Waterbury evening Democrat., 1907-12-03
MONOPOLY DENOUNCED.

AAOANO1 OAA DAANoolNSADe
 No Combination Should 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 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 it's enforcement The govern ment must now submit to irksome and repeated delay before obtaining a final i decision of the courts upon proceedings instituted, and even 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 a 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 tions instead of waiting until they are 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 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 againstpubllcp 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 law should make it's 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 ap ac- tual loss for the purpose of crushing out competition. the prevention of in
 flation of capital and the prohibition of a corporations making exclusive trade with itself condition of having any trace with itself. Reasonable agreements between or combinations of corporations should he permitted. provided they are first submitted to and approved by some appropriate gov ernment 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 ere ated. As essential provision of such a
 law should he a method of predeter-
 mining by some federal board or com
 mission whether the applicant for q
 federal charter was an association or combination within the restrictions of the federal law. Provision should also
 be made for complete publicity in all
 matters affecting the public and com
 plate protection 10 the investing public and the shareholders in the matter of issuing corporate securities. If an in- corporation law is not deemed advisa- bIe. a license act for bic interstate cor poratiOns might be enacted or a com
 hinatiOn of the two might be tried. The supervision established might be !. analogOCs to that now exercised over national hanks. 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- binatiOEs tD crush out competition | The real owners of a corporation should be compelled to do business In , their own nane. The right to hold stock in other corporations should here , after he denied to interstate cOrpoTa- tions unless on approval by the proper | government officials. and prerequisite ; to sach approval should be the lasting i with the government of all owners and ; stockholders. both by the corporation [ owning such stock and hy the corpora- , ton in WhEch s1ch stock Is owned ' To confer uron the national govern { me1t. fn co1Decfio1 uEfh the sme1d- ] ment I advocate f1 the antitrust law, ] poEer of sEFervfSsg1 ever biz basizsSs [ coz1Tns ezGEed f1 fzterstzte con l ne-ce would hezsSt tAe7 ss il has ] hezezted the nzttcnzI b1nks. Tn ths ' rece7t bzsin@s c-tsis E is n0ssuo-1hT