Daily Kennebec journal., 1906-09-06
Speaker Cannon and Hon. VIM. T.Haines
Address Audience at Farmington,
Gov. VIM. I. Cobb and Hon. D. J. Foster Given a
Great Ovation by Big Winthrop Assemb|sge.

in single industry is placed under one
control. Then competition with the trust
thus formed IS excluded by ingenious con-
tracts of sale with middemen, distribut-
orS and retail dealers, who are cocrced by
the agents of the trust into a mainte-
nance Of retail prices and a withdrawal Of
ana competing producers through the
knowledge and fear that the trust in
times of active demand for its products
Will either refuse to sell or will sell only
at discriminating prices to those who do
not comply with its conditions of sale
The ey7l result of such combinations and
the injury which has flowed from them
have given great Importance to the prin-
clDle of law that acts done with the in
tent and result of injuring another may
become unlawful and actionahle when
done by many persons or by the use of
many different instrumentaltieS COM
bined for the purpose. although the same
acts with the same intent when done or
attempted to be done by one person sin
gly would not be unlawful. because
neither oppressive nor dangerous in re-
suit. This is the basis for all antitrust
le gislation.
Mr.. Roosevelt. as President, from the
very first. devoted his great energies to
facilitating and pressing on the work of
SrpnrcsSinE the trust evil and the abuses
administration case arose, tie decision
Of which vas the most important step
taken II tn deveiopnient Of prose stcutions
known as the Northern Securities case.
1t ercsented the question whether the
owEers of jhc Great Northern Road and
the Northern Pacific Road might unite
the two properties to prevent the COM
petition between them. by organizing to-
gether holding company under the laws
of New Jersey, which should hold the
stock IN both cOmnan!CS and practically
manage the two roads as one. The Sill
rrer'. Court decided that the corporate
cloak to the union constituted a contract
in rnStr"iI1t of interstate trade. and that
the court was Justified in lonkiug through
the fiction of tn" holding company.
though organized under the laws of New
JerecE. tn dett rInine what the actual pur-
pose and effect were. There we're seven
original cCedinCS for violation OF the
Antitrust Act begun and prosecuted un-
der Nr Harrison. six urdri Mr.. Clcvr-
land. and three rrder Mr.. Mckinley
There have Len sixteen thus far under
Mr.. Roosevelt
Again in 1!22. under the first admins
traticn If Mi. Roosevelt. the Hurcau of
Corporations. in the Department. of Con-
merce ard Lanor. w1s created IT was
directed and siven power to investigate
in interstate trade other than railways
This Bureau under its most active chief
Mr. Garfield, has institute d inVestiga tions
which have brought to the attention Of
Of violations Of the interstate Commerce
Act and of the Antitrust Act. which
max" successful pros cuti"rs probable.
We come now to the second class Of
corporations ! have referred to as having
nlisused their great powers to promote
oppression and injustice to aid the in
dnstrial combinations in their unlawful
course. One Of the largest elements GO
ing to make up the selling price IF n COM
n"oditv in any part of the country is the
cost of transportation from the place Of
manufacture. If one business concern
can secure lower rates of freight In the
transportation of its merchandise to its
customers than another. the former will
necessarily drive the latter out of bust
ness. This IS exactly what has happened.
The largest concerns controlling enOr-
r9ous ShiDmcnts and able as between
competing roads to determine which shall
enjoy the profit of the TRANSFORMATION,
have induced and sometimes cocrccd the
railroad companies into giving them
either secret rates or open public rates.
so deftly arranged with view to the
conditions of the larger concern as to
ness competitors to live. The rebate Of a
goods shipped by any one of the great in
dustrial corporations will pay enormous
dividends on the capital invested. There |
were other evils Of railroad management |
too numerous to mention. but the chief Of |
them can be summed up in the words |
unjust discrimination OF course in |
dealing with them. or at least the great |
est and most imDortant of them. which /
were interstate lines. the jurisdiction of /
the national Government was complete.
The necessity for reform ir the rcgu-
lation of the railways Of this country. |
ard q closer governmental supervision
CONTINUED on Page Two)