The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1903-08-30


| restore the force of competition to ITS
| former supremacy by becoming itself a
competitor of the great trusts. The
modern combination has become too big
| for any private competitor to attack. II
we must find a competitor, the state
must enter the field.
The only possible competitor for bill
lion dollar trust is hundred billion dol
lar state.
This involves no new principle and no
new form of state activity. The govern
uent. in one or the other of its differ
ent forms, national. state or municipal,
| is already in the industrial field in the
| land. The United States is one of the
largest common carriers in the land.
1t carries the mails so well that there Is
no possible competitor. New York State
| is a common carrier by water. 1t owns
the Erie Canal, and proposes to spend a
hundred million dollars in building
better one The city of New York
furnishes its people with water at profit
and the city of Philadelphia has furnished
its people with water at profit and
the city of Philadelphia has furnished
its people with gas, also at a protIt.
Every penal and charitable institution
maintained by the nation, by the state
or by municipalities, has its workshop
where things are produced either Tor the
general market or for the consumption
of the nation, state or MUNICIPALITY Itself.
These are only examples. The machinery
of the state which has been found avail
able to 90 so far in the industrial field
can be utilized to go still further. III
the Meat Trust charges unwarrantably
high prices for meat, the United states
has several hundred million acres OF pas
ture lands still unoccupled where IT can
raise the beef for half a nation. If the
Coal Trust will not let us have coal at
reasonable prices, we can take the coal
fields by eminent domain and operate
i them by the government. III railroads
refuse to carry the mails at fair prices
or charge too high rates on interstate
traffic. the United States Is big enough
and rich enough to make It's own IRON
ia competition with the Steel Trust and
to build and operate its own railroads
in competition with the railroad trusts,
or it can take by eminent domain exist
ing roads.
The United States government. or any
one of the larger States, coming INTO the
industrial field in real earnest, would
cause the people interested in the great
trusts or combinations affected to have
very unpleasant dreams, and possibly the
government would in addition make a
profit for itself out OF the business.
This might be called socialism, but 1t
is not We believe in individual initiative
and stand for it. We hope never to see
the time when the individual will not
take the initiative We believe that the
taking power of the individual
should be preserved at all hazards.
But if we are to allow a combination
so great and so strong and so powerful
as to prevent individual initiative, we
believe that that combination should be
the state itself, and that the citizens, If
they must have a master, should be the
masters of themselves.
This is as far from socialism as pole
from pole.
Our remedy, therefore, is to save COM
petition, which is the living force of our
present commercial system and which has
been the basis of the development of our
commercial law. We propose to do this
by making the largest and most danger
Gus of the combinations Improbable. 1t
Is not therefore, necessary to consider the
question how to protect the people from
the evils Of monopoly if competition IS
entirely or substantially destroyed We
do not propose to permit The destruction.
We propose to save the old tree whose
genial shade has protected the race
through all the period OF It's evolution,
1t will be time enough to discuss the
question of what antidote there may be
to the poison of the new tree of monopo'
ly when we have found that we cannot
save the old tree of competition.
Your committee have no apology to
make for making possible a discussion by
the American Bar Association upon
question which may in some sense be
called political. The great questions of
today are questions that must be settled
by the lawyers of today. The great
problems of our generation must be set
tied by the lawyers of our generation.
The American people look to the Amerl-
can bar for leadership on this question.
Someone must lead. If not the lawyer,
then it will be the demagogue. If we ac-
cept our responsibility and are alert to
do our duty the problems can be solved
and the difficulties overcome under the
intelligent and conservative leadership OF
the profession that holds the primacy
among professions. 1t is only in case we
should seek to avoid our responsibilities
and fail to do our whole duty by the
people that look to us that leadership
will be sought among classes of men
who are i'll qualified for it.
The American Bar Association, in the
first article of its Constitution, has de-
clared that
cts object shall be to advance the
science OF jurisprudence, to promote the
administration of justice and uniformity
of legislation throughout the Union, and
uphold the honor of the profession of
the law
We certainly uphold the honor of the
profession of the law" by taking the lead
ership on all great public questions which
concern our national Jurisprudence when
ever duty points in that direction.
Respectfully submitted,
WALTER S. LOGAN, Of n. Y. City,
Chairman.
HENRY BUDD, Pa,
GARDINER LATHROP,
GEORGE WHITELOCK,
JOHN MORRIS, JR
(All five eminent lawyers).