El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1901-02-26
LIVELY MEETING
IF Chamber of Commerce
Directors and Sev-ral
Committees, Covers
Much Ground.

At the meeting of the directors and
committee on irrigation held at the
chamber of commerce yesterday after
noon called for the purpose of confer
ring with Senator Turney. there were
present: Messrs. Martinez, Stevens
Stewart. Morehead, Courchesne
Browne, McCutcheon, Hoffman, Hap
per, Kohlberg, and Baum The chair
was taken by vice president Martinez
in the absence of President Freuden-
thai.
The first subject called up for dis
cussion was the antitrust law and the
proposed amendment to it. c. w.
Browne opened the ball by citing a
case that had affected his firm, the
present law the large jobbing houses
would not give credit to Texas mer-
chants for the reason that they had
difficulty in collecting their debts by
process of law and this worked a great
injury to many. The law failed to
reach the real trusts In fact he was
satisfied there were none in Texas. It
did however reach the Texas merchant
who could not be considered a trust
Mr. Courchesne called attention to a
clause in the law that forbids a mer-
chant from selling below cost lest he
should drive another merchant out of
business. 1t thus made it possible for
a merchant who was actuated by de-
sire to injure another to cause his ar
rest by making affidavit alleging that
the man arrested was trying to force
him out of business when in reality
that mas was simply conducting legi-
innate business
Senator Turney denied this and stat
ed that in order to violate the law the
parties had to enter into a formal
agreement to fix and maintain prices.
He personally had been strongly in
favor of modifying the law but the gov
ernor and members of the legislature
were more inclined to a greater strin
gency.
You might as well talk of repeating
the constitution as to think of repeal
ing this trust law" said the senator.
There was a provision in the original
bill that we succeeded in having elm
mated. Under that clause if a mer-
chant of Texas for instance, sent to
Kansas City for car load of flour
made by a trust, and that merchant
wrote and asked them If they were a
trust and received affidavit proving
they were not, yet it afterwards de-
that they were, anybody in
the state of Texas to whom the mer
chant sold those goods could keep |
hem and sue the merchant for the full |
amount"
The senator then went on to speak
n favor of certain provisions of the
aw. He stated that he was opposed to
rusts in general or to any combination
hat had for its object the raising of
,rices or to drive out competition by
owering the price. In this connection
le mentioned the lumber trust in this
tate.
After considerable discussion which
i'd not seem to bring any definite So
ution of the matter in sight, it was
eferred to the committee on transpor-
alton to investigate and confer with
enator Turney who stated that he
TODD ready to carry out the desires of
he people here if he could find a way
D do it.
The next matter called up by the
hartman was the prospect of bringing
he members of the state legislature to
I Paso. In that connection Senator
'urney said that he had been accom-
anied here during the present visit by
everal members of the senate commit
ee who were quite enthusiastic over
le city apd would do much to adver-