Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1907-12-04
MONOPOLY DENOUNCED.
No Combination Should BE Permitted to
Corner Necessities OF Life.

NO S0mDlnaIlOn SnOuig 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 lie 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 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. It
is not feasible to carry on more than a
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-
lions instead Of waiting until they are
,, in existence and then attempting to de-
stroy. them by civil or criminal pro-
ceedings. Eth. 55g
! A com bination should not be toler-
ated If It abuse the power acquired by
combination to the public iletriment.
,gr,c,e
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 against policy. They
violate the common law; the doors
of the courts are closed to those who
are parties to them, and / believe the
congress can close the channels Of In
| terstate commerce against them for fits
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-
tuai loss for the purpose Of crushing
out competition, the prevention OF in.
| fation of capital and the prohibition
of a corporations making exclusive
trade with itself a condition of having
| any trade with itself. Reasonable
| agreements between or combinatio
OF corporations should be permitted,
provided they are first submitted to
and approved by some appropriate gov
eminent body. 7. 55s$ :ss5 ,35 5s5.
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 corporation could be Gre
ated. AS essential provision Of such a
law should be a method of predeter-
mining by some federal board or com
4 mission whether the applicant for a
4 federal charter was an association or
coordination within the restrictions OF
the federal law. Provision should also
be made for complete publicity id all
matters affecting the public and COM
plete. protection to the investing public
and the sharehcld ers In the matter Of
issuing corporate securities. If an In
corporation law is not deemed advisa-
BILE, q license act for big interstate cor
4 porations might be enacted or COM
bfnation 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
/ banations to crush out competition.
| The real owners Of q 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
1 tons unless on approval by the proper
goyerrlaent officials, and prerequisite
to such approval should be the lasting
with the government Of ali owners and
stockhold eFs. both by the corporation
Downing such stock and by the corpora
ton in which sneh stock Is owned.
TO confer upon the national govern
paent. In connection with the amend