The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-08-12

the most lavish expenditure of money, to defeat the purposes of the laws on the statute books.
 Not only the men in control of these corporations, but the business world gen. orally, ought to realize that such conduct is in every way perilous and constitutes a menace to the nation generally, and especially to the people of great property.
 T earnestly believe that this Is true of only a relatively small portion of the very rich men engaged in handling the largest corporations in the country; but the attitude of these comparatively few
 men does. undoubtedly harm the coun- try, and above all. harm the men of large means, by the just, but sometimes mis- guided popular indignation to which it gives rise. The consolidation in the form of what are popularly called trusts of cor porate interests of immense value has
 tended to produce unfair restraints of
 trade of an oppressive character, and
 these unfair restraints tend to create
 great artificial monopoles. The viola
 tions of the law known as the antitrust
 law, which was meant to meet the con-
 ditions thus arising, have more and
 more become confined to the larger com
 binatons, the very ones against whose
 policy or monopoly and oppression the policy of the law was chiefly directed
 Many of these combinations by secret
 methods and by protracted litigation are
 still unwisely seeking to avoid the con-
 sequences of their illegal action. The
 government has very properly exercised
 moderation in attempting to enforce the
 criminal provisions of the statute; but
 it has become our conviction that in some
 cases, such as that of at least certain
 of the beef packers recently indicted in
 Chicago, 1t Is impossible longer to show
 leniency Moreover, if the existing law
 proves inadequate, so that under estab-
 lished rules of evidence clear violations
 may not be readily proved, defiance of
 the law must inevitably lead to further
 legislation. This legislation may be more
 drastic than I would prefer. If so, it
 must be distinctly understood that it
 will be because of the stubborn determi-
 nation of some of the great combina-
 tions in striving to prevent the enforce
 ment of the law as it stands. by every
 device, legal and illegal Very many of
 these men seem to think that the alter
 native Is simply between submitting to
 the mild kind of governmental control
 we advocate and the absolute freedom to
 do whatever they think best They are
 greatly in error. Either they will have to submit to reasonable supervision and regulation by the national authorities, or , else they will ultimately have to submit to governmental action of a far more
 drastic type Personally I think our
 people would be most unwise if they let
 any exasperation due to the acts of cer-
 tain great corporations drive them into
 drastic action, and I should oppose such
 action. But the great corporations are
 themselves to blame if by their opposi-
 tion to what is legal and just they fos-
 ter the popular feeling which tells for
 such drastic action
 Resort to Every Expe dient.
 Some great corporations resort to
 every technical expedient to render en-
 forcement of the law impossible, and their obstructive tactics and refusal to ac-
 quiesce in the policy of the law have taxed to the utmost the machinery of the department of justice In my judgment
 Congress may well inquire whether 1t should not seek other means for carrying into effect the law. I believe that all cor poratons engaged in interstate commerce should be under the supervision of the national government. 1 do not believe in taking steps hastily or rashly, and 1t may be that all that Is necessary in the immediate future Is to pass an interstate commerce bill comforting upon some branch of the executive government the power of effective action to remedy the abuses in connection with railway trans portation. But in the end, and in my judg- ment at time not very far off, we shall have to, or at least we shall find that we ought to take further action as regards all corporations doing interstate busi- ness. The enormQus increase In interstate trade, resulting from the industrial de- velopment of the last quarter of cen tury, makes it proper that the federal government should. so far as may be necessary to carry into effect its national policy assume degre of administrative control of these great corporations. Tt may well be that we shall find
 that the only effective way of exercising this supervision is to require all corpora tions engaged in interstate commerce to produce proof satisfactory, say, to the department of commerce. that they are not parties to any contract or combina- ton or engaged in any monopoly in in- terstate trade in violation of the anti trust law, and that their conduct on certain other specified points Is proper; and, moreover, that these corporations shall agree, with a penalty of forfeiture of their rights to engage in such com merce, to furnish any evidence of any kind as to their trade between the states whenever so required by the department of commerce.
 Must Obey the Laws.
 Tt is the almost universal policy of the several states, provided by statute, that foreign corporations may lawfully con- duct business within their boundaries only when they produce certificates that they have complied with the requirements of their respective states; in other words, that corporations shall not enjoy the priv ileges and immunities afforded by the state governments without first comply | ing with the policy of their laws. Now the benefits which corporations engaged in interstate trade enjoy under the Uni ted States government are fncalculable; and in respect of such trade the jurisdc- tion of the federal government Is su- preme when it chooses to exercise 1t.
 "When as is now the case, many of the great corporations consistently strain the last resources of legal technicality to avoid obedience to a law for the reason able regulation of their business. the only way effectively to meet this attitude on their part is to give to the executive de- partment of the government a more di- rect and therefore more efficient super vision and control of their management. ''In speaking against the abuses com mitted by certain very wealthy corpora | tions or individuals, and of the necessity | of seeking so far it can safely be done to remedy these abuses. there is always danger lest what is said may be l misinterpreted as an attack upon men of