The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-02-26

| last year or two, Is constitutional. The
state of Texas has appealed from a de-
cision of the United States district court
for the eastern district of that state in
which it was decided that the Texas anti
trust law is unconstitutional. The United
state supreme court should make a thor
ough study of antitrust legislation with
the view of rendering a decision that
would put an end to much of the litiga-
ton growing out of the antitrust laws
which are being enacted in the different
states. Unless it is promptly and clearly
! determined what kind of contracts and
! combinations capital can make, there will
be such uncertainty among business men
as to what they may and may not do
with the means at their command that
the business world will become greatly de-
moralized.
The Texas antitrust law Is very much
like the antitrust law recently enacted
in this state. It Is an exceedingly drastic
law. and was pushed through the iegis-
lature without much consideration. At
that time the whole state of Texas seem
ed to have the impression that all
trusts were illegal and oppressors Of the
people. This impression was created
largely by demagogues. who made war
on trusts with the expectation Of increas-
ing their own popularity
The Standard Oil Company was one of
the trusts at which the law was aimed.
That company does a large business in
Texas. Mr.. william Grice is its Texas
agent. Mr.. Grice and Mr.. John d. Rookie
| Teller, the Standard Oil president, were
| indicted under the antitrust law by
McLennan county grand jury. Mr.. Rookie
Teller was not arrested, being outside of
the state, but Mr.. Grice, being a resident
of the state, was arrested, tried and con-
victed. He was taken before the judge
of the United States district court on a
writ of habeas corpus and released.
When his case comes up again it will be
in the federal supreme court at Washing
ton.
In this war on trusts the mistake that
is made is in CHASING them all as bad.
There are good trusts and bad trusts. by
good trusts we mean trusts which are
content with a reasonable profit and
which pay good wages and sell their pro-
ducts at lower prices than that at which
they were tsold before the trusts were
formed.
1t will hardly be denied that the prices
of the products which the Standard Oil
Company manufactures are much lower
than they were before that company was
formed, and much lower than they would
be sold If there were a score or more
companies producing articles of that kind.
1t is true that the Standard oil Com
pany makes a vast amount of money, but
it must not be forgotten that it does
vast amount Of business The profit it
makes on a gallon of refined coal oil is
remarkably small, but it manufactures SO
many millions of gallons that its net earn
ings are very large.
But why should the people object to the
large earnings of the. company so long as
they get cheap coal oil products and the
wages of employees are not reduced? The
consumer and the wage, Garner are not
complaining of what are called trusts.
Those who complain are persons who can
not compete with the trusts, and are
driven out of business or those who are
envious of the prosperity of trusts. Their
number is not large, but from the noise
they make it might be supposed that
they comprise pretty nearly the whole
population OF the country
1t is quite evident that the combinations
of capital called trusts cannot be sup
pressed. They have come to stay. They
| are necessary factors in the worlds trade
under the civilization of the present age.
A prominent wholesale grocer, who testi-
fled in the Lexow trust investigation the
other day, gave it as his opinion that if
all contracts that tended to restrain COM
petition We're annulled there would be
general ruin and bankruptcy in the world
of business. Those having the strongest
financial support would survive and be-
come monopolies.
Facts rather than sentiment must con-
troll in this matter The kind of legisla-
ton needed is not that intended to de-
stroy trusts but that which would pre-
vent trusts from misusing their privileges
and powers.
ers who combine to put up the price Of
their products and laborers who combine
to keep up the standard of their wages.
This exception is found in about all the
antitrust laws of the states which have
enacted such laws. The United States
district court in Texas in passing upon the
antitrust law of that state said;
1.-THE vice of the act in question is that
II attempts to prevent too much: il does
not stop at reasonable limits; il Is not
content with making criminal general re-
straint of trade, but It makes criminal all
restrictions of trade Ii is not content with
| ahiXing penalties TO acts or contracts
which unreasonably restrict competition,
il condemns any agreement which pre-
vents competition between two or more
persons entering into 1t.
This law. that deprves the citizens of
all of his rights of contract. and that
seeks 10 divide citizens, not exactly by
the calling they follow. but by the source
OF the property they hold. and exempts 50
per cent Of them from the penalties IL
visits upon the remainder. is not sus-
tanned by any good reason or excuse; Is
not just is utterly without support IN