Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1907-12-03
MONOPOLY DENOUNCED.
No Combination Should Be Permitted to
Corner Necessities of Life.

SothSt iNS$NoottSS VI
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 irksomc and
repeated delay before obtaining q final
decision of the courts upon proceedings
instituted, and even a 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. II
Is not feasible to carry on more than n
limited number of such suits. Such q
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
llouS IllotCtu VI ulltli they dIc
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
fnraierT1 fnforctof 70 fhof iS
formed for the purpose of or whose
operations create a 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. 1aW, should make its
prohibitions and permissions as clNlr
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 rs by rendering service at an ac-
tual loss for the purpose of crushing
out competition, the prevention of in
flation of capital and the prohibition
of Il 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 a 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 q
law should be method of predeter-
mining by some federal board or COM
mission whether the applicant for a
| federal charter was an association or
combination within the restrictions OF
| the federal law. Provision should also
| be made for complete publicity In al
| matters affecting the public and com
| piete protection to the investing public
and the shareholders In the matter OF
| issuing corporate securities. If an In
| corporation law is not deemed advisa
| BILE. a license act for big interstate cor
! poratio might be enacted or a com
bination of the two might be tried
| The supervision established might b,
| analogous to that now exercised ovel
national banks. At least the antitrus
act should be supplemented by specifi.
1 prohibitions of the methods which ex
i nerience has shown have been of mos
/ service in enabling monepolistic com
! binations to crush out competition
The real owners of a corporation
should be compelled to do business IL
their own name The right to holt
stock in other corporations should here
after be denied to interstate corpora
tons unless on approval by the prope
government officials, and prerequisite
TO such approval should be the lastin,
with the government of all owners an,
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 bushes
concerns engaged in interstate com
merce would benefit them as it ha
benefited the national banks. In tn
recent business crisis it is noteworth
that the institutions which failed wer
institutions which We're not under th
supervision and control of the nations
government. Those which were undo
national control stood the test. i,
National control of the kind aboY
advocated would be TO the benefit {
every well managed railway. Frol
the standpoint Of the public there
-I1l.TI { .sa1nKs