Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-11-02
TRUSTS AND THE LAW.

The efforts of two trusts to prolong their
existence despite the judgments Of the
courts form very interesting feature in
the financial columns of the press at present,
and contribute great pertinence to the ques-
ton whether the organized masses of wealth
can be brought into subsection to the law.
The two trusts which are thus fighting to
maintain their existence after the courts
have declared them to be utterly repugnant
to the law. are the Sugar Trust and the
Chicago Gas Trust. The decision against
the first com bination left no doubt that it was
illegal 1t was intended to destroy COM
petition and engross the market, and on
that ground it placed itself outside the law.
The organization being illegal, the transfers
of the sugar refining corporations In the
trust to its ownership were declared ultra
uires, and it was even held that
one corporation had forfeited its
charter by doing so. Under such circum-
stances it was obvious that the entire organl-
zation was destroyed by its own illegality.
Yet the trust lawyers have succeeded in SO
far preventing the necessary steps to wind
up the concerns, and are row prosecuting
plan for recognizing by turning over its
property and the control of all the sugar
refineries to New Jersey corporation,
which, with capital of $50, 600, 900, shall
perpetuate the monopoly. In other words,
it is proposed that what has been declared
to be illegal shall be kept up, and the idea
is developed that the illegality can be
lodged by calling the combination cor
poration instead Of trust.
Yet this point is just what has been de-
cided, not only indirectly in the Sugar
Trust case, but directly in the Chicago Gas
Trust case. There the trust took the form
OF CORPORATION, and the decision was di-
rectly to the effect that one corporation
could not trans er its autonomy to another
for the purpose of wiping out competition.
Yet it has taken repeated decisions to that
effect by the Chicago courts to impress the
fact on the minds OF the corporations, and
after the lapse of years nothing has
been done toward dissolving the trust 1t
is also noticeable that the attempt to per-
petuate the Sugar Trust, as well as the
action taken by the anthracite coal COM
panleS, IN IesLTIctlug pTOuuCtlOu anu IalsluS
prices, show that the corporation magnates
do not think it necessary to pay the slightest
attention to the antitrust law enacted at the
recent session of Congress.
This evident conviction in corporate
circles, that the plain and direct declara-
tions of the law and the courts need not be
respected by them. has especial pertinence
in Pennsylvania. We have the most
gigantic example of the calm superiority of
the corporations to law in the strangling of
the South Penn organization. That deal
was brought to a halt at the close of Pat
tison's term; but during four years Of Re
publican administration it has been al
lowed TO quietly go on, and the courts and
Constitution have been alike ignored. The
people of Pennsylvania viii have an op-
portunity next week to express their
opinion as to whether these masses of CAPT.
tai should be superior to the law or subject
to it; and it is to be hoped that they will
improve the opportunity.