El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1899-06-08
Texas Antitrust Law.

| providence journal.
| AS the governor of Texas has con
ceived the ambitious project of Undue
| ing all the states of the union to unit,
in the passage of uniform anti-trus
| legislation, it Is OF some interest Il
note what kind of law on that subjec
his own state has, though presumably
| he does not intend to try to make tina
| the model for ali others to copy. A!
| has already been pointed out in these
columns, great difficulty in securing
| uniform legislation among the states i:
the unwillingness of each to have it,
own lawn aking shaped in any con-
spicuous way by outside influences. The
spirit of home rule, otherwise known
as state rights, is still too strong to be
overlooked. The difficulty thus pre-
scented would become still more serious
If it were felt that in calling his con-
ference of all the governors in the
union to consider the trust question
Governor Sayers was seeking TO foist
his own state law upon others:
But the new Texas law Is worth no.
ticipg none the less; indeed, all ea peri
mental legislation aimed at the over
throw or restraint of the trust system
of doing business Ia interesting at this
time. Most people think that som e.
thing ought to be done in this direction.
but there is nothing like agreement as
to what it ought to be, and meanwhile
all suggestions and attempts should be
examined. The Texas law is drastic
one, containing some provisions of
doubtful constitutionality, but it has
the merit of defining fully and minute
ly the offences which it is intended to
punish, and it bears the marks of hav-
ing been prepared in perfect good faith
by men who are really DESTROYS of put
ting an end to what they consider to
be evils in the trust system. This IL
more than can be said of some other
legislation of similar sort Several of
the state, anti-trust laws have been de-
cidedly in the nature of legislative
''strikes," and others have been fatally
deficient in clearness OF definition.
The federal antitrust law, for eX-
ample, does not define the offence
which 1t aims to punish with sufficient
clearness to enable the courts to know
when it has been committed. There is
no such defect Jas that in the Texas
statute. The offences are fully de-
scribed, and they are those which have
commonly been charged against all
trusts. such as cOnspiring to regulate
price or limit output and attempting
to drive competitors out of business by
at loss or giving them away. To
ensure prosecution for these offences
certain special inducements .are offer
ed. Prosecution is not left to the
attorney general OF ne state,
the prosecuting attorneys of
the counties; sand to stimulate their
activities it is provided that each pro-
attorney ''shali receive for
penalty collected" this to be in sddi-
lion to his regular compensation under
other statutes. All proceedings under
'he new law may, on motion, have pre-
,edence over all other courts business
except where the defendants are in
all" Corporations must make sworn |
of their operations in q form |
hat will show whether there is q |
,rima facie case against them. IT
ale is made contrary. to the provisions
II the law the purchaser cannot be
to pay, If the sale was on
redit, and may recover the money if
t was for cash.
In plain words this is putting all
transactions to which q trust is one of
he parties on the same plane as
am bling transactions under the most
tringent legislation sgrirst gaming.
q all probability the execution of so
rastic a law will be found extremely
ificult, If not impossible. In some -,
e opposed on grounds of unconstitu- {
onality. Thus restraints are placed I
q the owners OF patents, though the |
over to regulate such matters is ex- '
ressly conferred on congress by the t
institutions; and the prohibitions s
the law are made ap- T
icable not only within the '
ate of Texas, but "elsewhere, which b
clearly invalid and of no effect. For
Iese and other reasons the enforce 4
emit of the Texas law is sure to be n
)tly conte sted; and in the process we n
ay learn something as to what is pos p
BILE and what impossible in the way a
lawfully restraining monopolistic or +
Mutations. Meanwhile no large in q
lstrial enterprises are likely 10 go to h
sxas to organize; and whether that +,
III be pleasing to Texas people re- 4
aims to be seen. h
1T |