The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1910-01-08


| adopted, the comhiners have secured
monopoly and complete control OF prices
A combination successful in achieving
complete control over particular line OF
manufacture has frequently been called
Of the word is to be explained by the fact
that usual method OF earfytng opt the
plan of the combination has been to put
uals, firms. or corporations engaged in
the same business under the control OF
| trustees.
Monopoly destroys competition utterly
and the restraint Of the full and free
opera ton of competition has . tepdency
binstion of persons, formerly engaged in
tradt as partnerships or corporations or
otherwise Of course eliminates the COM I'm.
| the accidental ending of that competition
| is not to be regarded as necessarily q.
an embracing character that the intefl-
ton and effect to restrain trade are ap-
parent from the circumstances. or are
the the conf ton. A mere accidental re-
straint of trade and competition is not
within the inhibition Of the fact, but
or contract is inevitably and directly q
substantial restraint of competition and
so a restraint Of trade. that the statute
plement of the first. direct restraint
Of trade, such as is condemned in the
| first section. if successful and used TO
| depress competition, is one of the COM
monest methods Of securing a trade t no
1t is possible for the owners of a bust
ness of manufacturing and selling useful
| their. business as not to violate the in,
| hibitions of the antitrust law and
yet to secure to themselves the benefits
| of the economies Of management and OF
production due to the concentration under
one control of large capital and many
plants, If they. use no other Involvement
Il N n
| product and its good quality to attract
| custom, and their business is a profit
| 1t was not to interfere with a great
| volume of capital which, concentrated
under one organization, reduced the cost
| and took no advantage Of its size BY
methods akin to duress to stifle competi-
On with it wish to maks this ds
more destructfSe to the properly Of this
/ economy in production which has been
/ and will be effected in all manufacturing
lines by the employment of large capital
to say that there is, not limit beyond
| which the economy Of management by
the enlargement Of plant ceases; and
| tinues beyond this point. the very fact
shows intent to monopolize and not to
| Sugar Trust Cases.
| The result Of the sugar trust case was
not happy; in that II gave other com
lar method of making profit by estab-
| fishing an absolute control and monopoly
Sense Of Immunity against prosecutions
in the federal jurisdiction, and where that
| Jurisdiction is barred in respect to bust
with the boundaries of the country. no
1 state prosecution is able 70 supply the
needed machinery for adequate restraint
| Following the sugar trust decision, how
ever, there have come along in the slow
ton cases involving a construction OF the
antitrust statute and its application,
until now they seem to embrace every
| cally presented to the American public
| and to the government for action. They
s sn0w and ap p to many combinations
| In actual operation, rendering them. un-
lawful and subject to Indictment and re-
| The Paramount Question.
| The. question which wish in this mes
sage to bring clearly to the E; eons b
1 in order to avoid such possible bust
ness danger something cannot be done
may be offered a means, without great
| financial disturbance. of changing the
character, organization and extent of
| their business into one within the lines
of the law under federal control and SUI
! pervision, securing compliance with the
Generally in the Industrial combinations
called trusts the principal business is
| the sale of goods in many states and in
terstate and foreign business faced the
business done in any one state. This fact
5gsts tss daefsr yach in
bination to make and sell in Interstate
and foreign commerce the products of
lions as viii secure a compliance with
| the antitrust law. 1t is possible 50 to
frame statute that while it offers pro-
| harmful, vexatious and Unnecessary inva-
sion by the states, it shall subject it to
states, with respect to it's purely local
Many people conducting great bust
| lief that In some way or other "a line
may be drawn between good trusts"
and bad trusts , and nd that it. is possible
make a distinction under which, good
combinations may be permitted TO or,
prices, and do it all legally II only they
great profit out. OF the business.
| torious trusts as having grown into power
through criminal methods. by the use of
beg Varoa acts and Pa voatT
establishment q some legal line Of sepa-
kind can be punished, and they, on the
other hand. be permitted under the law
| to carry on their business.
| Now the public and especially the bust
| ness public, ought to rid themselves of
| the idea that such a distinction is prac-
| ticable or can be introduced into the
statute. Certainly under the present anti
| trust law no such distinction exists.
| In considering violations of the anti
trust law we ought of course, not to
forget that that law makes unlawful
methods of carrying on business which
| before its passage was regarded as evil
dehce of business sagacity and success
tand that they were denounced in this
act, not because of their intrinsic morali-
| ty BUT because of the dangerous result
toward which they tended the concen-
tration of Industrial power in the hands
of the few, leading to oppression and
injustice. In dealing. therefore. with
many of the men who have used the
| methods condemned by the statute for
the purpose of maintaining a profitable
business, we may well facilitate a change
by them in the method of doing business
and enable them to bring II back into
the zone of lawfulness without losing to
the country the economy of management
by which in our domestic trade the cost
Of production has been materially les
| sened and in composition with with
| foreign manufacturers our foreign trade
has been greatly increased.
| Corpora tons organized under this act
| should be prohibited from acquiring and
holding stock in other corporations lex
| cept for special reasons upon approval
| f1,a auth ft,,e