The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1908-04-30
the committee recommends as fal-

defended at the tublic hearings of
the committeeman and associated to
be common and entirely proper incl
dents of business life, and as these
practices have been freely resorted to
by some of the largest industrial cor
| porations that the world has ever
known, the commission deems It
proper to record its own opinion
THE commission dislikes to believe
that these practices are, as alleged,
established by the general custom of
the business community; and this de-
fense itself, II unchallenged, amounts
to a grave accusation against the hon
esty of present business methods. To
answer an invitation for public or pri-
vate work by sending in what pur-
ports to be genuine bids, but what in
reality are collusive 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.
ITO support these misrepresenta-
tions by false affrmations in writing
that the bids are submitted in good
faith, and without fraud, collusion or
connection with any other bidder, Is
positive and deliberate fraud: the
successful bidder in the competition
Is guilty of obtaining money by false
pretenses and the others have made
themselves parties to conspiracy
clearly unlawful at the common law.
Where, as in the case Of the Bos-
ton agreement a number of the most
important manufacturers and dealers
In structural steel in this country, in
cluding the American Bridge COM
pany, one of the constituent members
of the United States Steel corpora
ton, have combined together for the
purpose Of raising prices by means Of
collusive bids and false representa-
tions, their conduct is not only repug-
nant to common honesty, but is plain
ly obnoxious to the federal statute
known as the Sherman 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, entered in fraudulent competi-
tion for the Cove street draw span
and the Brookline street bridge,
should be brought before a federal
grand jury for violation Of the act of
congress of July 2, 1890. The. three
years limitation for participation in
these transactions has not yet elapsed
| and the evidence obtained by the
compassion is so complete that there
chould be no difficulty in the govern
ments securing a conviction In this
| case"
have submitted this report to the
department of justice for thorough in
vestigation and for action IL action
shall prove practicable. Surely such
a state of affairs as that above set
forth emphasizes the need of further
federal legislation, not merely be-
cause of the material benefits such
legislation will secure, but above all
because this federal action should be
part, and a large part, Of the cam
paign to waken our people as a whole
to a lively and effective condemnation
OF the low standard Of morality i'm
pied in such conduct on the part Of
great business concerns.
Duty Of the Citizen.
The first duty OF every man is to
provide a livelihood for himself and
for those dependent upon him; it is
from every standpoint desirable that
each of our citizens should endeavor
by hard work and honorable methods
to secure for him and his such a com
petence as will carry with 1t the OPP
portunity to enjoy in reasonable fash
ion the comforts and refinements OF
life, and, furthermore, the man OF
great business ability who obtains
in so doing confers a benefit upon the
community as a whole, and Is entitled
to reward, to respect and to admira-
tion. But among the many kinds of
evil, social, Industrial and political,
which II is our duty as nation TO
sternly combat, there is none at the
same time more base and more dan
gerous than the greed which treats
the plain and simple rules Of honesty
with cynical contempt II they inter
fere with making profit. and as a
nation we can not be held guiltless II
we condone such action. The man
who breaches hatred Of wealth hon
estly acquired, who inculcates envy
and jealousy and slanderous ill-will
toward those OF his fellows who, by
thrift, energy and industry, have be-
come men of means, is a menace to
the community. But his counterpart
in evil is to be found in that particu-
lar kind of multi-millionaire, who is
almost the least enviable, and is GER
tainly one OF the least admirable, of
all our citizens, a man OF whom II
has been well said that his face had
grown hard and cruel while his body
had grown soft, whose son is fool
and his daughter foreign princess,
whose nominal pleasures are at best
those of a tasteless and extravagant
luxury, and whose real delight, whose
real life-work. is the accumulation
and use OF power in its most sordid
and least elevating form. In the