Devils Lake inter-ocean and Devils Lake free press. (Devils Lake, Ramsey County, N.D.) 1905-1909, 1907-12-06
MONOPOLY DENOUNCED.

MUNOPULY DENOUNCED.
No Combination Should Be Permitted to
Corner Necessities of Life.
The antitrust law should not prohibit
combinations that do no injustice to
the public, still less those the existence
Of which is, on the whole, of benefit to
the public. But even If this feature
of the law were abolished there would
remain as an equally Objectionable fea-
ture the difficulty and delay now Incl
dent to its enforcement The govern
ment must now submit to irksome and
repeated delay before obtaining a final
decision of the courts upon proceedings
instituted, and even favorable decree
may mean an empty victory. More
over, to attempt to control these cor
porations by lawsuits means to impose
upon both the department Of justice
and the courts an impossible burden. 1t
Is not feasible to carry on more than
limited number Of such suits. Such a
law to be really effective must Of
course be administered by an executive
body and not merely by means Of law
suits. The design should be to pre-
vent the abuses incident to the creation
Of unhealthy and improper combina-
lions instead of waiting until they are
in existence and then attempting to de-
stroy them by civil or criminal pro-
ceedings.
A combination should not be toler-
ated If It abuse the power acquired by
combination to the public detriment-
No corporation or association Of any
kind should, be permitted to engage in
foreign or Interstate commerce that is
formed for the purpose Of or whose
operations create monopoly or gener-
al control of the production, sale or
distribution of any one or more Of the
| prime necessities Of life or articles Of
general use and necessity. Such COM
| binations are a gainstpublicp policy They
violate the common law; the doors
Of the courts are closed to those who
| are parties to. them, and 1 believe the
| congress can close the channels Of in
| terstate commerce against them for its
! protection. The law should make its
prohibitions and permissions as clear
! and definite as possible, leaving the
| least possible room for arbitrary action
or allegation of such action on the part
of the executive or of divergent inter
pretations by the courts. Among the
| points to be aimed at should be the
prohibition Of unhealthy competition,
such as by rendering service at an ac-
tual loss for the purpose Of crushing
out competition. the prevention of in
fation of capital and the prohibition
Of corporations making exclusive
trade with itself a condition of having
any trade with itself. Reasonable
agreements between or combinations
Of corporations should be permitted,
provided they are first submitted to
and approved by some appropriate gov
| eminent body.
The congress has the power to char
ter corporations to engage in interstate
and foreign commerce, and general
law can be enacted under the pro-
visions Of which existing corporations
could take out federal charters and
| new federal corporations could be Gre
ated. As essential provision of such a
law should be method Of predeteH.
| mining by some federal board or COM
mission whether the applicant for n
federal charter was an association or
combination within the restrictions OF
| the federal law Provision should alsa
be made for complete publicity in AN
matters affecting the public and COM
plete protection to the Investing public
and the shareholders in the matter of
Issuing corporate securities. lie an In
corporation law is not deemed advisa-
BILE, license act for big interstate cor
p0rations might be enacted or a COM
bination Of the two might be tried
The supervision estab iished might be.
analogous 20 that now exercised over
national banks. AT least the antitrust
act should be suppl emented BY specific
prohibitions of the methods which ex-
perience has shown have been of most
service In email bling monopoiistic com
binatons TO- crush ont competition.
The real owners OF y q corporation
should be comp relied to do business Ii
their oWn name. M The right to hold
stock 10 other corpora lions should here
after be denied to Interstate cogpeva~t
lions unless on approval BY the proper
rnnent ofncials ansiis q prerequisite
so such approval should be the lasting:
with The cove nnaens e,ff All owners and
stock lders both The corporation
owning such stoellk as,s lf,y the eogroras2
ton fr which such stock Is owned.
-
confer upon we national govern
men ction with aI,e
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