It clenrly In mind. If
what they do Is merely for the purpose
of reducing the cost of production,
without the thought of suppressing
competition by use of the bigness of
the plant they are creating, then they
cannot be convicted at the time the
union Is made, nor can they be con
victed later, unless It happen that later
on they conclude to suppress competi
tion and take the usual methods for
doing so, and thus establish for them
selves a monopoly. They can, In such
a case, hardly complain If the motive
which subsequently Is disclosed Is at
trlbuted by the court to the original
combination.
New Remedies Suggested.
Much Is said of the repeal of this
statute and of constructive legislation
intended to accomplish the purpose
and blaze a clear pnth for honest mer
chants and business men to follow. It
may be that such a plan will be
evolved, but I submit that the discus
sions which have been brought out In
recent days by the fear of the con
tinued execution of the anti-trust law
have produced nothing but glittering
generalities nnd have offered no line
of distinction or rule of action as
A Neat Device.
"The governments which have re
bellions on their hands ought to es
tablish a toboggan syBtem In their ar
mies." "What good would that do?"
"It would mako It fasy for thera to
Bhoot the Insurgents down."
Concordance Due to Monks.
Nearly every bible today has a con
cordunce at the back The first con
cordance was prepared by French
monks n the vnar 1247.
denn'.te and as c!ear as that wh'cb the
Surreme court Itself lays down lu en
ftrclug the statute.
Supplemental Legislation Needed Not
Repeal or Amendment.
1 see o objection and Indeed I can
see decided advantages lu the enact
ment of a law which shall describe and
denounce methods of competition,
which are uufalr and are budges of the
unlawful purpose denounced In the
anti trust law. The attempt and pur
pose to BuppresB a competitor by un
derselling him at a price so unprofit
able as to drive him out of business,
or the making of exclusive contracts
with customers under which they are
required to give up association with
other manufacturers, and numerous
kindred methods for stilling competi
tion and effecting monopoly, should be
described with sufficient accuracy In a
criminal statute on the ono hand to
enable the government to shorten Us
tusk by prosecuting single misde
meanors Instead of an entire con
splracy, and, on the other hand, to
serve the purpose of pointing out
more in detail to the business com
munity what must be avoided.
Federal Incorporation Recommended.
In a special message to congress
on January 7, 1910, I ventured to
point out the disturbance to business
that would probably attend tho disso
lution of these offending trusts I
said:
"But such an Investigation and pos
sible prosecution of corporations
whose prosperity or destruction affects
the comfort not only of stockholders
but of millions of wage earners, em
ployes, and associated tradesmen must
necessarily tend to disturb the con
fidence of the business community,
to dry up the now flowing sources of
capital from Its places of hoarding,
and produce a halt In our present
prosperity that will cause suffering
and strained circumstances among
the Innocence ninny for the faults of
the guilty few. The question which
I wish In this message to bring clear
ly to the consideration and discus
sion of congress Is whether. In order
to avoid such a possible business
danger, something cannot be done by
which these business combinations
may be offered a means, without great
financial disturbance, of chnnglng the
character, organization, and extent of
their business Into one within the
lines of the law under federal control
and supervision, securing compliance
with the antl-truBt statute.
"Generally, In the Industrial com
binations called 'Trusts.' the prin
cipal business Is the sale of goods In
many states and In foreign markets;
In other words, the Interstate and for
eign business far exceeds the busi
ness done In any one stnte. This
fact will justify the federal govern
ment In granting a federal charter
to such a combination to make and
sell In Interstate and foreign com
merce the products of useful manu
facture under such limitations as will
secure a compliance with the anti
trust law. It Is possible so to frame
e statute that while It offers protec
tion to a federal company against
harmful, vexatious, and unnecessary
Invasion by the states, It shall sub
ject It to reasonable taxation and
control by the states with respect to
Its purely local business
"Corporations organized under this
act should be prohibited from ac
quiring and holding stock In other
corporations (except for special rea
sons, upon approval by the proper
federal authority), thus avoiding the
creation under national auspices of the
holding company with subordinate
corporations in different states, which
has been such an effective agency in
the creation of the great trusts and
monopolies.
"If the prohibition of the anti trust
act against combinations in restraint
of trade is to be effect I v I.- enforced,
It Is essential that tho national gov
ernment shall provide for the creation
of nntlonnl corporations to carry on a
legitimate business throughout the
Unlied States The conflicting laws of
the different states of tho Union with
respect to forelm corporations makes
It difficult, If not impossible, for one
corporation to comply with their re
quirements ho as to carry on business
In a nutnl er of different states."
I renew the recommendation of the
enactment of a general law providing
for the volun'ary formation of cor
porations to engage In trade and com
merce among the states and with for
eign nations. Every argument which
was then advanced for such a law,
and every explanation which was at
that time offered to possible objec
tibns. have been confirmed by our ex
perience Blnce the enforcement of
the anti-trust statute has resulted In
the pctual dissolution of active com
mercial organizations.
It Is even more manifest now than
it wns then that the denunciation of
conspiracies In restraint of trade
should not and does not menn the de
nial of organizations large enough to
be Intrusted with our Interstate and
foreign trade. It has been made more
clear now than It was then that a
purely negative stntute like the anti
trust law may well be supplemented
by specific provisions for the build
ing up and vrcgulatlon of legitimate
national and foreign commerce.
Government Administrative Experts
Needed to Aid Courts In Trust
Dissolutions.
The drafting of tho decrees In the
dissolution of the present trusts, with
a view to their reorganization Into
legitimate corporations, has made It
especially apparent that the courts
are not provided with the administra
tive machinery to make the neces
sary Inquiries preparatory to re
organization, or to pursue such In
quiries, nnd they should be empow
ered to Invoke the aid of the bureau
of corporations In determining the
suitable reorganization of the disin
Apologetic.
Hospitable Carter (arter borrowing
a match from stranger to whom he
has offered a lift) "Y'see, I b'alnt al
lowed f 'ave no matches when I be
cartln' blarstin' powder fur them old
quarries up along "Punch.
Both Lose.
When an election bet Is paid by the
loser trundling the winner In a wheel
barrow one Is never sure which party
to the wager deserves the greatest
svniDathv Cincinnati Times-Star.
tegrating parts. The circuit court
and the attorney general were great
ly aided In framing the decree In the
tobacco trust dissolution by an ex
pert from the bureau of corporations.
Federal Corporation Commission Pro
posed. I do not set forth In detail the terms
and sections of a statute which might
supply the constructive legislation per
mitting and aiding the formation of
combinations of capital Intofederal
corporations. They should be subject
to rigid rules as to their organization
and procedure, Including effective pub
licity, and to the closest supervision as
to the Issue of stock and bonds by an
executive bureau or commission In the
department of commerce and labor, to
which In times of doubt they might
well submit their proposed plans for
future business. It must be distinctly
understood that Incorporation under a
federal law could not exempt the com
pany thus formed and Its Incorporators
and managers from prosecution under
the anti-trust law for subsequent Ille
gal conduct, but the publicity of Its
procedure and the opportunity for fre
quent consultation with the bureau or
commission in charge of the Incorpora
tion an to the legltlmnte purpose of Its
transactions would offer It as great se-'
curlty against successful prosecutions
for violations of the law as would be
practical or wise.
Such a bureau or commission might
well be Invested also with the duty al
ready referred to, of aiding courts In
the dissolution and recreation of trusts
within the law. It should be an execu
tive tribunal of the dignity and power
of the comptroller of the currency or
the Interstate commerce commission,
which now exercise supervisory power
over Important classes of corporations
under federal regulation.
The drafting of such a federal Incor
poration law rfould offer ample oppor
tunity to prevent many manifest evils
in corporate management today, In
cluding Irresponsibility of control In
the hands of the few who are not the
real owners.
Incorporation Voluntary,
I recommend that the federal char
ters thus to be granted shall be volun
tary, at least until experience Justifies
mandatory provisions. The benefit to
be derived rrom the operation of great
businesses under the protection of
Buch a charter would attract all who
are anxious to keep within tee lines
of the law Other large combinations
that fall to take advantage of the fed
eral Incorporation will not have a
right to complain If their failure Is
ascribed to unwillingness to submit
their transactions to the careful scru
tiny, competent supervision and pub
licity attendant upon the enjoyment
of such a charter
Supplemental Legislation Needed.
The opportunity thus suggested for
federal Incorporation, It seems to me,
Is suitable constructive legislation
needed to facilitate the squaring of
great Industrial enterprises to the rule
of action laid down by the anti trust
law. This statute Is construed by
the Supreme court must continue to
be the line of distinction for legiti
mate business. It must be enforced,
unless we are to banish Individualism
from all huslness nnd reduce It to one
common system of regulation or con
trol of prices like that which now pre
vails with respect to public utilities,
and which when applied to all busi
ness would be a long step toward state
socialism.
Importance of the Anti-Trust Act.
The anti trust act Is the expression
of the effort of a freedom-loving peo
ple to preserve equality of opportun
ity It is the result or the confident
determination of such a people to
maintain their future growth by pre
serving uncontrolled and unrestricted
the enterprise of the Individual, bis
Ingenuity. hlB Intelligence and bis In
dependent courage.
For twenty yenrs or more this stat
ute hns been upon 'the statute book.
All knew of Its general purpose and
approved. Many of Its violators were
cynical over Its assumed Impotence.
It seemed Impossible of enforce
ment. Slowly the mills of the courts
ground, and only gradually did the ma
jesty of the law assert Itself. Many
of Its statesmen-authors died before it
became a llvlrg force, and they and
others saw the evil grow which they
had hoped to destroy Now. Its effi
cacy Is seen; now Its power Is heavy;
now Its object Is near achievement.
Naw we hear the call for Its repeal on
the plea that It Interferes with busi
ness prosperity, and we are advised In
most general terms how, by some
other statute and In some other way.
the evil we are Just stamping out can
be cured, If we only abandon this work
of twenty years and try another ex
periment for another term of years.
It is snld that the act has not done
good. Can this be said in the face of
the effect of the Northern Securities
decree?
That decree was in no way so dras
tic or inhlbltlve In detail as either the
Standard Oil decree or the tobacco de
cree: but did It not stop for all time
the then powerful movement toward
the control or all the railroads or the
country in a single hand?
Such a one-man power could not
have been a healthful Instance In the
republic, even though exercised under
the general supervision of an. Inter
state commission.
Do we desire to make such ruthless
combinations and monopolies lawful?
When all energies are directed, not
toward the reduction of the cost of
production ror the public benefit by a
healthful competition, but toward new
ways and means for making perma
nent In a few hands the absolute con
trol or the conditions and prices pre
vailing In the whole field of Industry,
then Individual enterprise and effort
will he paralyzed and the spirit of
commercial freedom will be dead.
VM. II- TAFT.
Fitted for the Battle.
"Well, boy, what do you know? Can
you write a business letter? Can you
do sums?"
"Please, sir," said the applicant for
a Job, "we didn't go In very much for
thoBe siudles at our school. But I'm
fine on bcadwork or clay modeling.
Inequality Necessary.
If everybody were like everybody
else, the world would be as dull as the
dead and as unbearable as the grav
araveyerd.
W. L DOUGLAS' TRUST PLAN
Manufacturer Thinks Government
Should Obtain Publicity by a
License 8ystem.
Large business organizations have
come to stay. We cannot go back to
old conditions.. We must meet world
competition. Large concerns can pro
duce goods at lower cost than small
ones. Germany favors large corpora
tions. The method of the present na
tional administration ts to dissolve
the great organizations and make
thera smaller, which Is a backward
step. There should be no limit to a
corporation doing a lurge and legiti
mate business, such as would be pos
sible under the licensing plan wblcb
I favor, writes W. L. Douglas, former
governor of Massachusetts. In the
Boston Herald.
Prejudices against corporations
merely because they nre big, perhaps,
must be done away with. They give
labor better returns. They cheapen
product and thus benefit the consum
er. They give' opportunities to small
Investors who get returns otherwlne
unattainable. Tbcy employ able
young men who have no capital at
all, but who receive ' handsome sal
aries for their ability and service
In place of the Sherman law It Is
my opinion there should be a depart
ment at Washington to grant licenses
to all manufacturers and corporations
In this country who do an interstate
commerce business.
The law should be made so clear,
plain and definite that It could not be
misunderstood. It should require all
capital to be paid In full. Semi-yearly
statements should be given to the
public and certified by a public ac
countant. There should be a hoard
of examiners In each state to look aft
er these corporations Just ns our na
tional banks are watched by the na
tional government. They should have
the right to enter the offices and ex
amine the records of all the direc
torates of these companies.
LOST HIS INDEPENDENCE.
Nngg I never speak of the Fourth
of July as Independence Day.
Stagg Why not?
Nagg Why. I was married on that
day.
ALMOST A MIRACLE.
Health Completely Restored After
Case Was Pronounced Incurable.
Mrs. J. Tllghmun Wright, 519 Golds
borough St., Easton, Mil., says: "I
cannot begin to describe my suffering
from Brlght'a disease. I constantly
felt as If I were dy
ing. My back pained
me Intensely and was
weak that for
weeks I could not
walk across the floor.
My condition became
critical and physi
cians pronounced me
1 1.1- T
n incuraiiie. i mm.
taking Roan's Kidney
Vii32.iV puis ns a last resort,
vj' and soon received re
lief. When I began with them I weigh
ed 64 pounds. I now weigh 109
pounds and feel like a new woman."
"When Your Back Is I-ame, Remem
berthc Name DOAN'S." DOc.nllstores.
Foster-Milburn Co., Buffalo, N. Y.
indefinite.
"I want a puff." suddenly announced
the petted, stalled star.
"Yes. my dear Miss Starllte," meek
ly answered the long suffering man
ager. "Shall I call onthe confection
er or the press agent?"
Mm. WmnloWs Soothing- yP f-hllrtn-o
U-elh'.iK, iu.fl.-iiH the tin'". iwIiicm Inflamma
tion, r-iaJ ptn. wlui1 ,:uau' "
Ills heart was as great as the world,
but there was no room In It to hold
the memory of a wrong -Emerson
The Wretchedness
of Constipation
can quicKiy uc uci.w.-
CARTER'S LUlLfc
LIVER rlLLJ).
Purely vegetable
CARTER'S
act sureiy anu
gently on me
JITTLE
liver, ure
IVER
Biliousness,
1PILIS.
Head
ache, ne'and Indigestion. They do their duty.
SMALL PILL. SMALL DOSE. SMALL PRICE.
Genuine must bear Signature
n( iliii oaper de-
Readd
fQ tiling to buy
' "' anything adver-
tid in if column, .hould "P"
bavin! what they adt lor. refusing all
tubflitulet ot imitation..
Hen and Women
Women a well as men '
erable by kl.lney an; l" '"kl.ln.y
Kilmer's Swum -l.o t. te Krli"
remedy, promptly .""Af' hi.-i.pHt for the
Bwnnip-Kimt stands the lilM' i
reason that It has Pvl to
remedy needed In 'h'"18""''" caws.
sands of even the most dlslrosH m i.
At druwl.1. ln Wo jn; I II. f ,
dress Ur. Kilmer at v . .-
,-CNr.v.. . ,9 so
jVCOl'S and CUUPa