The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-02-05
Measures to Make
Organizations Uncomfortable.
THIS is THEIR WEEK.
Measures Will En-
gross the Senate.
After That the Antipass and
Rate Bills.

lions doing business in the state which
Z have attra cted the attention of the leg
4 islators so far this session, although IL
would seem so from the prominence
that proposed railroad legislation has
| been given in discussion of the business
of the legislature. Corporations and
| concerns of all sorts, but especially
/ those which are supposed to have
| banded together in defiance of the anti
| trust laws of the state, have been the
| target for all sorts of measures which
seek to curb any rapacious desires they
may have in the restraint OF free
field for trade.
Kansas at the present time has an
antitrust law that is considered one of
the strongest measures of this sort thar
| is on the statute books of any of the
states of the union. 1t has been up
] held by the supreme court of the Unit
| ed States. OF course not many of the
big or little octopi doing their finest
| in the state have felt the tentacles of
| this law. But this has been for other
reasons than that the law is Inadequate
| or unconstitutional. OF course the an
| thrust laws of the state could be made
stronger and there seems to be dis
position on the part of the legislators,
particularly the senators to make them
so. And in this line quite as many
| bills have been presented which seek
to regulate in all kinds of ways all
, kinds of corporations, as there have
been to regulate the various features
of the railroad business.
1t is safe to say that if but half of
! the measures on antitrust propositions
which have been presented to the sem
; ate only, are enacted into law, the
many trusts of the country will give
Kansas no attention, while the interior
combinations in the restraint of trade
those which have organized within
, the confines of the state as individual
trusts or as parts of the great big
trusts outside-will seek to do business
according to law. That is, of course,
If the present and proposed laws are
enforced, and Fred S. Jackson, the
new attorney general has given every
evidence so far of his intention to see
that the antitrust laws as we'll as the
other laws of the state are obeyed. He
has even been instrumental in draft.
ing some proposed legislation that will!
strengthen his hands in his fights for
the observance of the antitrust laws.
The bill he is most deeply interested in
on this proposition is the one intro
duced by Senator Tucker which will
permit him on an order of a. court tc
inspect the books of corporations in a
search for the Substantiation of evil
dence that they are violating the anti
trust laws.
AS a matter of fact an antitrust bill,
which is of vital Importance and about
winch mucn mas not Deen SAID. because
of the railroad fever, has already pass
ed the senate. 1t was introduced by
Senator Smith and provides that cor
porations shall not enter into exclusive
contracts either with each other or
with persons who deal with them This
bill is aimed particularly at the So
called harvester trust If 1t goes on the
statute books it will mean that the
harvester trust or any other trust or
corporation, shall not insist in its con-
fro1 fe hot h
ducts shall not have the right to handle
like products on the market. Such a
law would give the Independent imple-
ment dealer a right to handle as many
different makes of one kind of farm
utensils or machinery as he cared to.
Under present conditions If he wants to
handle the products of the harvester
trust he has to enter into a contract
not to handle the goods of any other
concern. But this proposed law would
not apply alone, of course, to implement
dealers. There are many other lines of
business which would be affected. This
bill has yet to pass the house and re-
ceive the approval of the governor The !
senators passed the measure without a |
dissenting vote.
Although railroad legislation, such as |
two cent fare, anti-pass and maximum |
freight rates, have been the all en-
crossing topics for discussion during
the last few days, it is likely that |
though both an anti-pass and two |
cent fare measure are on the senate |
calendars already for consideration in I
the committee of the whole, the trust |
question will be the all important one |
to be considered by the senate during |
the rest of the week, or during the next !
few working sessions at least. Senator |
Brewer has no disposition to press his |
two cent fare bill until the members of |
the senate have taken issue on the |
anti-pasS question.
And there are plenty of antitrust |
pending which are bound to
attract all of the attention that the
senators have to spare when they are
not steering through those little local
bills of most meritorious'' character.
Senator Hayden has a resolution
pending in which there are a quantity
of whereases to the effect that~the anti
trust laws of the state are being vio-
lated and directing the attorney gen.
eral specifically to see that they are en-
forced.
Senator Waggener has bill which |
ought to make even the deceased |
agents of trusts working in Kansas
turn in their graves. He proposes to
amend the present laws so that a viola.
ton of the antitrust laws of the state
shall be deemed a felony, punishable
by Imprisonment of not less than five
years or more than ten.
Then there is another bill by Senator
Smith, which he declares would be the
most stringent antitrust law that I
SOUtu NC pAASca III a SloeOeS pOOh II
declares that when two, or any number
of corporations in the state, charge or
pay the same price for the things in
which they deal for any continued
length of time, say thirty days or more.
this would be prima facie evidence that |
they were in combination in the re-
straint of open competitive trade and
therefore violating the antitrust laws
of the state.
An instance of how this would work
out might be cited in the case of a
farmer who during the wheat selling
n |