Durango semi-weekly herald., 1903-03-02
MR.. RoosEvELrs
ANTITRUST VICTORY


Chicago Record-Herald: In his
message to congress at the opening
OF the present session President
Roosevelt urged the necessity of regu.
lating the big corporations popularly
known as trusts" Publicity was the
hrst remedy he proposed. This. he
said. could not do harm TO the honest
corporation. Next, he urged that mo
nopolies, unjust determinations,
which prevent or cripple competition.
fraudulent overcapitalization and 9TH
er evils in trust organizations and
practices which injuriously affect in
terstate trade" be prevented under
the power of congress to regulate in.
terstate commerce. And finally he
recommended that an appropriation be
made to enable the attorney general
vigorously to prosecute cases under
the existing antitrust law.
Experienced politicians were dis
posed to smile over the presidents
antitrust program. 1t was absurd
they said, to suppose that the senate
always sensitive to corporate infiu-
ences. would permit such legislation.
when it would be so easy to prevent
any action by the dilatory proceedings
for which the senate is famous. And
ii any effective measure should hap
pen to slip through either house, 1t
could easily be crippled in conference.
The presidents hopefulness. they at
tributed to his ineXperience with the
ways of congress. There was ground
for this skeptical attitude. 1t is safe
to say that the majority of Republi-
can congressman had no expectation
of any effective trust legislation when
the session opened.
But events have proved that the
president knew what he was talking
about when he outlined his program
in the message. He proposed four
things-an appropriation to aid the de-
partment of Justice. publicity, the pre-
vention of freight rate discrimination
and prevention of monopolies and
oyercapitaliZation. Here is the list of
antitrust acts which congress has
passed:
bill appropriating 100000 to en-
able the attorney general to push the
prosecution of cases under the anti
trust law.
A bill to advance the hearing of an
thrust cases in the federal courts.
A bill providing for publicity in the
reports of big corporations (the Mel
son amendment to the department of
commerce measure)
A bill to make effective the prohi-
bition of the giving of rebates by the
railroads.
Congress, therefore, has enacted
three of the four measures proposed
by President Roosevelt. 1t has failed
to take explicit action against over
capitalization and monopoly. But the
publicity provision may be considered
the first step toward regulation on
those points. The president may make
1t powerful weapon with which to
expose abuses. and the knowledge
thus obtained may be used as the ba-
sis for the insistence upon more legis-
lation. Furthermore. If the bureau of
investigates fully the re-
lation between the tariff and the
trusts it may secure data to convince
congress that trust regulation is by
no means complete so long as the cor
porations are given money out of the
peoples pocket.
The trust legislation already accom-
plished must be set down to the credit
of President Roosevelt If 1t had not
been for his sturdy insistence, for his
refusal to retreat from his announced
position, congress would have let the
measures go. But the pres
ident, backed up as he was by the
people. was too strong for the do-noth
ing politicians. The yielding was his
personal triumph. In the present
session, Mr.. Roosevelt has fairly won
his party leadership.