New-York tribune., 1907-10-29

THE CONFERENCE on THE TRUSTS.
The conclusions reached by the National Civic
Federations conference the trusts, like the
report of its expert inquirers into the conduct of
public utilities In cities are not very positive
aud Illuminating This conference, like the
other represented all shades OF opinion. and no
converts made by the exchange Of ideas, so
when il came TO preparing report upon which
there could be general agreement among the del
egates a moderate and colorleSs document
found to be Necessary. 1t could hardly be eX-
pected that those who believe in business com
binatiOns and those who oppose them could
unite upon an epoch making policy, and they
have not done So They simply attempted to
describe in general way three or four kinds of
combinations against which even the most
violent trust hater would NOT raise his vOice and
then submitted TO Congress the whole question
of whether any more good trusts can be found
and. if so, how we shall treat them.
Well, no one will be disposed to critiCise this
notable gathering. of which every man left TO
himself could settle the whole problem out of
hand, for its failure collectively TO suggest any
thing remarkably effective. The topic before il
was extremely difficult, and probably we have
not yet as people sufficient light upon the work
ing OF industrial and commercial concentration
to act on it inteligently. When the small pro
ducer much more numerous in the nation
than he is to-day and when his class was being
decimated by the early capitallstic combinations
there was a disposition TO sympathZe with him
and say that all trusts were bad trusts.
Legislation rejecting that public state Of mind
went upon the statute books. To-day the public
has got away from that point Of view and is dis
posed TO consider the trust with regard 10 its
effect upon the consumer. and So II has come to
discriminate between good trusts and bad
most trusts are good trusts and to wonder If the
good trusts are good as they might be and if
the bad trusts could not in some way be made
good It is this new attitude which causes the
criticism of the Sherman antitrust law, so often
heard nowadays and so strongly expressed at
the Chicago conference. That law is pronounced
undiscriminatingly destructive and opposed to
the pubic's receiving some Of the benefits of
good combination. There is a growing feeling
that there are economies in industrial concen-
tratiOn and that the public should profit by
them. but hOw-that is what the Chicago CON
ference failed 70 tell us, while modestly inviting
Congress 10 illuminate the subject; and we are
afraid that Congress, 700, will dsappont lis IL
We expect light and leading from that quarter.
The truth is that nobody knows. 1t is prob
lem. interesting. unsOved, but whose solution ia
ultimately unavoidable We do not yet even
know enough about the badness of the bad trusts
TO guide How much Of that badness is mere
violation of unenfOrceable legislation? And the
goodness Of the good trust is just as hazy and
disputable. If you call attention to the cheap
ness with which a commodity is furnished by n
monopoly "Ah, but" retorts the disputant, you
don't know how cheap il would have been if
competition hadn't been destroyed" But de-
spite all the doubt that Obscures the question the
conviction is apparently becoming general that
I the big combinations sometimes serve rather
J than oppress, and that some way may be found
! by which they may always be compelled TO do so.
! That much seems TO have been the unanimous
! sense among the conflicting opinions Mt Chicago.