Omaha daily bee., 1903-04-18
check TO the Trusts.

Check 10 the TFusts.
"If this decision is upheld on appeal, and
u probably will be, the men who have been
planning great consultations will have re-
ceived a check in their movement hard to
overcome. But l cannot tell whether this
will be final with them. l cannot tell
whether It will be the end Of the move
ment. 1t is possible that the ingenuity Of
the manipulators Of stocks and bonds has
not yet been exhausted and that they will
find other ways in which they may effect
the same purpose, not so directly, but
through contracts or agreements. depending
on the personality of the managers OF
owners. This would be far less satisfactory
than the plan which has been declared
contrary to public policy, but 1t is easy to
see that where the ownership of parallel
lines is practically the same II will be very
hard In the long run to maintain the COM
petition. which is the very essence Of good
business.
I'VE had some experience with the ways
of the merger promoters here in Iowa.
The Molesberry bill was regarded by me
as a measure in the interest of mergers.
1t made possible the expansion Of indebt-
edness Of railway corporations without re-
gard to stocks or values. 1t was a step
preliminary to consultations I vetoed the
bAAA 4 ~ a hhOOhblAAu-
tional in that 1t was not of equal opera
tion but Disseminated as between corpora
tions and different classes Of railway cor
pOrations; also because / believed It was
contrary to public policy. Then there fol-
lowed the Hubbard bill, which aimed at
granting express provision for the purchase
Of one railway corporation by another in
any state. We had a statute giving this
power in Iowa and adjoining states. and
the bill merely extended 1t indefinitely as
to distance. / insisted 1t should not be-
come a law In that form, and as amended,
limiting IT to purchase of any connecting
extension OF it's said railroad not parallel
or competing 1t really makes the Iowa
statute far better than 1t was. Under the
Iowa laws az we have them now no such
merger as was contemplated in the forma-
tion of the Northern Securities company
Ia possible. An Iowa corporation has power
to make direct extensions of its lines into
other states and territories, by purchase,
but 1t cannot eliminate competition by alb
sorbing parallel or competing lines.
Obnoxious Feature of Merger.
'It is this effort on the part of the mer-
ger promoters to eliminate competition and
to place parallel and competing lines under
one ownership absolutely, that is the fea-
ture Of the movement obnoxious to the
laws and so contrary to public policy that
the federal courts kave interfered. The de-
cision gave me pleasure. It is directly
along the lines / have been advocating and
IN accord with the spirit of the Iowa laws
relating to the same subject"
The merger problem is not a new one to
Governor Cummins. Long before he was
a candidate for governor Of Iowa he, as
e plain lawyer. had as clients some OF the
men who have been conspicuous more re-
Gently in the consolidation movement. II
was while he was in consultation, as a
lawyer, with j. P. Morgan and some OF his
associates a number Of years ago, that
Mr.. Cummins attention was first called 70
the plans OF the great railroad and indus.
trial captains to effect consultations and
place control in the hands OF only a few
persons. He was asked as to his views
and then stated plainly that he believed
the proposed consultations were not only
contrary to public policy but opposed "a
the best interests Of the owners OF the rail.
read properties. He declared then that 4
the movement was persisted in It would
lead, II successful as the promoters hoped
to a condition which would make Il easy
to drift into government ownership, ant
this was something he did not desire. TIL,
view of Governor Cummins as an ofncia
have not changed and he is stiI OF tn,
same view.