The news-democrat. (Providence, R.I.) 1906-1909, 1907-01-03
LAWYERS BLAMED
FOR TRUSTS AND
MON0P0L|ES

Buffalo. n. y, Jan. S,--Justice William
j. Gaynor OF Brooklyn, who was the
pn9lpsl guest n a. The annual dinner OF
ing on the subject, The Responsibilities
OF the Bench and Bar" scored the law =
yers OF the country as being accountable
FOR the existence OF commercial trusts
and monopoles
He declared that the courts by their
decisions broke up all such combinations,
whereupon the lawyers caused 10 be en-
acted laws which nullif1ed these decisions
and re-established such concerns as the
Sugar trust and the Standard oil on a
more stable basis than they had ever be
fore known He said.
Seventy per cent OF the members OF
our legislatures are lawyers. They CON
troll the legislation of the country, They
are therefore responsible for certain con-
ditions existing In the country, The
by which Is meant the combination or
partnership together of competing cor
porstions In the production OF the same
commercial article, The earliest Of such
combinations were made by means of
agreements.
For instance. 20 years ago the 10 sugar
refining corporations entered into an
agreement by which l2 trustees were ap-
pointed, and then the stockholders OF each
OF them turned over their stock 10 these
trustees, which, OF course, gave such
trustees absolute control of each OF the
corporations and enabled them TO elect
The board OF directors Of each and run all
OF the corporations as a unit Thus 16
competing concerns were turned into one
ana competition among them destroyed.
and prices controlled. In the very same
way the 80 different Standard OF cor
porations, dispersed all over the country
and holding charters from the different
states, We're turned into one monopoly.
In 1890 tho highest courts in New
York and Ohio declared these combina-
tons illegal and dissolved them, The de-
cisions were 20 simple that all laymen
dor Utfss.. NlAe la
the common law permits individuals to
unite in business and become co-pertners.
II does not permit corporations TO unite
IN business or become co-partners. No
SUCH thing a. a partnership OF cor
poratlons rs allowed. and these combina-
tions OF formerly competing corporations
were In effect co-partnerships OF corpora
tions.
at was all very simple and such COM
blnattons 10 end competition and substi-
tute monopoly We're Killed by the courts
az r. blow. But what did the lawyers in
our legislatures straightway do2 Why.
they passed laws TO nullify the effect OF
these judicial decisions. They passed
statutes enabling the creation OF corpora
tions TO acquire and hold the shares OF
stock of any Other number OF corporations
without limit. Now, II a corporation can
hold all OF the certificates OF shares of
stock OF number OF corporations they
can In that way be AL united under the
control OF such holding corporation.
After the court decisions which have
mentioned such a holding corporation was
formed 10 hold all OF the shares OF stock
OF the i6 sugar corporations, and another
was formed TO hold al OF the shares OF
stock or the 80 Standard oil corpora tions,
and the certificates of shares were turned
over TO these holding corporations, and
In that way the combination or co-part-
nership OF these corporations which the
courts had declared Illegal was perpetu-
ated forever And the leading industries
OF the country have since been turned
into monorolies in the sa me way. That
has been the work of the lawyers of the
country in our latures.