The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1908-04-03
| n..an,r ..ther ineffective or else mis-.

| necessary among business men. they ara
necessary among laboring men. they are
| becoming more ana more necessary
| among farmers. Some OF these combina-
| tions are among the most powerful OF all
| instruments for wronRdOing, Others offer
| the only effective way OF meeting actual
business needs II Is mlschievous and un-
| wholesome to keep upon the statute books
| unmodincd law. like the antitrust law
| which. while In practice only partially
| effective against vicious combinations
| has nevertheless In theory been construed
| 80 as swccpingly TO prohibit every com
| binaton for the Transaction of modern
| business Some real good has resulted
| from this law But the time has como
when It Is imperative to modify It. Such
| sake OF the farmers.
Dangers to BE Avoided.
| II has now become uncertain how far
| this law may involve all labor orsaniza.
| tions and farmers organizations. as wei
| "a all business organizations, In CONNECT
| with the law: or II we secure literal COM
| pllance with the law. how far II may re-
| suit in tn" destruction of the organiZa-
| tions necessary for the transaction or
| modern business as well as OF all labor
| organizations and farmers organizations.
| completely check the wise moven-nt for
| securing business cooperation among
| farmers, and put back half century the
! progress OF the movement for the better
| mont OF labor 4 bill has been presented
! In the Congress to remedy this situation.
| Some such measure as this bill Is needed
| In the interest NJ all engaged In the In
| dustrIeN which are essential to the coun-
| trys' wellbeng / do not pretend to say
| the exact shape that the bill should take,
| and the suggestions ! have to off"r are
| tentative. and my views would apply
! equally TO any other measure which would
/ achieve the desired end Bearing this In
| mind, would suggest merely tentatively,
| the following changes In the law:
Actual Damages az Limit.
/ II no such prohibition was Issued. the
! thpn liutlR 4
| tack on the ground that II constituted an
unreasonable restraint Of TRADE. When
! eyer the period ~ filing had passed with
! out any such prohibition the contracts
or combinations could be- disapproved or
! forbidden only after notice and hearing
with n rnaSnuIbl" provision for summary
r"vi"w on appeal by the courts Labor
organizations farmers organizations. aud
| other organizations not organized for pur-
poses 81 profit. should b" allowed to reg
istcf under the law 10y giving the location
| uf tho head office. tn" chur'"r and by
! laws. and the names ana addresses Of
| their principal officers. In the interest Of
! al tho" organizations S;s.Tys-, labor
and farmers organizations alike--thc
| present provision permitting tho recovery
| of thtcc-fod damages should be abOl-
| isncd, and ~ a substitute therefor the
( right of recovery allowed for should he
| only tho damages sustained by the plain
| TN aud tn" cost Of suit, including a rea-
| Souablr attorneys fee.
The law should not affect pending suits:
! a short statute OF limitations should he
/ provided. so far ms the past IL concerned,
| not to exceed year Moreover. and even
| more In the interest OF labor than OF
| business combinations, all such suits
| brought for causes of action heretofore
| occurred should be brought only II the
| contract or combination complained NJ
| was unfair or unreasonable II mny be
| well 10 remember that all OF the suits
| hitherto brought by the Government UNI
! der the antitrust law have been In cases
/ whore the combination or contract was
! in fact unfair. unreasonable and against
/ tho public interest.
Means to Avoid Strikes.
| II Is Important that we should cncour-
| age trade agreements between employer
| and employee whore they are just and fair.
/ 4 strik" Is n clumsy weapon for righting
/ WRONGS done TO labor. and we should eX-
! tend, so far ms possible. the process Of
/ Cancellation and arbitration as suOsu-
! tuto for strikes Moreover. violence dis
| order and coercion when committed In
| connection with strikes. should be as
| promptly and as stcrnly repress"d as
| when committed In any other connection.
| But strikes themselves are. and shoud be
| recognized to be entirely legal Combi-
| nations NJ workingmen have n peculiar
| reason for their existence. The very
/ wealthy individual employer. and still
/ morp the very wealthy corporation, stand
| at an enormous advantage when com
pared to the individual workingman. and
| while there are many cases where Il may
not hc necessary for lahorers to form
! union In many other cases II is indspen-
sable. for otherwise the thousands Of
| small units. the thousands Of individual
! wortlngmcn, win b. lef. helpless In their
/ dealings with tho one big unit, the big
/ individual or corporate employer.
! The business man must be protected In
] person and property. and so must the
/ farmer and the wagCworkcr. and as re-
/ CARDS all alike, the right Of peaceful com
/ blnatIOn for all lawful purposes should be
] recognized