Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1910-01-08

Tree Opera1lOn OI COulpSIlIIOu LUIS
tendency to restrain commerce an
trade. A combination of persons
formerly engaged in trade as par,
nerships or corporations or otherwise
Of course eliminates the Ioompetitio1
that extsted between them; but tn
incidental ending of that competition
is not to be Regarded as necessaril!
a direct restraint Of trade. I'm
less OF such an embracing characte
that the intention and effect to re
strain trade are apparent from TIL
circumstances, or are expressly de
cleared to be tine object of the comb
nation. A mere Incidental restrain
of trade and competition Is not with
in the inhabition of the act but it ii
where the combination or conspirac!
of contract is inevitably and directl,
substantial restraint of competition
and so a restraint of trade that th*
! statute lis violated.
The second section of the act is I
supplement to the first. A direct re
straint OF trade such as is condemned
in the first section if successful and
used to suppress competition is one
OF the commonest methods of securing
trade monopoly condemned In the
second section.
1t is possible Tor uhe owners Of q
business of manufacturing and selling
useful articles of merchandise to sc
Ioonduct their business as to not VIC
Late the in(hibitions of the anti-trus,
Law and yet to secure to themselves
the benefits of the economies Of man
agement and of production due to the
concentration under one control OF
large capital and many plants. II
they use no other inducement than
the constant low price of their pro-
duct and its good quality to attract
custom and their business is a prof.
table one they violate no law. If their
actual competitors are small in conn
parison with the total capital invested,
the prospect of new Investments of
capital by others in such profitable
business is sufficiently near and poten-
tial to restrain them in the prices at
which they sell their product. But
If they attempt by use of their pre-.
pondenating capital and by a sale of
their goods temporarily at unduly low
prices to drive out of business their
competition, or if they attempt by
exclusive contracts with their yatrons
and threats Of non.Iealing except up
on such contracts, or by other meth
DDS of a similar character to use the
largeness of their resources and the
extent of their output compared with
the total Outbut as "a means of CON-
peting custom and frightening off
competition, then they disclose pur-
pose to restrain trade and to estab-
lish a monopoly and violate the art.
The object of the antitrust law
was to suppress the abuses of bus
mess of the kind described.
1t was not to interfere with a
great volume of capital which, con-
centrated under one organization,
reduced the cost of production and
made it's profit thereby, and took
no advantage of it's size by methods
akin to duress to srifle competition
with it.
/ wish to make this distinction as
emphatic as possible, because I con-
ceive that nothing could happen
more destructive to the property of
this country than the loss of that
great economy in production which
has been and will be effected in all
manufacturing lines by the employ
ment of large capital under one man
agement. I do not mean to say
Iudt IuC1O 10 uOL d 1AA41C UCyOAu
which the economy of management
by the enlargement of plant ceases; ;
and where this happens and combin-
alton continues beyond this point,
the very fact shows intent to mon
opolize and not to economic.
The original purpose of many
combinations of capital in this coun.
try was not confined to the legiti'
mate and proper object of reducing
the cost of production.
On the contrary, the history Of
most trades will show at times a
feverish desire to unite by purchase,
combination or otherwise all the
plants in the country engaged in the
manufacture of particular kinds Of
goods. The idea was rife that there
by monopoly could be effected and
a control Of prices brought about
which would inure to the profit of
those engaged in the combination.
The path of commerce is strewn
with failures of such combinations.