The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1909-09-23

Court, attempt to estabnsh some line be-
tween what are called good and bad
trusts. as II the suppression OF competi-
ton In some cases was q good thing and
In other cases was bad. I cannot agree
flat any u distinction can be properly
made.
"AI combinations to suppress competi-
tion or to maintain q monopoly In whole
or In part. OF Interstate trade, are and
should be in violation OF the antitrust
law and should be punished as such; and
there Is no room for the expression, 'rea-
sonable or unreasonable In this general
view OF the statute.
.'If the statute were limited to combina-
tions, conspiracies ard contracts to re-
strain trade with intent to m~onopolize in
~terstate trade, or with intent to suppress
competition therein, IT would probably not
include within It's denunciation a boycott
against goods going into Interstate trade.
because such a boycott Is a restraint
against Interstate trade with the intention
to restrain II, but IL IL not a restraint or
Interstate trade with intent either TO sup
press competition or to maintain a mon
opoly Of the goods with respect to which
the contract is made.
Against Any Exceptions.
II am entirely opposed to excepting
from the operation OF any law of gen.
eral application a class OF persons like
laborers or ~workingmen or farmers or
ministers or teachers or lawyers. Take
the antitrust law. therefore, and insert a
special exception to the application OF that
law by providing that Ii should not APP
ply to the trade unions class, and 1t would
be legislation OF the most vicious char
acter; but when you make the law apply
only conspiracies seeking to uppress
competition or TO m~onopolize the trade,
then the labor boycott ia probably not In
cluded, simply because the statute would
not seem wide enough to include 1t In its
scope, and this result Is obtained without
class legislation at all.
II am in favor of this change, because /
believed that the ordinary action In equity
by injunction In any place where the boy
colt IL operative can effectively accom-
plish all the purposes that ought to be
accomplished in the suppression of such
an evil On the other hand, to employ the
antitrust law for the purpose of suppress
ing evils growing out of the labor organ
lzations is to take advantage against such
unlawful labor organizations Of the literal
terms of a statute which was probably not
Intended to include that which judicial
construction could not avoid including
within Its words.
For a New Bureau.
st would probably seem wise to estab-
fish an advisory bureau In the department
of justice to institute prosecutions for vio-
lations of the Interstate m law
and OF the antitrust law, while It will be
wise to continue the bureau of corpora
lions, enlarging it's scope somewhat per-
haps 10 maintain the registration of cor
porations and the Investigation into their
operation so far as interstate trade Is con-
cerned.
1T has been found most difficult to
separate the administrative from the
quasi-iudicial functions Of the Interstate
Commerce commission, but It IL thought
that IL would be wise to take away from
them any responsibility in regard to the
investigation Of the validity OF their or
ders before the Interstate commerce court
and to leave the maintenance OF these or
ders to the department OF justice when the
appeal comes on to be heard in the court,
THE w statutes which must claim tho
attention OF our congress In it's next ses-
sion are the Interstate commerce law and
the antitrust law.
Talk Conservation Later.
Another series OF questions for con-
gress are with reference to the conserva-
tion OF These I shall not dis
.cuss now, but shall do SO later in my
journey.
The monetary commission will prob
ably report so that its final conclusions
ma be considered at the end of the COM
ing session, or at the beginning Of the
next. In any event as we look forward to
the work which this congress has TO do,
we must be conscious that the measures /
have proposed will consume all the time
there is"
Hnt..- HFL