The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1907-12-03

4
should be accompanied by provision
for the compulsory publication Of ac-
counts and the subsection Of books and
papers to the inspection of the govern
| ment officials. a beginning has al
ready been made for such supervision
by the establishment OF the bureau OF
corporations.
| MONOPOLY DENOUNCED.
No Combination Should Be Permitted to
Corner Necessities of Life.
The antitrust law should not prohibit
con- hinations that do 20 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 We're abolished there would
remain as an equally Objectionable fea-
| ture the difficulty and delay now Incl
dent to it's 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
poratfons 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 a
! limited number Of such suitS. Such
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 againstpublicp policy. They
violate the common law; the doors
of the courts are closed to those who
are parties to them, and I 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 com binations
of corporations should be permitted,
provided they are first submitted to
and approved by some appropriate GOV
ernment 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
law should be a method Of predeter-
mining by some federal board or com
mission whether the applicant for 4
federal charter was an association or
combination within the restrictions Of
the federal law Provision should also
be made for complete publicity in all
matters affecting the public and COM
plete protection. to the investing public
and the shareholders in the matter of
issuing corporate securities If an in
corporation law is not deemed advisa-
bic, license act for big interstate cor
porations might be enacted or COM
bination Of the two might be tried.
The supervision established might be
analogous to that now exercised over
national banks At least the antitrust
act should be supplemented by specific
prohibitions Of the methods which ex-
perience has shown have been of most
service in enabling monopolistic com
binations to crush out competition.
1 The real owners of corporation
should be compelled to do business in
their own name The right to hold
| stock in other corporations should here
after be denied to interstate corpora
tons unless on approval by the proper,
government officials, and prerequisite
to such approval should be the lasting
with the government of all owners and
stockholders, both by the corporation
owning such stock and by the corpora
ton in which such stock is owned.
| To confer upon the national govern
ment, in connection with the amend
ment / advocate in the antitrust law,
power Of supervision over big business
concerns engaged in interstate COM
merce would benefit them as it has
benefited the national banks. In the
| recent business crisis it is noteworthy
that the institutions which failed were
institutions which We're not under the
| sllperyision and control of the national