The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1908-05-01

these laws looking to the more effect
i've control Of the great corporations
upon the ground that they will do their
work well without such control. |
call your attention to the accompany
ing copy of report just submitted by
Mr.. Nathan Matthews chairman of the
finance commission to the mayor and
city council of Boston relating to GER
tain evil practices of various corpora
lions which has been bidders for fur
nishing to the city iron and steel.
This report shows that there have been
extensive combinations formed among
the various corporations which have
business with the city of Boston in
Guiding for instance carefully plan
ned combination embracing practically
all the firms and corporations engaged
in structural steel work in New Eng
land. This combination involved sub
stantially all the local concerns and
many of the largest corporations in
the United States engaged in manufac-
turing or furnishing structural steel
for use in any part of New England;
1t affected the States the cities and
towns the railroads and streets rail-
ways, and generally all persons hav-
ing occasion to use iron or steel for
any purpose in that section of the
county. AS regards the city of Bos-
ton the combination resulted in par
ceiling out the work by collusive bids
plainly dishonest and supported by
false affirmations. In its conclusion
the Commission recommends as fol-
lows:
Comment on the moral meaning Of
these methods and transactions would
seem superfluous; but as they were
defended at the public hearing of the
commission and asserted to be COM
mon and entirely proper inscidents of
business life and as these practices
hive been freely resorted to by some
of the largest industrial corporations
commission deems it proper TO record
its own opinion.
The commission dislikes to be
ieve that these practices are as al
legged established by the general GUS
tom of the business community, and
this defense itself, if unchallenged,
amounts to grave accusation against
the honesty of present business meth
DDS.
To answer an invitation for pub
lie or private work by sending in
what purports to be sanguine bids,but
what in reality are colusive figures
purposely made higher than the bid
which is known will be submitted by
one of the supposed competitors is an
act of plain dishonesty.
"'To support these misrepresenta-
tons by false affirmations in writing
that the bids are submitted in good
faith, and without fraud, collision, or
IL
positive and deliberate fraud, the sue
cessful bidder in the competition is
guilty of obtaining money by false pre-
lenses; and the others have made
themselves parties 10 a conspiracy
clearly unlawful at the common law.
Whereas, in the case of the "Bos-
ton Agreement" a number of the most
important manufacturers and dealers
in structural steel in this country, in
Guiding the American Bridge company,
one of the constituent members of the
United States Steel corporations, have
combined together for the purpose of
raising prices by means of collusive
bids and false representations, their
conduct Is not only repugnant TO
common honesty, but is plainly OBJ
as the Sherman or antitrust law.
The commission believes that an
example should be made of these men,
and that the members of the Boston
Agreement or at least all those who,
in October and November, 1905, en-
tered in the fraudulent competitions
for the Cove street draw span and
the Brooklyn street bridge should be
brought before a Federal grand jury
for violation of the act of Congress Of
July 2, 1890. The three years limita-
ton for participation in these trans
actions has not yet elapsed, and the
evidence obtained by the commission
is SO complete that there should be no
difficulty in the governments securing
conviction in this case.