The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1908-08-25

fore. does not in the least infringe
upon the right of the states to protect
their own people. 1t simply provides
for the exercise by congress of the
power vested in it to regulate inter
state commerce. AS long as a corpor-
alton confines itself to the state in
which it is created congress cannot in
terefere with it; but when the corpora
ton engages in interstate commerce.
congress is the only power that can
regulate it's interstate business.
In proposing the exercise of this
power, the Democratic platform is not
asserting a new doctrine. In January,
1896, a Republican house of represen-
tatives adopted a resolution calling
upon Hon Judson Harmon, then attor-
ney general of the United States, now
the Democratic candidate for governor
in Ohio, to report what steps, il any,
had been taken to enforce the law of
the United States against trusts, COM
binations and conspiracies in restraint
of trade and commerce, and what fur
Their legislation was, in his opinion,
needed to protect the people against
the same On the 9Th day of February
he submitted reply, in which he de-
scribed the steps which were being
taken to enforce the law, and recon.
mended the enactment Of further leg.
islation. call special attention to the
following words:
Congress may make it unlawful to
ship from one state to another, in car
rying out, OF attempting to carry out,
the designs Of such (state) organiza-
tons, articles produced. owned or con-
trolled by them or any Of their mem
j bers or agents"
! His recommendation embodies the
very idea which our plan now proposes
to carry out We want to make 1t I'M
lawful for a corporation to use the in
strumentalities of interstate commerce
for the carrying out of monopolistic
purpose Surely no party can con-
sistently claim to be opposed to pri-
vate monopolies which will permit the
interstate railroads to be used to carry
out the designs Of monopoly, or
which will permit the interstate tele-
graph lines to be used to increase the
: pOHcT VI d private hOIopOiyy vi "
make the case stronger, no party can
consistently claim to be opposed to, the
trusts which will allow the mails of
the United States to be used by the
trusts as an agency for the extermina-
ton of competition. Congress has al
ready exercised this power to exter-
inmate lotteries. Why not exercise it
to make private monopolies impossi-
Bile?
If it is conceded that congress has
the power to prevent the shipment Of
goods from one state to another when
such shipment is a part of conspir-
acy against trade and commerce, then
the only question Is as to the means
to be employed to prevent such ship
ment The license system presents an
easy way of regulating such corpora
.tions as need federal regulation. The
law can prohibit the doing OF thing
and impose penalty for the violation
p of the law, but experience has shown
that it is very difficult to gather up
evidence from all sections of the
United States and prosecute great
/ corporation; SO difficult Is 1t, that al
though the Sherman antitrust law has
been in force for eighteen years, no
trust magnate has been sent to the
penitentiary for violating the law, al
though in a few cases the court has
of the law. In the enforcement of a
penalty. the government must seek the
defendant; by the use of the license
system. the corporation is compelled
| to seek the government.
A trust can best be defined as cor
poration which controls so large a pro.
portion of the total quantity of any ar
ticle used In this country as to be able
to regulate the price and terms Of sale,
and as the proportion controlled deter
mines the power of the trust for HARM
it has seemed best to use proportion
ate control as the basis of this plan,
and Is per cent has been fixed arbi-
trarily as the proportion at which the
line should be drawn. A corporation
which controls less than 20 per cent
of the product in which 1t deals, may,
In extraordinary cases, exert percep-
tible influence in controlling the price
of the product and the terms OF sale.
+ but as a rule corporation must con-
troll more than that percentage of the
total product before 1t can exert a
hurtful influence on trade. Under this
plan, the small corporations are left
entirely free and unhampered. This is
not discrimination against the larger
corporation. but recognition of the
fact that rules are necessary in the
/ case of corporations controlling large
| percentage of the product which are
| not necessary in the case Of smaller
! corporations Probably not per cent
! OF the corporations engaged IN inter
state commerce would. be required to
take out a license under this plan
possibly not one-half of 1 percent
and vet what protection the remain
ing 90 per cent would find in the law
requiring license in the case of the
| larger ones!
The license, however, would not pre-
vent the growth OF the corporations Ii
censed. 1t would simply bring them
under the eye of the federal govern
ment and compel them to deal with the
public in such a way as to AFFORD the
public the protection necessary. One
of the restrictions suggested is that
such licensed corporations be com
oil