Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1906-12-04
CONTENTION OF cArIrAL.
Cannot be Prevented But should De
Vigorously and Adequately Controlled.

Vigorously and Adequately Controlled.
The actual working Of our laws has
shown that the effort to prohibit all
combination good or bad. is noxious
whore II is not Ineffective. Combna-
ton Of capital like combination OF la
Dor, IS necessary element OF our
present industrial system. IL IS not
possible completely TO prevent IT, and
" u were possible such complete
prevention would do damage to
the body polite, What we need
IS not vHinly 20 try TO prevent all
combination, Dut 10 secure such rig
orous ana adequate control and
supervision OF the combinations
as 10 prevent their ininring the
public or existing IN such eoyn az
inevitably 90 threaten intury--for the
mere fact that combination has se-
cured practically complete control of
a necessary Of life would, under any
circumstances. show that such COM
hinauon was 10 be presumed to be
adverse TO the public interest. lt ~
unfortunate that our present laws
should forbid all combinations, IN
stead of sharply discriminating be-
tween those combinations which do
good and those combinations which
DO evil Rebates, for Instance, are as
often due 10 the pressure Of big ship
pers las was shown in the investIga-
ton of the Standard oil company and
as has been shown since by the inyes-
tigation OF the tobacco and sugar
trusts aa 10 the initiative Of big rail-
roads often railroads would like TO
combine for the purpose Of preventing
big shipper from maintaining Inn
proper advantages at the expense OF
small shippers and Of the general pub
lie. such a combination, instead OF
being forbidden By law. should be
favored. I'm other words, Il should
be permitted 10 RAILROADS to make
agreements, provided these agree
ments were sanctioned By the inter-
state commerce commission and were
published With these two conditions
complied with Il is impossible TO see
what harm such a combination could
do 10 the public at large. IL is a
public evil to have on the statute
books law Incapable OF full enforce-
mont because both judges and iuries
realize that It's full enforcement would
destroy the business Of the country;
FOR the result Is Co make decent rail-
road men yiolators Of the law against
their viii, and to put a premium on
the behavior OF the wilful wrong
doors, such "a result in turn tends
ia throw the decent man and the
wiltul wrongdoer into close associa-
ton, and in the end to drag down
the former TO the lattor's level; for
the man who becomes q lawbreaker In
one way unhappily tends TO lose all
respect for law and to be willing To
break ia il many ways No more
scathing condemnation could b. visit
ed upon a law than is contained In
the words OF the Interstate commerce
commission when, IN commenting up
on the fact that the numerous joint
traffic associations do technically vio-
late the law, they say. "1he decision
of the United states Supreme Court In
the trans Missouri case and the Joint
traffic association case has produced
no practical effect upon the railway
operations OF the country. Such as
soclations, IN fact exist now as they
did before these decisions. and with
the same general effect In Justice TO
all parties, we ought probably to add
that It is difficult to see how our in
tcrstate railways could be operated
with due regard TO the interest OF the
shipper and the railway without con-
certed action OF the kind afforded
through these associations"
This means that the law as construed
by the supreme court Is such that tho
business Of the country cannot be con-
Quoted without breaking II. ! recom-
mend that you give careful and early
consideration 10 this subject, and II
you find the opinion of the interstate
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