The Birmingham age-herald., 1902-08-28
A measure, full of state and aneIentry.
 Much Ado About Nothing.
President ROoseveIt's Trust Policy.

No doubt it takes courage on Presi- dent Roosevelt's part to have an anti trust policy at all, his party being so closely linked with and so dependent upon monopolies of one sort or an- other. Let us give him credit then when he says there should be some regulation and control of the trusts. ;. So far so good.
 But it is at this point he stops, and vagueness and indefiniteness come in. He advocates national control or super vision of the trusts, but this involves a constitutional amendment, which could not be perfected in less than five years, if at all If the republican party remains in power an amendment could not be perfected at all, for in all the eastern states the trusts con .trol that party. We give the Presi- dents own words in Connecticut in order that we may not misstate his position He said at Providence:
 Some of our states have excellent laws laws which 1t would be well. Indeed, to have enacted by the national legislature. But the wide difference in these laws, even between adjacent states, and the uncertainty of the power of enforcement result practically in altogether insult fcient control. I believe that the nation must assume this power or control by legislation, and where 1t becomes evident that the constitution will not permit needed legislation, then by constitutional amendment The immediate need in deal ing with trusts is to place them under the real, not nominal, control of some sovereign. to which, as its creature, the trusts shall owe allegiance and in whose courts the sovereign's orders may with certainty be enforced. This is not the case with the ordinary so-called trust today, for the trust is. a large state cor pcration generally doing business ir other states also. and often with a ten dency to monopoly. Such trust Is al artificial creature not wholly responsible to or controllable by any legislature nor wholly subject to the jurisdiction oi any one court. Some governmental sovereign must be given full power ovel these artificial and very powerful cor. porate beings. In my judgment thi: sovereign must be the national govern ment
 This is all very well If 1t were at al feasible or practicable, but it is not at least not within any reasonable length of time. There are, however two ways in which the wings of tht trusts could be speedily clipped to ar extent that would destroy their specia privileges and thus take away theil power for oppression and injustice and these consist in a repeal of tht tariff duties which permit them to ex ploit home consumers regardless oi outside markets, and in an amend ment of the interstate commerce law forbldding discriminating freight duties. Between Dingley duties and discriminating freight rates the trusts are exploiting home consumers practi- cally without limit and without mercy, and they will go on from bad to worse.
 President Roosevelt is correct enough in theory, but he is not speedy enough. He is much too vague, and if he would advocate quick taking away from the trusts or all special privilege, he would start movement that would sweep the country.