The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-04-19
TRUSTS ON THE ANXIOUS SEAT.

| TRUSTS ON THE ANXIOUS SEAT.
The more the trusts study the deci-
sion in the case of the Northern Secu-
rites Company the clearer it becomes
to them that the position they occupy
is far from being an enviable one. In
deed, corporations and companies
which are not classed as trusts are
not satisfied that their transactions
! are wholly within the law. All who
are directly interested in the decision
are trying to make themselves believe
that only the Northern Securities
Company is affected by it. Almost
every day there are dispatches from
attorneys of one of the great railroad
systems or of big Industrial plant
assuring its stockholders that there is
no occasion for alarm.
There have been so many of these
assurances published, and from sources
that there has come to be a pretty
general belief that the decision does
not reach beyond the Northern Securi-
ties Company. We are not prepared to
say that it doesn't, but it is worthy of
notice that the Sun of New York,
which is the organ of capitalists, if
any newspaper in New York is, says:
Logically, under the law as declared,
our entire industrial organization is a
mass of lawlessness, as it is permeated
with combinations and contracts in re-
straint of trade. All theories
fhat oxrarxyfbipor onfSida Of tho
ern Securities merger is safe rest on
something else than the Northern Sc
curities decision, and are inadmissable
under it. 1t will be unwise,
therefore, to rely upon any means of
safety short of the repeal or modifica-
ton of the Sherman law"
The foregoing may be taken as the
deliberate opinion of those who are
most concerned with trusts and 9TH
er corporations. In their opinion
pretty nearly all of our industrial or
ganization is permeated with con-
tracts and combinations in restraint of
trade, and are at the mercy of any adj
ministration or any individual disposed
to attack them. And what is the
remedy that is suggested? 1t is the
modification or repeal of the Sherman
antitrust law. And what is the
chance for it's repeal? AS far as we
can see there isn't any.
Perhaps a repeal bill will be intro
duced into Congress next winter, or
at least a bill modifying the law, but
neither party would dare to support
it. The fight against trusts has been
waged fiercely by both political parties
for number of years, each trying to
Guido the other. 1t isn't reasonable
to suppose, therefore, that either party
would hasten to repeal the antitrust
law just as soon as the first victory
in the fight against trusts was won.
The party that took such a position as
that would at once lose its hold upon
the people. The antitrust law will
not be repealed or modified. The trusts
and all other corporations will have
to obey the law. There is nothing else
for them to do.
1t will take time of course, to elm
mate the contracts and put an end to
the combinations that are in restraint
of trade, and doubtless time will be
given to accomplish that object. 1t
will be a mistake, however, for corpor-
ations that are in Illegal combinations
or have made illegal contracts to as
sumo that they will not be disturbed
if they pay no attention to the warn
ing given in the merger decision.