The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1903-04-11

| commerce. ne uTst sup tohSh "oS
the prosecution of IA suits against
the principal railroads of the middle
west, restraining them by injunction
from further violations of either OF
the laws in question.
About the same time the case
against the Northern Securities COM
pany was initiated. This was cor
poration organized under the laws OF
the state of New Jersey with a cap
ital of $500, 100000, the alleged pur-
pose being to control the Great
Northern and the Northern Pacific
railroad companies, two parallel and
competing lines extending across the
northern tier of states from the Mis-
sissippi river to the Pacific ocean.
Whatever the purpose it's consumma-
| ton would have resulted in the con-
troll of the two great railway systems
upon which the people of the north
western states were so largely de-
pendent for their supplies and to get
their products to market being prac-
tically merged into the New Jersey
corporation. The proposition that
these independent systems of rail-
roads should be merged under
single control alarmed the people OF
the states concerned, lest they be
subjected to what they deemed a
monopoly of interstate transporta-
ton and the suppression OF compete
ton. The governors of, the states
most deeply affected held meeting
- IN
merger becoming effective and passed
resolutions calling upon the national
government to enforce the antitrust
laws against the alleged combina-
ton. When these resolutions were
referred to the attorney general for
consideration and advice, he reported
that i'm his opinion the Northern Sc
curities company and its control OF
the railroads mentioned was COM
bination in restraint of trade and
was attempting monopoly in viola
ton of the national antitrust law.
Thereupon suit in equity, which is
now pending, was begun by the gov
eminent to test the validity of this
transaction under the Sherman law.
At nearly the same time the dis
closures respecting the secret rebates
enjoyed by the great packing house
companies, coupled with the very
high price of meats, led the attorney
general to direct an investigation into
the methods of the so-called beef
trust. The result was that he filed
bills for injunction against six OF the
principal packing house companies,
and restrained them from combining
and agreeing upon prices at which
they would sell their products in
states other than those in which
their meats were prepared for mar
ket Writs of injunction were issued
accordingly, and since then, after full
argument, the United States circuit
court has made the Injunction per-
petual.
The cotton interests of the south,
including growers, buyers and ship
pers, made complaint that they were
suffering great injury in their bust
ness from the methods of the south
ern railroads in the handling and
transportation of cotton. They al
legged that these railroads, by com
bined action under pooling ar
rangement to support their rate
schedules, had denied to the shippers
the right to elect over what roads
their commodities should be shipped,
and that by dividing upon fixed
basis the cotton crop of the south
all inducement to compete in rates
for the transportation thereof was
eliminated. Proceedings were insti-
tuted by the attorney general under
the antitrust law, which resulted in
the destruction Of the pool and in
restoring to the growers and ship
pers of the south the right to ship
their products over any road they
elected, thus removing the restraint
upon the freedom of commerce.
The above is n brief outline of the
most important steps, Legislative and
administrative, taken during the past
Is months in the direction of solving,
so far as at present it seems practic-
able by national legislation or adj
ministration to solve. what we call
the trust problem. They represent a
sum of very substantial achievement.
Not only is the legislation recently
enacted effective. but in my judgment
II was impracticable to attempt
more. Nothing of value is to be ex-
pected from ceaseless agitation for
radical and extreme legislation.
Many of the alleged remedies advo-
Gated are of the unpleasantly drastic
type which seeks to destroy the dis
ease by killing the patient. Others
are so obviously futile that it is
somewhat difficult to treat them
seriously or as being advanced in
good faith. High among the latter
I place the effort to reach the trust
question by means of the tariff. You
can, of course. put an end to the
prosperity of the trusts by putting
an end to the prosperity of the ma.
ton; but the price for such action
seems high. The alternative is to do
exactly what has been done during
the life of the congress which has
just closed--that is, to endeavor, not
to destroy corporations, but to regu-
late them with view of doing away
with whatever is of evil in them and