The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-09-06

ANAo1 w NAA0 AANalrNANC E1H
OF 1887, was clear to Mr.. Roosevelt. The
~connoction between the monopoly Of the
industrial combinations and the railway
abuses emphasized this. The Interstate
time to Time since its passage, n in the
first admlnistratton Of Mr.. Roosevelt the
subject OF rebates In the so-oalled Elk1ns
bill was treated in more detail han In the
original Interstate commerce act. and was
made more elective in that way, but still
the power OF the Interstate Commerce
Commission over the carrier was limited
70 Determining Whistler q rate was unreason-
able, and ihe order requiring . railroad
company to fx a reasonable rate could only
be made effective through a mandatory
decree Of a Federal court. This moi only
involved delay In the enforcement OF Its
orders, but took away from tho commits
sion the power and dignity essential to
make II respected by the railroad com
panies and greatly limited its usefulness.
IL was OF importance that the commission
should have the power, when IL found a rate
unreasonable. to fix what was a reasonable
rate, or at least to say that any rate beyond
a certain maximum was. unreasonable.
Ehis was the great reform which Mr.. Roose-
Welt In his second administration recon-
mended to Congress, and which In one ses-
sion OF that Congress has been brought to
a successful result. The increased power
n efficiency Of the Interstate Commerce
Commission under the new Law n fail
70 remove many Of the evils Of discrimina-
ton in favor OF persons and places caused
BY fixing OF unequal rates, and will operate
directly to withhold from the great monopo-
lizing. corporations the chief instrument
they have been using in driving COMPETE
ton out of 5usiness. There were seven
cuted for violation Of che Interstate com-
merce act under Mr.. Harrison, thirty-two
und Mr.. Cleveland, twelve under Mr..
Mckinley. and there have been begun, and
are being prosecu I'd, more thin sixty under
Mr.. Roosevelt.
ADDITIONAL LEGISLATION
It is probable that in order to secure
speedy and effective prosecutions Of all
violations Of the antitrust law the coun-
try over the executive machinery for carry
ing on the work, which is enormous in detail
and requires skill and legal knowledge Of a
high order, must be greatly increased and
special bureaus created by legislation.
There is no doubt that for a decade or more
after the passage of the trust act and the
interstate commerce. act those who were
violating their provisions regarded their
vagueness and the difficulty Of proof OF
the facts as rendering them immune from
prosecution and making the laws dead let
tiers. But while the mills Of the Government
" ground slowly they are grinding eX-
ceedinRly small, and the seriousness OF
carrying OF q business in violation Of the
terms OF the Sherman antitrust act or
the interstate commerce act. made clear
as those terms rave been made by judicial
0ANAV0 w SObA
legislation, ID impressing itself on those
members OF the business community prone
to unjust methods.
REMEDIES MUST 81 PRACTICAL.
A close study Of the history Of this contest
which. has been going on for the suppress
sion Of these trust evils shows that the work
OF eliminating them from our economic
system IL full OF complications and requires
time, persistence, patience and willing
cooperation by Executive and Congress,
and lets in light on the vanity and useless
ness OF empty denunciation OF the evils
without any clear understanding OF how
they are to be remedied and legitimate
business interests preserved unframed. It
also shows how inadequate a comprehension
the candidate for the Presidency on the
Democratic ticket at the last election had
Of the difficulties OF curbing trusts when he
announced in the acceptance Of the nomi-
nation that the common law as developed
was quite adequate for the suppression of
trusts, and that it merely failed for lack of
effective enforcement of the law by execu-
tive officers. A letter of Judge Harmon,
Mr.. Cleveland's last Acknowledgement, to
Congress, in answer to a resolution asking
him what additional legislation was needed
TO bring about an effective enforcement Of
the trust law, shows the numerous difficult
ties attending its execution and is a COM
plete refutation OF Judge Parker's position
or this matter in his speech and letter Of
acceptance. The constant appeals TO the
last and the present Congress FOR legislation
and their action to remove the dikicUlties
involved in the execution OF the antitrust
act confirm Judge Harmon's views. IL is
an entirely fair inference to draw, therefore,
that had Judge Parker been elected Presi-
dent Of the United States, with his view Of
what was needed to stamp out trusts, there
would have been no such effective campaign
carried on by the Executive and by Con-
Kress against these evil tendencies Of cor
porate wealth as we ave seen under the
Leadership Of Mr.. Roosevelt.
PRACTICAL OF Mr.. RoosBvELT'a
POLICY.
The vigorous action which Mr.. Roose-
welt has taken against trusts, through his
Attorneys-Oeneral, Messrs. Knox and
Moody, is already beginning to bear fruit.
trust have been dissolved. Tn mere
prosecution and Indictment Of the sugar
trust, Of the Standard Oil trust and Of the
tobacco trust have led to changes in the
methods OF those organizations and to
an abandonment Of some OF he more
glaring determinations in rates and prices
which were the instrumentalities for pre-
serving monopoly, even before conviction
bounced against them. The fear OF the
law has been put into the hearts Of the
members Of these great corporations,
and this has been due chiefly to the cour-
age, the determination and the intense
interest Of Theodore Roosevelt in the
securing Of adequate legislation and its
vigorous executive enforcement.
POLITICAL Jul
The attitude which Mr.. Roosevelt took
with respect to the Northern Securities
case and his determination to stamp az
Illegal tina attempt to put into the hands
OF one set Of men two great parallel and
competing railways from Chicago to the
Pacific Coast aroused the opposition OF
powerful railroad interests in Wall Street
and had much to do with the pressing Of
Tnl-U Do~Iror HOe kha nopnn11uktn Deal
DENTAL nomination. Mr.. Roosevelt is no
more popular in Wall Street to-day thar
he was when the Northern Securities case
suit was instituted, and the reason is not
tina he IL opposed to or is engaged in a
crusade against corporate wealth, not that
he ia opposed to the security that capital
must have in order that 1t may be used
TO the advantage Of the public and the
reasonable profit OF its wner but because
he i~nterposed real and practical obstacles TO
its use in violation OF law to accomplish
results which cannot inure to the benefit
of the public. The practical trust managers