The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1910-01-03


credit of having convinced him that
the occasion did not exist for changing
the antitrust law so as to exempt
from prosecution combinations which,
while they had suppressed compe-
tition to the extent of obtaining con-
troll of competing concerns, did not
practice bulldozing methods on other
competitors or on their customers.
The attorney general in long opin-
ion reviewed all the antitrust cases
that had come before the United States
supreme court, about fifteen in num-
Der, and showed that the court invar-
iably had ignored what it regarded as
picayunish contentious as to lmita
tons OF the law and had construed the
law in it's broad sense as applying to
combinations of capital that suppress
ed competition by big stick methods
solely to swell it's profits.
1t was pointed out that the court in
two or more competing concerns en-
gagged in interstate commerce were
combined. but which did not use the
combination for the purpose of putting
up prices or stamping out other COM
petitors or those who declined to pat
ronze the combination exclusively,
there was a violation of the Sherman
act
Convinced by the attorney general
titude the president is understood to
have undergone change of opinion as
to the necessity of recommending that
the antitrust act be amended. Fur
thermore there is reason to believe
that he does not share the view that
rules for the determination of the diff
ferences between a good trust and a
bad trust, with the idea of exempting
the good trust from the operations of
the antitrust law, can be specifically
laid down in law or applied properly
by any individual in authority. This
was an additional reason which helped
him to reach the view that amending
of the Sherman law was not only I'M
necessary but unwise
But while the president believes that
there is no occasion for amending the
present antitrust law he thinks that
the law can be made stronger through
legislation intended to remove tempta-
ton to violate it's provisions. In line
with this idea he will recommend in
his special message that congress en-
act supplementary legislation that in
terstate corporations may obtain fed
eral franchises to do an interstate
business.
It will not be urged by the president
that such corporations shall be COM
PEELED to take out federal franchises,
That will be left to the discretion OF
the corporation, but Mr.. Taft, 1T is un"
derstood, will endeavor to show in his
special message tI1dI al CoIpoI ALUM
operating under a federal franchise
will be in a much better position to
do business than a combination like
the Standard Oil company, which con-
sists of many subsidiary companies in
corporated in as many states and sub
iect to restrictive laws in those states
instead of being responsible only as
corporation to the federal govern
ment.
The decision of the United States
court of appeals in the Standard Oil
case. the court declaring that the
Standard OIL with it's many seemingly
separate subsidiary concerns. was
combination in restraint of trade, has
convinced the president that many
combinations operating under numer-
Gus state charters cannot be maintain
ed without danger of prosecution un-
der the federal antitrust law.