Evening star., 1909-04-18
ELLIS ON TRUST LAWS
Would Make Meaning Of Legis-
Iation More Clear.
ExcEPTs PUBLIC SERVICES
Control Of Railroads Through In
terstate Commerce Act.
PUNISHMENT FOR EVIL INTENT
Control Of Prices Only Wrong to Be
. Righted-Private Business Best
in Private Hands.
PUNISHMENT FOR EVIL INTENT

/
| NEW YORK, April 17.-Assistant
| United States Attorney General Wade H.
| Ellis was the principal speaker at the
annual dinner of the Westchester County
| Bar Association held here tonight at
| Delmonico's.
| Choosing as his text the Sherman act
| in it's relation to business, Mr.. Ellis
strongly urged the amendment of that
measure and the placing of railroads be-
yond it's reach. The interstate COM
merce act and the interstate commerce
commission, he thought, were fully ad-
equate to cope with the problem of rail-
road operation.
Ellis on Trust Regulation.
Radical amendment of the Sherman
antitrust law was advocated by Wade
H. Ellis. assistant to the Attorney Cen
eral of the United States In his address
on 1.-The Business Man and the Law"
Mr.. Ellis, who declared that he was not
speaking as an official of the national
administration. but solely as a lawyer tc
1 lawyers and as a citizen to citizens, dlo
4 not stint praise Of the good he consid-
cred the Sherman act had accomplished
But he believed that the indefiniteness
of it's provisions had been productive OF
1 unintended results. and that 1t was nee
essary to make its terms clearly and pre-
cisely define everything that It forbids
1.-The power to control prices Is the
wrong which all antitrust statutes seer
to prevent said Mr.. Ellis.
\ with respect to gigantic combina-
tions of capital engaged in a purely pub
lie service. like the railroads. there is nc
need of any limitation whatever upon
4 their right TO make mutual agreements
Whv2 because such agreements do no,
and cannot control prices, since the
charges imposed for the service are con-
trolable by state or by the nation Itself:
| Therefore there is no reason why the
! antitrust act should apply to railroad:
at all. They are outside the reason fol
the law and ought not to be within 1T
| terms.
Interstate Act Adequate.
1.-The public interest may be securely
1 and completely guarded through the In
terstate commerce act and the admins
/ tration of the interstate commerce com
| mission Any additional legislation witt
respect to the supervision of railroad:
should be adopted as amendments to tina
/ law.
/ .'The railroads must be encouraged tt
| keep pace with the industry of the coun
i try It is a lamentable fact that rail
road facilities in recent years have no
responded to the commercial growth o.
| the country
'While it is true. however. that traf
i fic agreements and pools between rail
roads now forbidden by the anti-trus
act ought not to be forbidden. It Is no
true that necessary conditlon 70 rail
road Improvement is that all govern
mental supervision shall cease. The rail
roads are not engaged in private business
They are public servants.
The adequacy of their service, the TAI
! return upon the money invested, tn
safety and compensation of their em
ployes and the honest management o
| the business are matters of public con
Germ.
Punishment Of Bad Intent.
"The third consideration for an!
| amendment of the antitrust act Is tina
it shall punish only where the contract o.
combination is devised lor. the purpose o.
restraining competition or controllin,
prices. In every criminal statute th'
sravamen of the offense is the intent
| Why should not this be so In the anti
1 trust law?
] .Fourth-The mere size Of a corporation
ought not to condemn 1t. The chief evil
| which has induced popular prejudice
against combinations or capital has beer
| the maintenance by one of secret domina
ton of numerous pretended rivals. 1t is OF
/ the use Of concealed weapons In business
| that the people complain.
.Fifth-ln no amendment of the anti
| trust act must we make matters worse by
| paternalizing the attitude of the govern
ment toward private business. II the ma
| tional government once enters upon the
| domain of exercising through executive
4 or administrative officers the function OF
intimately supervising the affairs or pure
ly private business enterprises. the next
/ step will be a very short one to the con-
| duct of business itself and socialism will
| be at hand.
Propositions for Amendment.
II submit, therefore, these five propo-
| sitions that we must keep in mind in
| any amendment Of the Sherman act:
"First-That the meaning of the law
must be made clear.
"Second-That the only real evil is the
| power to control prices.
'.Third-That no combination of capital
| should be condemned unless the intent Is
| to control prices.
"Fourth-That the mere size Of a corr
| poration ought not to make it an out
| law, and
| Finally, that private business, SO far
as 1t is consistent with public welfare,
| ought to be left in private hands"
| Mr.. Ellis said that no one has better
stated the general principles which should
| be kept In view In any public policy as
| to combinations in restraint Of trade than
| President Taft. when as judge of the
| United States circuit court at Cincinnati
| he handed down his decision In the Ad-
| diston pipe case.