New-York tribune., 1906-11-02

is difficult for any one state to control corpora
tions doing business in all the states. The state
cannot control interstate commerce at all. Many
of the states have by their laws as well as pE
their administration facilitated and encouraged
the Objectionable practices.
NEED a HUGHES AT ALBANY.
Let me tell you that our own state is not
blameless in this respect, and that we need
Hughes at Albany with the skill and courage 10
deal With that subject as he dealt with the in,
surance subject On the other hand. the federal
government has been met at every turn by the
difficulty Of controlling state corporations in the
exercise OF the powers conferred upon them by
the state in which they were created.
Against these battlements of wrong the Presi-
dent has charged with all the energy and sincere
conviction of his nature; he has waged ana Is
waging open warfare not against Wealth. pu1
against i'll gotten wealth.; not against corpof3-
tions. but against the abuse of corporate power;
not against enterprise and prosperity, put
against the unfair and fraudulent devices Oh
selfish greed.
The honest poor man who has felt the crush
ing power of unfair wealth may take heart, for
the most powerful personality of our generation,
from the vantage ground of the greatest office
OF land, is leading the battle IN MS pehalI'
the honest rich man who fears that properly
may be endangered and prosperity checked may
calm his fears; not single principle IS invoked
in this warfare against corporate WronsdolnS
that has not for centuries been familiar TO the
common law of England and America; no con-
troll is asserted over business which was not
recognized and approved in the days OF Mans
field and Eldon Marshall and Kent; but to eX-
ercise that same measure OF controI uluei ne
new conditions of day, new agencies ana
new methods have had to be provided by law
For the ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF this due measure
of control which from time immemorlat our
laws have recognized as necessary, the govern
ment Of the United States has taken up the task
where the several states have failed. and Is per-
forming and purposes to perform It's duly, nor
beyond. but TO the full limit or lts CONSTITUTIONS
power. 49,
The structure of our prosperity will not be
weakened; it vii; be made strong and enduring
by removing with the care OF the experience I
builder th, rotten timbers OF disobedlence TO law
and disregard Of morality.
The Republican Congress has stood IoyaIE pE
the President; the acI creating the bureau of
corporations, the act eXpediung the triaI OF
trust cases. the auti-rebate act, the act for the
regulation of railroad rates have made possible
redress which was impossible before. Under lhS
direction Of two successive Attorney Generals OF
the first order of ability sincerity and devotion,
in hundreds of courts. incessaEr warfare mas
been waged and is being waged under the Ieu-
eral laws against corporate Wrongdoers
The Northern Securities Company, whlch
sought TO conbit.e and prevent competition be-
tween TWO great continental railroads has been
forced 10 dissolve by the judgment & OF lIe 81
preme Court of the United States. The methods
Of the Beef Trust in combining 10 suppress com
petition in the purchase OF hSestoSh g anu s Ia
sale Of meat have been tried and condemned, ana
the trust has been placed under lnJunctloh 10
abandon those practices by judgment or the Su-
The combination Of paper manufacturers in
the territory from Chicago to the Rocky Noun
tains has been dissolved by the Judgment or the
Supreme Court, and the combination has been
abandoned and the price of white paper in that
territory has gone down 80 per cent. The Retail
Grocers' Association in this country has been
dissolved nv decree of the court. The elevator
combination in the West has been dissolved IN
like manner. The salt combination west OF the
Rocky Mountains has been dissolved by decree
The Wholesale Crocers' Association in the
South the meat combination and the lumber
combination in the West. the coInolnatlon OF
railroads entering the city of St. Louis to sup
press competition between the bridges ana Ier-
ries reaching that city; the Drug Trust, which
suppresses competition all over me CouItr!, at0
being vigorously pressed in suits brought by the
federal government for their dissolution
The salt combination has been indicted ana
convicted and fined for failing to obey the 1udg-
ment OF dissolution. The Beef Trust has been IN
dicted for failing TO obey the lnJunctlon against
them and have been saved so far only by a de-
-cision that they had secured temporary immu-
nifty by giving evidence against themselves one
branch Of the tobacco trust is facing an indict-
ment Of its corporations and their olhcers III tho
fadaraI court in New York and the other
branches are undergoing investigation. The lurl-
ber combination in Oklahoma is under lndlct-
ment. .,..
one corporations and twenty-five individuals
TO suppress and fix prices, has been lndlcleu
the indictments have been sustained py ne
courts and the combination has been dlssolEeu
The ice combination OF the District OF COLUMBIA
is facing criminal trial Special counsel are IN,
vestigating the coal combination and Specla'
counsel are investigating the Standard OH COM
bination-
DECISIONS OF THE UTMOST IMPORTANCE.
Three Of the causes won in the Supreme Court
of the United States have furnished decisions OF
In the Tobacco Trust case Of Hale agt. Henkel
the Supreme Court denied the claim or the
trust corporations TO be exempt under the
Constitution from furnishing testimony against
themselves by the production of their BOOKS
and papers before a federal grand jury. Ihus'
the protection of secrecy for corporate wrong
doing is beaten down.
In the Northern Securities case the Supreme
Court held that a wrong accomplished by means
of incorporating in accordance with the eX-
press provision Of New Jersey statute was just
as much q violation of federal law as If there
had been no incorporation. mus the state
rights defence of protection from faYorlng state
statutes is beaten down.
In the Beef Trust case the Supreme Court
held that although the business Of manufact-
ure was carried on within the limits of a
single state, yet the purchase Of the raw
material in different states and the sale OF
the finished product in different states brought
the business within the interstate commerce
clause Of the Constitution and gave the fed
eraI government authority It. Thus, the
defence that the state alone can deal with
manufacturing corporations. however wide
spread their business. is beaten down
The obstacles to the enforcement Of the fed
eral antitrust act thus removed obstacles
which stood in the way Of all proceedings, and
they had to be cleared away before any pro-
ceedings OF the same character against the same
classes Of corporations could be successfully
maintained They have been removed, not by
newspaper headlines and denuncia ton, bu1 by
skill ability and energy of the highest order.
After the Elkins anti-rebate law was passed
by Congress in 1903 II supposed, and the
Interstate Commerce Commission reported.
that the railroads had substantially abandoned
giving rebates. Their good resolutions do not
seen however 10 have lasted. The struggle
for business enabled the shippers soon TO Sc
cure renewal of rebates, er, by ingenious
devices, advantages equivalent to rebates.
ThereupOn the Department Of Justice began
active prosecutions for the enforcement Of the
law. Fifty-three indictments have been found
against hundreds Of defendants and covering
many hundreds of transactions. There have
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