Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1903-04-09
HITS THE TRUSTS
THE MISSOURI SUPREME COURT
FINES THE COMPANIES.
Five of the Large Packing Companies are
Fined Five Thousand Dollars Each For
Forming Illegal Combinations in Restraint
Of Trade. Penalty is Small, but is Step
in the Right Direction.

The Missouri supreme court has found
five great beef packing companies guilty
of maintaining an unlawful combination
to control the price OF beef in that state,
and has levied fine OF five thousand
dollars on each Of the companies. The
opinion OF the court was unanimous, and
the companies affected are the Armour,
Cudahy, Hammond, Swift, and Schwarz-
child and Sulzburger companies.
A fine OF five thousand dollars in such
a case is, of course, insignificant when
compared with the profits made by the
companies, and this calls attention to the
fact that in large violations Of the law
the punishments are not in proportion to
the magnitude Of the offense. 1t may be
said that from moral standpoint the
crime is as great when one steals small
amount AS when he steals large
amount, and yet it is we'll known that
public opinion does not condemn large
violations as it does small violations. a::d
therefore the pecuniary penalty ought to
be great enough to protect the public
from repeated infractons OF the law. In
the cases mentioned, the fines imposed,
while they may be the maximum fines
allowed under the law, will hardly re.
strain the companies from another con-
spiracy against the public. The court
could, upon the evidence, have prohibited
them from doing business in. the state,
and yet such a judgement might have
hurt the people OF the safe as much as
the corporations.
These cases bring plainly to view the
inability OF one state alone to furnish a
complete or satisfactory remedy and
prove the wisdom OF the KansaJ City
platform, which suggested federal
remedy.
The present antit trust law the Sherman
law, is sufficiently broad to cover such a
conspiracy against trade as that formed
by the packers, and, if endorsed by inn
prisonment, would strike terror into the
hearts OF the trust magnates. But the
present law only relates to conspiracias
between separate individuals or corpor
atoms. Another remedy is necessary
when number OF corporations are merg-
ed in one and the one corporation controls
the market. In the case recently tried
in Mis- souri, It was shown that five dis
tinct and separate corporations conspred
together to fix the price of meat, but
suppose the five corporations should con-
solidate, and form one corporation? The
injury to the public would be even great
err because, instead of having to agree
among themselves, the corporation would
act as a unit, and yet if such consolida.
ton was formed neither the Sherman
antitrust law nor the antitrust laws OF
the various states wonld reach the evil.
The Kansas City platform remedy does,
however, reach this very evil and that
remedy added to the present remedy,
and the two remedies enforced by an
administration really in sympathy with
the public, would kill the trusts.
Let the criminal clause OF the ANTITRUST
law be enforced against the officials ofthe
various corporations if they combine
against the public, and then let congress
declare that large corporations, before
engaging in Interstate commerce, must
secure permit from the federal govern
ment which permit can be granted only
upon conditions that will make private
monopoly impossible.
The state OF Missouri is to be congratu-
lated upon the enforcing OF its state law
against these powerful companies, and
the federal government is to be censured
for not having used the criminal law
against these same corporations. But
congress and the administration cannot
escape blame for failure to enact the
legislation needed to protect the public
from trust extortion. The failure
OF the president and congress to
do something really effective shows how
absurd it is to expect the trusts to be
killed so long as the government is in the
hands OF officials who secure election
through the aid Of contributions collected
from the corporations.