The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-12-30
The Anti-Trnst Law.

The New York Sun, commenting on the
antitrust law. enacted by the legislature
of this state at its recent session, says:
1T Will be observed that the Georgia
legislators take the orthodox view of a
trust. They regard a trust as a monster
of so frightful mien that it must be
smashed even If it is trying to smash
prices. This is as logical as anything else
in the antitrust business. The Georgia
legislators hold that a trust is a DOGGY
which has no friends and ought to be pun
ished even if it helps consumers and low
ers the cost of living. In fact, it seems
clear that the better a trust is, the worse
it is, in the view of the trust destroyer.
"a sort of return to primitive individ-
ualism in business would be the result
of this Georgia statute, if it were nom
estly and strictly enforced. The excessive
competition thus engendered would lnevi-
tally bring about return to the princi-
pie of business association and combina-
ton which is really attacked when trusts
are attacked.
Presumably this law, passed with so
much flourish of trumpets, will never
amount to anything in practice. By the
way, a strike for higher wages on the part
of the employees Of a manufactures, for in
stance, would tend, if successful, to ad-
vance the price Of the articles manufac-
tured by him, and would, therefore, be I'M
lawful. Besides that, it would clearly be
unlawful as a combination of certain per-
sons to raise the price of their labor
We are not sure that the law will never
amount to anything in practice" 1t is
not improbable that there are persons who
would be benefited by it's enforcement in
respect to certain articles. Is so, they
will undertake to have it enforced. The
full scope of it is not yet clearly under
stood, and may not be until alleged viola
tons of it are brought to the attention
of the courts,
1t is supposed that the author of the
law had in mind one particular trust,
namely, the American Tobacco Company.
when he framed the bill, and made 1t as
sweeping as he did without fully comore-
hending the effect of it's provisions. Still,
the legislature ought to have understood
of the bill, because there was considerable
discussion of it,
Just now there is fierce public senti-
ment against trusts, and there is dispo-
sition not to listen to anything in favor
of even those trusts which are a real
benefit to consumers. The tendency of
the times. however, is toward association
of capital in nearly all kinds of industries
and business enterprises, and eventually
trusts will be recognized as being neces-
sary in the business and industrial world.
They will be limited in their operations,
however by such laws as will render 1t
impossible for them to virtually rob the
people as some of them do. There are
trusts which prey upon the people and
trusts which benefit them. The former
ought to be destroyed and the latter ought
to be encouraged.
1t must be apparent that the fierce COM
petition of the present day means hardship
for wage-earners and finally disaster to
the weaker competitors. When the
weaker competitors are destroyed the sur
viving competitor is in position to do
just what a trust does.
To legislate without discrimination
against all trusts is a mistake. Legisla-
ton should be aimed at only those which
seek to plumber the public. Otherwise
antitrust legislation will accomplish very
little, because it will encounter hostile
public sentiment, or else it will do more
harm to consumers than to trusts.