Arizona republican., 1901-12-12

AN month Oy StalutorS IMPORTANT limitation. was in the COMMISSION. beginning subjected to
 great deal of ridicule by many newspapers but all now ac- knowledge that during its three years of labor the commission has accom- plished a work of immense value in accommodating a great fund of reliable information concerning the industrial affairs of the country. The commits sion, composed of five senators. five representatives. and nine appointees of the president, with MT. Albert Clarke as chairman, was created by the act of June IS, 1898. which directed it to investigate immigration, labor, agriculture, manufacturing and busi- ness, and to suggest such legislation as it might think best
 A vast amount of oral testimony has been taken, and various special inyes- tigations have been made at first hand under the commissions direction. The extent of it's work may be judged by the fact that (aside rom the. final volume containing recommendation the reports fill eighteen closely printed octave volumes, averaging approxi- mately 1000 pages each. This informa- tion will be for years a valuable store house for statesmen, economic stu dents and journalists.
 The greatest amount of space in the commissions reports is given to the oral testimony of witnesses who have appeared before it and before the va rious special committees, which it has sent to the different parts of the coun- try. Six hundred and seventy wit nesses have been heard. They repre- septed almost every class and section in the country The criticism is often brought against the reports of con- gressional committees and government tai commissions. that so huge a mass is presented without iusfcal arrange ment. summary, or adequate index, that the reader is baff1ed in trying to make use of it. The industrial com mission has tried to escape this crit icism and to make all the information in its voluminous reports easily ac- cesssible. In the case of oral testi- mony digest is prepared in which the gist of the statements of each witness on each topic he discusses, is separately presented. the whole being logically classified The digest is fuii enough, SO that in most cases the reader will have no need to turn to the original testimony. although he can readily do so by means of the page references. A review of the testimony is also given in each volume.
 No doubt greater public interest at taches to the investigation regarding trusts-or. as the commission usually calls them, industrial combinations than to any other branch of it's work The commission has taken two large volumes of oral testimony on this sub ject, and has supplemented it by number of special reports, several of which have been prepared under it's direction by Prof. Jenks. These cover among other topics. industrial combi- nations in Europe, laws and court de- cisions regarding combinations (each of these reports constituting a sepa- rate volume), the effect of various com binations on prices, the relative prices
 
 same products in domestic and for eign markets. speculation in securities of industrial corporations, and the rel ative prices of the products of certain combinations in different localities. The last investigation was made in view of the charge that trusts some times cut prices in certain places to drive ort competitors who are seeking market there, while maintaining them at excessive figures elsewhere.
 It is probable that the publicity given to the methods and effects Of combinations by the industrial com mission has contributed much to this change of public sentiment. The ques- tior1 which most statesmen and students are now setting before themselves and the question which has sharply con fronted the commission is not how to smash the trusts" ;" but how to regulate thein effectively. and to limit their power for evil while retaining their benefits. The widest difference of views appears as to the best methods of regulation There is. however, a very general consensus of opinion that much would be gained by the require ments of greater publicity regarding the formation and operation of indus trial combinations than has heretofore existed.
 The investigation of the conditions of the working class and of the rela- tions between employers and employees has been one of the chief features of the work of the commission. An im- mense amount of oral testimony is pre-