Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1910-01-07
Urges United States Court of
Commerce, with Original
Jurisdiction.
WOULD NOT INTERFERE WITH
BENEFICIAL COMBINATIONS
National Legislation and Super.
vision to Prevent 0verissue of
Stocks and Bonds.

Stocks and Bonds.
the later decisions of the court, how
ever, shows quite clearly in cases pre-
senting the exact question that such
incidental restraints of trade are held
not to be within the law and are ex-
cluded by the general statement that,
to be within the statute, the effect upon
the trade of the restraint must be d.
rect and not merely incidental or in
direct. The necessity, therefore, for
an amendment of the statute so as to
exclude these incidental and beneficial
covenants in restraint of trade held at
common law to be reasonable does not
exist.
No Change Necessary.
In some of the opinions of the Fed
e, ! circuit judges there have been in
timations, having the effect, il sound,
to weaken the force of the statute by
including within 1t absurdly unimpor-
tant combinations and arrangements,
and suggesting therefore the wisdom
of changing it's language by limiting
its application to serious combinations
will intent to restrain competition or
control prices. A reading of the opin-
ions of the Supreme Court, however,
makes the change unnecessary, for they
exclude from the operation of the act
contracts affecting interstate trade in
but a small and incidental way, and
apply the statute only to the real evil
aimed at by Congress.
The statute has been on the statute.
book now for two decades, n the
Supreme Court in more than a dozen
-. ~. 1n.. a H. ...
to various phases of business coinbi-
nations and in reference to various
subjects-matter. 1t has applied 1t to
the union under one control of two
competing interstate railroads, to joint
traffic arrangements. between several
interstate railroads, to private manu-
facturers engaged in a plain attempt to
control prices and suppress competition
In a part of the country, including q
dozen States. and to many other conf
binations affecting interstate trade.
The value of a statute which Is rem
dered more and more certain in It's
meaning by q series Of decisions of the
Supreme Court furnishes a strong rea-
son for leaving the act as it is, to
accomplish its useful purpose, even
though IL it were being newly enacted
useful suggestions as to change of
phrase might be made.
1t IL the duty and the purpose OF
the executive to direct an %invcsti-
cation by the department of JUS
tiee, through the grand jury or
otherwise, Into the history, or
ganisatlon and purposes of all the
industrial companies with respect
to which there In any reasonable
-~--A r. -.--sso- 49, fhn1 buxa
been organized for q purpose, and
arc conducting business on a plan
which is in violation of the anti
trust law.
The work is a heavy one. but it
is not beyond h power of the
department of justice. if sufii-
cient funds are furnished, to carry
on the Investigations and to pay the
counsel engaged in the work. But such
an investigation and possible prosecu-
ton of corporations whose prosperity or
destruction affects the comfort not only
of stockholders but of millions of wage
Farmers, employees and associated
tradesmen, must necessarily tend to
disturb the confidence Of Ii business
community, to dry up the now flowing
sources of capital from its places of
boarding, and produce a halt in our
present prosperity that will cause suf-
fering and strained circumstances
among the innocent many for the faults
of the guilty few.
The question which / wish in this
message to bring clearly to the con-
sideratiOn and discussion of Con-
gress Il whether In order to avoid
such a possible business danger
- - - --u.E.
these business combinations may
he offered n means, without great
HnancIsi disturbance, of changing
the character, organization and cx-
tent Of their business into ono
within 4hc lines OF the law under
Federal control ard supervision,
securing compliance with the anti
trust statute.
Generally, in the industrial %conlbina-
tions called trusts" the principal
business is the sale of goods in many
states and in foreign markets; i'll
other words, the interstate and foreign
business far exceeds the business done
in any one State. This fact will justify
the Federal government in granting a
Federal charter to such a combination
to make and sell in interstate and
foreign the products of use
full manufacture under such limita-
tons as will secure a compliance with
the antitrust law. 1t is possible SO to
frame a statute that while it offers
protection to a Federal company
against harmful, vexatious and UNI
necessary invasion by The States, it
shall subject it to reasonable taxation
and control by the States, with respect
to its purely local business.
Good and Bad Trusts.
Many people conducting great bust
nesses have cherished a hope and a be-
lief that in some way or other a line
may be drawn between good trusts"
and dad trusts and that it is possible
by amendment to the antitrust law to
make q distinction under which good
combinations may be permitted to or
ganize, suppress competition. control
prices and do it all legally if only they
do not abuse the power by taking too
gieat profit out of the business. They
POINT with force to certain notorious
trusts as having growp into power
through criminal methods by the use of
illegal rebates and plain cheating, and