The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1903-01-07
SOLUTION OF TRUST QUESTION
LIES IN OPEN COMPETITION
RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE
ATTORNEY GENERAL IN BRIEF

Such legislation Is necessary because
the existing interstate commerce law does
not give an effective remedy in this class
of cases against either shipper or car
rier.
The Casus omissus.
The interstate commerce act should now
be supplied by imposing a penalty upon
carrier and beneficiary alike and by CIV
ing to the courts the right to restrain all
such infractions of the law.
The prohibition against carriers should
be limited to those subject to the act to
regulate commerce. Only carriers oper-
ating a line of railroad or a rail and wa
ter line as one line are required to pub
lish their rates, and adhere to them. II
| is impracticable to control lines operated
wholly by water. Rates of water trans
portation are necessarily open to the
freest competition, are invariably low by
the comparison, and thus naturally fur
nish the standard of reasonableness with
out express regulation.
1t should be made unlawful to trans
port traffic by carriers subject to the in
terstate commerce act at less rate than
the published rate, and all who partici-
pate in violating the law should be pun
ished. The provision should also be made
to reach corporations and combinations
which produce wholly within a state but
whose products enter interstate COM
merce. This provision should relate, first.
to concerns which fatten on rebates; Sec
ond, to concerns which sell commodities
below the general price in particular To-
calities or in, any one particular locality
to destroy competition.
There should be a comprehensive plan
to enable the government to get all the
facts bearing upon the organization and
practices of concerns engaged in inter-
state commerce, not with view to ham
pering any legitimate business of such
combinations but in order to be in po-
sition to take action If necessary.
Commission Proposed.
To this end a commission or a special
bureau in the proposed department OF
commerce should be created, whose duty
1t should be to investigate the operations
of concerns engaged in interstate or for
eign commerce. to gather information
and data enabling 1t to make recommen-
dations for additional legislation and to
report to the President.
This would be a first step In securing
proper publicity. This commission should
have authority to inquire into the man
agement of any concern doing an inter-
state business whenever it becomes
necessary. 1t should have the authority
to call for reports from them, compel
testimony from all witnesses by the pro-
duction of books, papers, etc.
These recommendations are based on
the central thought that the first step
should be taken by law aimed at what
are certainly known to be unreasonable
practices directly restrictive of freedom
of commerce and by law securing some
governmental supervision as outlined
above. A special act should be passed at
once to speed the final decision OF cases
pending, to be raised under the present
antitrust law providing for the hearing
of such cases by a full bench of circuit
judges and a direct appeal from the Cir
cult court to the Supreme court of the
United States.