The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-04-13

OF the RepuDllcdn party, II SHOWS
throughout that the Potomac flats are
not the only source of miasma that
attacks and sometimes permanently
enfeebles those who dwell long in
Washington.
! TO DESTROY MINNESOTA INDUSTRY.
About the last of the dangerous bills
which the legislature should send to
their everlasting rest is the so-called
antitrust BILL" introduced by Mr..
Johns, of this city, passed by the house,
unthinkingly, by a large majority, and
now before the senate. The G b e is
heartily and thoroughly in favor Of any
| feasible legislation that will restrain
| trusts or other monopolies, make their
| formation improbable and their con-
| tinuance impossible In as far as the
arm Of the legislature of Minnesota can
reach these great combinations, we
hope to see it strike with vigor. But
where they are plainly without its
grasp, and where the blow, when given,
can only react upon our own people
! and our own business, leaving the
trusts unframed and Minnesota '-4uus-
try PROSTATE, ther we say that the
policy is a cruel, mistaken and hurt
full one. So we have no quarrel with
! the provisions Of this bill which pro-
hibit the formation Of trusts in the
state of Minnesota and declare forfeit
Cd tIoa oho ~ Or
ganized under the laws Of the state,
| that becomes party to trust But
when any person within the state is
forbidden to deal in articles 1nanufac-
| tured outside of the state by a trust
| and imported into it, then it is the i'm
possible that is attempted, and the
only result is to put veto upon home
enterprise and to destroy a large por-
ton Of home industry.
There is a long list Of COM
modities which we could name,
! of very general consumption in
the state of Minnesota, that are not
made within the state by anybody, and
that are made outside of the state only
| by corporations that fall within the
definition Of a trust given in this bill.
| Such corporations have agreed to limit
| production, have combined to fix prices,
have acted Sin restraint of trade" and,
! therefore, under the law, would be pro-
! hibited to do business in Minnesota.
Under the law, therefore, a Minnesota
| merchant, a st. Paul or Minneapolis or
Duluth dealer in dry goods or groceries
or hardware, who should purchase from
these trusts their product and resell
| it within the limits Of the state would
| be subject to all penalties Of the law;
] that is, he might be fined $4,000 and
| imprisoned in the penitentiary for five
years, and any person who bought
! goods from him would be discharged
| Of his debt, by the statute, without
| payment of the bill
OF course, if any such statute were
! in force these dealers would have to
| quit buying and selling such commod-
! tiles or else move out of the state. The
| people would not quit using them. The
| trusts would not be disturbed. We
may assume that the people of Mime
sofa would continue to consume sugar
and to use spool thread for their sew
| ing machines whether the antitrust
! bill passed or not. The manufacturers
| of these commodities, not being amen
able to Minnesota law, would continue
! to restrain trade just as they have
| done The consumers of Minnesota
would therefore have to send to Chi
cago or some point in Wisconsin or
Iowa or the Dakotas or the British
| possessions for their supplies. The
practical operation of the bill would be,
! then, to transfer the sale Of these
products manufactured outside Of the
state from our own merchants to those
/ OF rival states and cities, to transfer
! the business Of st. Paul and Mime
| apolis. or large share of it, to Chi
/ cago, to move the business of Duluth
drive wholesalers and retailers from all
our towns into the nearest centers in
the states just over the border
What conceivable sense is there in
any such action as this? How much
will a trust be injured or the people
benefited by an act which does not
diminish its sales IS worth, but simply
prevents those sales being made
through Minnesota agents, and hands
over whatever commission is paid to
rival business men in competing COM
munities? This feature of the so-calIed
antitrust" bill is so repugnant to all
our business interests, would be so fatal
to home trade, without producing the
| slightest effect upon the monopolies at
which it is supposed to be aimed, that
we do not understand how the legisla-
| ture could for one moment consider
the propriety Of passing it. There is
homely expression which tells of the
man who once cut off his nose to spite
his face. That is what the Minnesota
| legislature will do if it permits this