The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-11-08

New York, Nov. s.-AIs there to be a second Yankee invasion of Europe? Some seven or eight years ago. direct ly following the Spanish War, there was much alarm In several foreign countries and particularly in England caused by the activities of American business concerns in seeking business abroad. The British had heard such lurid tales of the power of the trusts in Uncle Sam's domain that they were greatly concerned lest their home mar kets might be wrested from the con- trol of their manufacturers As matter of fact there was a great in- crease in the volume of American trade abroad, chiefly in industries rep . resented by big corporations. Some Of this has been retained; much of it was lost after the first splurge. It was trade invasion, not a trade con. quest. Its principal result was in waking up the business men of other countries and causing them to adopt American methods of handling trade.
 The invasion of foreign lands which is now being debated by various big corporations Is of different sort from this earlier one. It might more prop esly be called an exodus from the United States of combinations that have suffered, or fear that they may suffer from the stringent application or the laws WHICH nave pGCh PdooCd in great numbers by the different States within the past few years for- bidding monopolistic combinations. agreements in restraint of trade and deals in regard to the maintenance of prices and methods of handling busi- ness. It is no part of the plan of the corporations that contemplate follow ing the example of William Waldorf Astor by expatriatlng themselves to abandon the highly profitable busi- nesses which they have built Up fin this country. What they want to do. if a way can be found to do it, is to initiate exactly the head of the house of As- tor by retaining the ricn sources of their income on this side of the Att 1antic while seeking more congenial fields of residence on the other side. In other words the problem on which some of the highest paid corporation lawyers or the country are said to be working now Is to avoid the possibly unpleasant consequences of antitrust Legislation by the expedient of foreign corporation.
 At the time when the merger be- tween the Great Northern and North. ern Pacific railroads was attempted it was generally understood in Wall Street circles that the promoters of the Northern Securities Company care fully considered the question of mak- ing it a foreign corporation with It's headquarters in London. The plan was dropped finally and in the contest that ensued with the national govern ment the company was forced to dis solve. This was done under Federal laws. however. At the present time the corporations that are thinking of taking up their residence abroad are less troubled by the Federal statutes than by the mass of legislation passed by the Legislatures of nearly all the states which threatens to interfere se- riously with some of their favorite methods of handling their business and incidentally the business of their com petitors.
 Naturally enough the managers of corporations contemplating such a step as this are not eager to have their in- tentions made known to the public. Within the past few days 1t has been admitted, however, by a prominent corporation lawyer who has figured in a number of cases as attorney for the comb ination of meat packers most fa- niilIarly known as the Beef Trust, that these interests at least have been dis cussing the project of foreign incor- poration.
 Tt is true that the elatter has been discussed and that steps have been taken to determine the practicability of incorporating a company abroad to