The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-11-24
The Republican Program for the
Work of Congress This
Winter.
Interstate Commerce Act and Sher.
man Antitrust Law Must
Be Harmonized.
The Latter Shown to Encourage Com
bination-The Former Prevents
Competition.

n, Fron. The Journal Bares". Room. 20. Ped
Washington, Nov. 24.-Republican pro-
gram: x
First-Trust legislation to be pushed to
the front this winter. It will be the chief
topic of consideration in Roosevelt's mes
sage. -,|
Second-A tariff commission to 4be
authorized by congress. Like previous
tariff commissions this body will serve as
an excuse for delay =. =. =.
Third-Cuban reciprocity legislation.
The only hindrance to this is the attitude
of Cuba. .T=.
Observation-Disclosures Of isthmian canal
treaty with Colombia. (Providing COL
omb1a can be brought to submit a. treaty
for ratification before March ~ -.,'|
F1fth-Consideration and disposal by the
senate of the bill for admitting Oklahoma,
New Mexico and Arizona. (Likely to re-
suit in a division Of the question and the
admission of Oklahoma alone.)
Sixth-In the event of congress failing
to pass satisfactory antitrust legislation,
an extra session between March and July.
Seventh-No tariff revision until after
the presidential campaign of 1904 49,.
observation-disclosures tour of the Pacific
coast. to take place some time in the
spring, after congress is through, ana
lasting a month or six weeks.
First Work; on the Trust Problem.
In dealing with the trust question. the
first thing congress will bump into will be
the problem of harmonizing the interstate
commerce act and the Sherman anti
trust law. Chairman Martin A. Knapp of
the interstate commerce commission has
called attention to the fact that the two
laws are directly in conflict, so far as
the railroads are concerned. He holds
that the Sherman law ENCOURAGES COM
binatiOn- instead nf
forb1ddlng two powerful corporations to
make working agreements with each
other, the said corporations are driven
to some form of a1nalgamation which will
make them virtually one corporation, thus
eliminating the necessity of any agree
ment avoiding the law, and, at the same
time doing away entirely with COMPETE
ton.
Just Driven to Merge :...
F Take the beef trust as an example. It
is composed of six Individual corporations.
These six corporations compete: but their
competition Is moderated, to a certain ex-
tent, by working agreements. The law
says that these working agreements
amount to conspiracy. They are vio-
lations4 of the Sherman anti trust law.
The attorney general gets busy and gets
an Injunction: What is the next step?
The six separate companies proceed to
sell out to one another until they all come
under one (nominaD ownership. There Is
no law which can prevent the sale of one
private business to another. The fact
that it is a very large business gives it
no different standing before the law. BY
the devices known to modern corporate
enterprises the various properties are
merged into one huge corporation, repre-
sented by Stock, and the business goes
on under one general control All SEM
blance of competition is now gone. What
was formerly done by a working agree
ment'' is now done in meeting of a
board of directors. There is no longer
danger of prosecution under the Sherman
law. And what are you going to do
about it.?
The Killing Of Competition.
Another thing. The enforcement of the
interstate commerce law prevents rail-
road competition. Competition between
railroads manifests itself in secret rate
cutting. Prevent secret rate cutting, and
all rates will be maintained on a, higher
level. That this is so has been demon
strated by the suits begun by the COM
mission in the so-caled grain and beef
product cases. Since they were forced by
legal processes to live up to published
rates on freight, all the roads have been
able to get business at higher tariffs.
So it appears that every effort so far
made to encourage competition has re-
suited in the abatement of competition.
Laws intended to prevent combination.
have caused greater and more complete
combination. Anti-pooling laws, accord
ing to the authorities here. have driven
the railroads to mergers and antitrust
laws have fostered consultations.
It is dawning upon the, lawyers that
there is something wrong with the prin-
ciple Of this legislation. 1t is suspected
that a. solution may be found in a dis
hot ion md
bition. Also it is believed that railroads
and, private corporations must be dealt
with separately. -. Mp
No Differences In the Cabinet.
Postmaster General Payne, speaking for
himself, and other members of the cab
met authorizes an unqualified denial OF a.
story circulated yesterday that there was
a difference between the president and the
cabinet regarding how the president
should treat the trust question in his
message to congress- Mr.. Payne calls the
story, IAN utter fake" There was no
difference between the president and any
members of the cabinet and there was no
such discussion as described. The presi-
dent has asked the advice and co-opera-
ton of Attorney General Knox in dealing
with the trust question and has not gone
beyond that so far as the cabinet is con-
cerned. These portions Of the message
which deal with the trusts were written
before the president went south on his
recent cutting and nothing has occurred to
occasion any change In them. 1t Is
learned on good authority that what the
president will say In the measure In regard
|, to the trusts can be fully appreciated from
the reading of that part of his last mes
sage on the subject, his speeches during
the past summer and his speech at the
Union League club in Philadelphia satur-
day night.