The Washington herald., 1909-08-01

END later Of Marcus A Hanna At Gov
! Nash's request I prepared a municipal
code for the cities Of Ohio. and II passed
/ the legislature. In 1893 I was elected
attorney general OF the state and served
4 five years"
How did you start your war on the
trusts?'
After I became attorney general OF
| Ohio. / felt that il was necessary for me
10 learn my powers and duties. and 20
know what had been done by my srede-
cessors. I was reluctant 10 undertake
anything that might appear 10 he spec
tacular, insincene. or personal However.
l was required 20 receive and consider
complaints. My first trust case was
against the Hooking Valley merger. e J.
Pierpont Morgan combination OF railways.
mining companies. and coal lands
amounting 10 many millions Of dollars.
In Ohio II IS unlawful. with certain ex-
ceptions for one corporation 70 own or
hold the stock Of another corporation.
began n suit 20 dissolve the merger, and
recently the courts have rendered de-
cislons which fully sustain the allega-
tions Of the State.
Starts other Suits.
Then. on complaint. took action
against the Buckeye Pipe Line Company
70 compel It 10 carry the oil OF independ-
ent refners- Next suits, which are stil
pending. were brought against several
subsidiary corporations to forfeit their
charters. on the ground that they were
unlawfully permitting their powers 10 be
exercised by the Standard oil Company.
The bridge trust. composed Of twenty cor
rgw -
was entirely broken up. BY dummy bids
and the bribing OF public officers. II had
robbed the people OF millions of dollars
Other combinations, including dealers ana
makers Of plumbers supplies, cement.
groceries, and so on. saw what was COM
Ing and quietly resolved themselves back
to their original elements"
You have said that the success OF
monopoly depends on secrecy"
1t is a fixed habit with the public to
help and 70 sympathize with>the under
dog Mr.. Ellis answered. The creators
and managers OF monOpOlles understand
human nature. and so they conceal them
selves within subsidiary companies and
behind names that are meaningless to the
people. No man who ever lived no cor
poration that ever existed, could monOp-
olZe under one name the manufacture Of
any product commonly used by the pub
lie. II the Du Points. makers OF powder.
starting with one factory, had built or
bought other factories with the profits Of
the first factory and had boldly painted
their own name on all their property as
they acquired II. they never would have
gained control OF the powder business.
Competition would have come into the
nd ho
q share OF their powder from the other
fellow from the under dog who was
putting up a gallant battle. Bogus com /
petitOrs and bogus competition are abso- 1
lutely necessary 20 make monopoly ef- !
fective. The Standard oil Company not I
only understands the laws OF trade. but
II knows the peculiarities Of human na-
ture. Masked behind ali sorts Of names. |
II has prospered in regions where its I
Identity would have meant loss and. pos
sibly. disaster.
Aim Il Lower Prices,
I'm this connection let me say that
the whole effort of the States and Of the 1
nation has been to deprive corporations I
of the power to establish and maintain
prices. There Is no purpose to prevent /
simply because they are 1
or TO break them up mere (
ly TO see them go to pieces. Every /
thing that Is being done has a single /
specific object-the effectual hindrance OF I
corporations to fix prices Of commodities. /
The power TO set an arbitrary
price on oil. or iron. or -four, or meat.
or powder. or sugar is always a dam
gerous and often a concealed weapon
and should never be Slyen into the hands !