Arizona republican., 1910-01-03
IS APPARENT 10 PRESIDENT
He Will Leave That Task to the Supreme Court, Which Has Been already Performing It In Its Own Way.

Washington. Jan. 1.-Two special messages from President Taft will serve to enliven the first week of the congressional session after the holiday vacation. The first of these will be on Wednesday. as both houses will adjourn out of respect to the late Sen ator McLaurin immediately after re- converting on Tuesday. and the other on the day following. Conser- vation of natured resources and the antitrust law are the subjects of the messages, but the latter topic naturally excites greatest interest among the congressman who are pouring into Washington today. eager to rest after the arduOus toll of the holidays.
 It Is confidently expected that one proposition will stick out of the presi- dential message prominently. This will be an argument by the president that the necessity does not exist for changing the sherman antitrust act dealing with combinations in restraint of trade.
 The president had held that this law should be SO amended as to limit it's application to such combinations of in dustry and capital as were detriment- al to full and complete competition. Had he held to that view MT. Taft doubtless would recommend that the law should be changed so as to make exceptions of combinations not within that classification.
 Like Mr. Roosevelt, the president had been impressed with the view that many combinations, while effected through the amalgamatiOn of compet- ing concerns, had been conducive to public good and did not constitute un- reasonable or detrimental combina- tions. which the law had sought to reach.
 But MT. Taft, according to the un- derstanding obtained by members of his cabinet and other cOnfidants, has undergone a change of mind. To At torney General Wickersham is given the credit of having convinced him that the occasion did not exist for changing the antitrust law SC as to exempt from prosecution combinations which. while they had suppressed con- petition to the extent of obtaining con- trol of competing concerns, did not practise bulldoZing methods on other competitors or on their customers.
 The attorney general in a long opin- ion reviewed all the anti trust cases that had come before the United States supreme court, about fifteen in num- ber. and showed that the court invar- iably had ignored what it regarded as picayunish contentious as to limita- tions of the law and had construed the law in it's broad sense as applying to combinations of capital that suppressed competition by big stick methods sole ly to swell its profits.
 It was pointed out that the court in effect had rejected the idea that where two or more competing con- cerns engaged in interstate commerce were combined, but which did not use the combination for the purpose of put ting up prices or stamping out other competitors or those who declined to patronize the combination exclusively. there was a violation of the Sherman act.
 Convinced by the attorney general that this was the supreme courts at titude, the president is understood to have undergone a change of opinion as to the necessity of recommending that the antitrust act be amended Fur thermore there is reason to believe 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 emendation of the sherman law was not only un- 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 ternpta- ton to violate its 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 pelled to take out federal franchises. That will be left to the discretion of the corporation. but MT. Taft it is understood. will endeavor to show in his special message that corporation operating under a federal franchise will be in a much better position toI do business than a combination like the Standard oil company, which con-