Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1908-04-28
ARE SUCH LAWS NEEDEDq
President Says Yes, and Gives an Ex-
ample of Sinuosity.


Allegations are often made to the eff
feet that there is no real need for these
laws looking to the more effective con-
troll of the great corporations, upon
the ground that they will do their
work well without such control. call
your attention to the accompanying
copy of report just submitted by
Mr.. Nathan Matthews, chairman Of
the finance commission, to the mayor
and city council Of, Boston, relating to
certain evil practices of various cor
porations which have been bidders for
furnishing the city with iron and stee,
The 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, a carefully
planned combination embracing prdc,
tically all the firms and corporations
in the United States engaged in manu-
featuring or furnishing structural stee!
for use in any part Of New England.
1t affected the states, the cities and
towns, the railroads and street rail-
ways, and generally all persons hay
ing occasion to use iron or steel for
any purpose in that section OF th,.
country. As regards the city of Bos-
on the combination resulted in par
ielli1g out the work by cOllusive bids.
priinly dishonest and supported by
false affirmatiens.
In its conclusion the commission
recommends as follows: Comment
on the moral meaning Of these meth
DDS and transactions would seem
superfiuous, but as they were defended
at the public hearings of the commits
sion and asserted to be common and
entirely proper incidents of business
life. and as these practices have been
freely resorted TO by. some of the
largest industrial corporations that the
world has ever known. the commission
deems it proper to record its own opin-
ion. The commission dislikes to be-
lieve that these practices are. as al
legged. established by the general Gus
tom OF the business community; AMI
this defense itself, If unchallenged.
amounts to a grave accusation against
the honesty of present business meth
DDS.
ITO answer an invitation for public
or private work by sending In what
purports to be genuine bids, but what
in realty are collusive figures purpose
ly 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
Interpretations by false affirma.
tons in writing that bids are sub
mitted in good faith and without
fraud, collusion, or connection with
| any other bidder, is positive and
deliberate fraud. The successful bid
der In the competition is guilty of OBJ
tanning money by false pretenses; and
the Others have made themselves
parties to conspiracy clearly unlaw-
full at the common law. s
where, as in the case Of the Dos
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 Corporatioa,s have
combined together for. the purpose Of
raising prices by means OF co,lusiy.
bids and falsec representations the.i
conduct is not only srepugrfant. to com
mon honesty. but is plainly sobnoxiou-
] to the federal statute known as The
Sherman or antitrust law