Omaha daily bee., 1909-03-26
Congressman Martin Has a Bill to
Regulate Corporations.
AIMED TO PREVENT MONOPOLY
Also Proposes to Regulate the Capi.
talization of Them.
TAKES QUESTION UP WITH TAFT
Fight over the Postmastership at
McCoOk is settled by Appoint-
ment of Gon COne-Other
Matters mt Capital.
CFrom a staff Correspondent

WASHINGTON, March B.-(special Tele-
gram. )--Senator Norris Brown introduced
a bill today creating an additional division
in the railway mail service, with head
quarters at Omaha. It is understood the
bill has the support Of the Postoffice de-
partment and will In all probability become
law at the next session.
He also introduced bill to amend the
national banking laws which, If passed,
will give to the government interest on
governmental deposits at 2 per cent per
annum instead of per cent. Since May q
last the government has collected over
$500 600 in interest at / per cent on govern
ment deposits. If Senator Browns bill Is
parsed 1t will bring TO the government an
income of at least $1,000 a year.
Regulation of Corporations.
Representative Martin of South Dakota,
author of the resolution under which the
operations of the Beef trust were investi-
gated by the commissioner of corporations,
and later prosecuted in tho federal courts,
has prepared a bill applying drastic regula-
tions to interstate corporations
II is aimed particularly at those corpora
items handling food and fuel supplies. 1t
provides that before corporation shall
engage in commerce. between the states It
shall secure a license from the federal gov
ernment showing first that it Is not operat-
ing in restraint of trade, that 1t is not a
monopoly and that It Is not over capitalized.
Authority is given the secretary of COM
merce and labor to examine the books of
all corporations. and in addition corpora
tions are required to make annual reports
to the government. Representative Martin,
who has discussed the terms of the bill
with President Taft, said today:
'Close study of the corporate conditions
and the tendency toward unlawful COM
binations has convinced me that more eff
fective supervision Of the large corpora
tions engaged in Interstate commerce by
way OF federal regulation is necessary In
order to properly enforce our antitrust
laws There has been considerable clamor
from corporation sources for the repeal, or
radical modification of the antitrust act
by amendments. My judgment is that what
we need in this line is not a repeal, but a
more rigid enforcement OF our antitrust
laws The amendments required should be
chiefly to compel observance OF the law.
Make the penalty for violation OF the law
80 severe that it would become more prof
table for the corporations to do business
according to 1t than in violation of It.
Public opinion at the present time ap-
pears to be divided between some new
arguments that are developing to the effect
that we must have monopolies under our
present condition OF commerce, and those
who hold to the old ideas that monopolies
are vicious in our modern commercial con-
ditions as under the common law. 1 hold
to the old-fashioned idea that free COM
petition is as necessary in this day and
age as formerly and that private monopoly
in any form is vicious and against the best
interests of the people"
McCOOk Postmaster Named.
The president sent to the senate today
the nomination of Lon Gone as postmaster
at McCook. Neb and J. w. Jarnagin as
postmaster at Cedar Falls, Ia
Rural carriers appointed: Nebraska, Cook,
route 2, Daniel v. Platt, carrier; John M.
Platt, substitute Indianola, route Roy
smith, carrier; Norman W. Baker substi-
tute South Dakota, Artesian, route g. Lewis
A. Braa, carrier: Oscar A Larson. substi-
tute: Mount Vernon, route 3, Fred w. Hill,
carrier; Lorenzo, f. MARBLE substitute.
Andrew Fellentreter has been appointed
vice Charles c. Lee, resigned.
First Lieutenant James s. Kennedy,
medical reserve corps, is relieved from duty
at Fort Omaha. effective upon the arrival
OF Major L. Gilohrist, medical corps, at
| that post and will then proceed to Fort
Sam Houston for duty