The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-11-26
Tuesday, November 20. 1907.
FrGHTT,G MONOPOLY.

ed in session more than a week at the city of Hartford touched seriously up- on all the matters which are of press ing concern, or which are likely to be called to the attention of congress. Though its opinions possess moral force only, the spirit which animated its work was essentially legislative in character Had it been charged with the duty of enacting new laws or amending old ones it could not have been more creative and original in its deliberations. We speak of this not at all in critical way but rather as a modern invention to impress upon the legislative bodies of the country the Judgments of body which rests real ly upon a social basis, It is the prob ably just claim of the Grange that it has had more influence upon legislative bodies than any like association which has organized during the past quarter of a century. M
 We detected a tendency on the part of this useful and high-minded society to attsch to the term monopoly significance more consistent with the oratory of the political hustings than with an earnest inquiry into cold facts. As we have had occasion to say in the editorial columns of The Journal and Courier before, the worst phase of the incorporate things which have been said about predatory wealth" and '.swolien fortunes" concerns the more or less general impression that has been made that the possession of a competency larger than is needed to supply the actual wants of man from day to day warrants suspicion as to the business integrity of it's possessor. So the dangerous thing about mouth ing the term monopoly" consists in tho likelihood of men being convinced that all corporations which are for one reason and another freed from compe- tition are unfairly feeding on the cred- ulity of the people and wasting their substance for selfish ends. The only de- fender the unjust monopoly has is it's owner and he can be proceeded against in the courts if the fact can be estab- lished that his undertaking is against the public welfare. There is law enough and to spare on the statute books to bring every such sinner to ac- count, and to overlook the law in or- der the more glibly to attack monopo- lies may be good politics but it is mighty bad sense. That those who talk the most about the abuses of monopoly have only in mind the pop uiarity that line of reasoning can pro- duce is a just estimate of their pur- pose.
 It Is difficult to believe that the res- olutions passed by the National Grange demanding competition in the telephone business followed a careful study of the conditions as they exist in the State of Connecticut, however much they may represent conditions in States where telephone companies have abused the confidence reposed ir them by the creating power. The Grange does well to recognize the economic advantage to the agricultur. ist of telephone, but is it within tht domain of quiet statement when i says that i've find the service is bet. ter, rates lower and the number O. telephones greater under competition than under monopoly" The question has been thoroughly investigated il the State of Connecticut by prejudiceC and unprejudiced men. It has been dis cussed before the General Assembl, and the conclusion finally reached tha the field should be thrown open t those who wish to enter the telephon business provided they can show tha there is a demand for them to thu enter, demand based upon rates, ser vice and the money earned. In othe words. while the State of Connection pledges itself to protect the publi against the extortions of a selfishl managed telephone company, if sucl a one is found to exist, it refuses t lend helping hand to speculative in terests which have no other object i the world than to build in order to ul timately sell out to the original com pany. The Grange says: ''We cen delnn any law that fosters monopnl in the telephone business as again' the best interest of the members ( the Grange and the people generally
 That is, in different language, exactl what the State of Connecticut says. the Grange can show that It's member