The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1908-04-28
CONTROL OF CORPORATIONS
Reasons Advanced for Strengthening
the Antitrust Law.

The strengthening of the antitrust
law is demanded upon b0,h mora and
economic grounds. Gun purpose il
strengthening it is to secure more eff
fective control by the national gov.
eminent over the business use of the
vast masses CT individual. and special
ly of corporate, wealth, which at the
present time monopoliZe most Of tn )
interstate business Of the country. An
we believe the control can best be ex-
ercised by preventing the growth of
abuses rather than merely by try ing to
destroy them when hey have already
grown. In the hi est sense Of the
word this movement for thorough con
troll of the business use of this great
wealth is conservative.
We are trying to steer a safe middle
course, which alone can save us from
plutocratic class government on the
one hand or socialistic class govern.
ment on the other. either of whict
would he fraugflt with disaster to our
free institutions, state and national. We
are trying to avoid alike the evils
which would flow from government
ownership Of the publ" utilities by
which interstate commerce i chiefly
carried on. and the evils which flow
from the riot and chaos Of unres ricted
individualisn!. There is ave danger
to our free institutions in the cor.
rrpting influence exercised Ivy gre#:
wealth suddenly concentrated in tac
hands of the few. We should in some
manner triy to remedy this danger. in
spite Of the Sullen opposition Of these
few very powerful men. and with he
fill purpose to protect them in al
their rights at the very time that We
require them to deal rightful'y witt
others.
When with steam and electricity
modern business conditions wef.:
through the astounding revolution
which in this country began over halt
a century ago there was at first much
heSitating as to what particular gov
ornamental agency should be used L
rrapnle with the new conditions Al
almost the same time about tweni ,
years since the effort was made I,
control combinations by recuiat.n.
them through the interstate commerce
commission. and to abolish them by
means of the antitrust act; the tw
remedies, therefore, being in part mu
tually incompatible. The interstate
commerce law has produced admira.
Bic results, especially since it was
strengthened by the Hepburn law two
years ago. The anti-truSt law, though
1t work ed some good because anything
is better than anarchy and complet"
absence Of regula ton, nevertheless taS
proved in many respects not merely
INADEQUATE but mtschievcuS.
Twenty years ago the misuse o.
corporate power had produced almost
every conceivable form Of abuse, and
had worked the gravest injury to bust
ness morality and the public con
science. For long time federal reg
| ulation of interstate commerce haJ
been purely negative, the nattiona.
judiciary merely acting in isolated
cases to restrain the states from ex
ert;ng power which it was clearly IN
constitutions as we'll as unwiSe 70,
| them to exercise. but which neverthe
less the national government itse!
| failed TO exercise.
Thus the corporations monopolizin-
commerce made the law for them
selves. state power and common Law
being inadequate to accomplish an