Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1907-12-06

the consent Of the interstate commercs
commission being first obtained. Until
the national government assumes
proper control Of interstate commerce.
in the exercise Of the authority II al-
ready possesses. Il will be impossible
either to give to o. TO get from the
railroads full justice. The railroads
and all other great corporations viii
do well to recognize that this control
must come; the only question is as to
what governmental body can most
wisely exercise L. The courts will de-
termine the limits within which the
federal authority can exercise IT, and
there will still remain ample work
within each state for the railway COM
mission Of that state; and the national
interstate commerce commission will
work in harmony with the several state
commissions. each within its own prov
ince, to achieve the desired end.
Control Of Interstate
Business Concerns Urged.
Moreover, in my Judgment there should
be additional legislation looking to the
proper control Of the great business con-
Germs engaged in interstate business, this
control to be exercised for their own
benefit and prosperity no less than for
the protection OF investors and of the
general public. AS / have repeatedly
said in messages to congress and else
where, experience has definitely shown
not merely the unwisdom but the futility
Of endeavoring to put stop to all bust
ness combinations. Modern Industrial
conditions are such that combination is
not only necessary but inevitable. 1t is
so in the world of business just as it is
so in the world Of labor, and it is as idle
to desire to put an end to all corpora
tons, to all big combinations of capital,
as to desire to put an end to combina-
tons of labor. Corporation and labor
union alike have come to stay Each II
properly managed Is q source Of good
and not evil. Whenever in either there
Is evil, 1t should be promptly held to &C.
count; but 1t should receive hearty en-
couragement 30 long as 1t is properly
managed. 1t is profoundly immoral to
put or keep on the statute books a law,
nominally In the interest of public moral
ity, that really puts premium upon
public immortality, by undertaking to
forbid honest men from doing what must
be done under modern business condi-
tons, 30 that the law itself provides that
its own infraction must be the condition
precedent upon business success. To aim
at the accomplishment Of too much usu-
ally means the accomplishment of too lit
tie, and often the doing Of positive dam
age.
The antitrust law should not be re-
pealed; but Il should be made both more
efficient and more In harmony with act
ual conditions. It should be so amended
as to forbid only the kind Of combination
which does harm to the general public,
such amendment to be accompanied BY,
or to be an incident Of, q. grant of su-
pervisory power to the government over
these big corporations engaged In inter-
state business. This should be accom-
panied BY provision for the compulsory
publication Of accounts and the subjec-
ton of books and papers to the inspec-
ton OF the government officials. A be-
ginning has already been made for such
supervision by the establishment of the
bureau Of corporations.
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 II this feature of the
law were abolished. there would remain
q an equally Objectionable feature the
difficulty and delay now incident to its
enforcement The government must now
submit to irksome and repeated delays
before obtaining a final decision Of the
courts upon proceedings instituted, and
even a favorable decree may mean an
empty victory. Moreover, to attempt to
control these corporations by lawsuits
means to impose upon both the depart
ment of Justice and the courts an i'm
possible burden; 1t is not feasible to carry
on more than 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 lawsuits The design should be to
prevent the abuses incident to the crea-
ton of unhealthy and improper combina-
tons, instead of waiting until they are
in existence and then attempting to de-
strOy them by civil or criminal proceed
ings