The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-08-28
TAX THEM TO DEATH
Is A REMEDY BAR ASSOCIATION
PROPOSES FOR TRUSTS.
M0N0P0LIES ARE ARRAIGNED
IN LENGTHY AND DETAILED RE-
PORT AT HOT SPRINGS.


Report Met with Objections and
Created Much Excitement-Finar
Consideration a Victory for Conn
mittee.
Hot Springs, Va, Aug. 27.-At the
morning session of the American Bar
Association to-day, the annual adj
dress was delivered by lie Baron B.
Colt of Rhode Island, United States
judge from the First circuit. Judge
Colts subject was the "Reasonableness
of the Law"
THE common law is nothing but rea-
son. was an opening sentence which
was the keynote of the paper.
He said, in part: THE essence and
end of law are no doubt truthfully ex-
pressed in the maxims:
Law is the perfection of reason
Reason is the soul of the law; and
when the reason of any particular law
ceases, so does the law itself
The reason and spirit of cases
make law, not the letter of particular
precedents.'
Reason is the life of the law; the
common law itself is nothing else but
reason
1T is also undoubtedly true that the
great body of the law is founded upon
the dictates of right reason, natural
justice and common sense.
But, Notwithstanding all this, 1t is
an historical fact that the growth and
expansion of the law from primitive
custom to the present time has been
continuous struggle between the rigid
rules of positive law and the standard
of reasonableness and common sense
of society in its upward march to a
higher civilization; and the struggle
still continues. All through the CEN
turtles of the laws development in those
two great systems of Jurisprudence
which have been adopted by the civil
lied world, the English law and the
civil law, there has been constant
effort to bring existing rules into har-
mony with advancing civilization"
walter Logan, of New York, made a
verbal report from the Committee on
Commercial Law. He commended the
national bankrupt law and discussed
the trust question. He said IL would
have to be settled by the lawyers;
If they did not the demagogues would.
II combinations continue competition
VIII cease, and commercial jurispru-
dence VIII eventually be entirely chang
ed. The committee, he said, had reach
ed the unanimous conclusion that
modern industrial combinations should
be stayed.
Hon. Charles f. Henderson of Ne
braska, said the report of the corn
mittee had filled him with amazement.
surprise. and indignation. He said the
report was calculated to rend the as
ISOLATION asunder, and he resented the
attempt to turn the body into a poll
teal hustings. He asked that the re-
port be read. There was opposition
to the motion. and considerable confu-
sion. The convention agreed to hear
the report at once. 1t was read by
Chairman Logan, and was fully dis
cussed.
Attack ON Trusts.
On the subject Of trusts the report
says this is the important question now
before the American bar The report
adds: THE modern combinations pri-
mary object is to control trade and
commerce in plain articles of produc-
ton and substitute a more or less Lev
feet monopoly in the place OF a more
or less free competition. 1t changes
entirely the basic principle of CONNER
cial relations between man and man.
and If they are to continue to grow and
develop in the future as in the mast,
will render necessary most important
changes In the principles OF our COM
mercial laws.
Combination as an economic force is
fast coming to take the place of COM
petition. We are now having coinbi-
nations of combinations. The United
States Steel Corporation is a combina-
ton of a dozen heretofore competing
producers who themselves were combl-
nations of still other producers, and
these in turn often combinations of
still others.
ut is estimated that the STANDARD
Oil Company has taken by contract or
force. the business of ten thousand cor
porations and merchants in all parts
of the union. The few present great
railroad lines of the country have been
made up by the combination of hum
dreds of smaller lines. some extensions
of another, and others competing lines.
Future Is Dark.
mo one knows but that within the
next ten years a greater person than J.
Pierpont Morgan will arise, who will
combine into one organization all the
industries of the land, so that the
workman who works for wages can find
but one possible employer, and the pur-
chaser of wares but one possible seller.
1.-The steps toward the formation oe
one industrial corporation which shall
crowd out all other corporations and
assume to itself all the industries of
the land have been already more than
half taken. 1t is not so far to go from
now to that end as we had to go to
reach present industrial conditions.
"A monopoly is economically desira-
BILE; that is. for the monopolist. The
produce, no matter what it sells them
for. it's goods cheaper than the ele-
ments out of which the combinat ton is
composed ever produced them.
The Standard Oil Company is eco
nominally holy. for it pays 40 per cent.
dividends. The sugar trust is economic
cally correct, for whereas the individ-
ual sugar refiners lost money on small
capitalizations, the sugar trust pays big
dividends on a large capitalization.
1.-THE railroad combinations are eco
nomically impregnable. for they pay
If. Mr.. Morgan's shipping trust and
Mr.. Schwab's shipbuilding trust are
failures. they are exceptions to the
rule. We cannot therefore, rely on
natural forces, on the laws of supply
and demand or on economic consid-
erations to limit the growth of modern
combinations. If they are undesir-
able If the people of the American
nation would be better off without them
or with limitations put upon them,
they must put those limitations on by
the action OF their legislators, their
congress, and their courts.
THE American bar must act. and the
American Bar Association must take