The Green Forest tribune., 1910-01-14

such corporations to file full and com plete reports of their operations with the department of commerce and labor at regular intervals. Corporations organized under this act should be prohibited from acquiring and holding stock in other cor porations (except for special reasons upon approval by the proper federal author ity), thus avoiding the creation, under national auspices. of the holding com pany with subordinate corporations in different states which has been such an effective agency in the creation of the great trusts and monopolies.
 If the prohibition of the antitrust act against combinations in restraint Of trade is to be effectively enforced, it is essential that the national government shall provide for the creation of national corporations to carry on legitimate business throughout the United States. The conflicting laws of the different states of the union with respect to for- eign corporations make it difficult, if not impossible for one corporation to comply with their requirements so as to carry on business in a number of different states.
 To the suggestion that this proposal of federal incorporation for industrial com binations is intended to furnish them refuge in which Co continue lnduslrlal business under federal protection 1t SuOQlO De said InaI tllt ItlGtiSIiC 10Aitsttt plated does not repeal the Sherman anti trust law and is not to be framed so as to permit the doing of the wrongs when it is the purpose of that law to prevent but only to foster a continuance and aa- vance of the highest industrial efficiency without permitting industrial abuses.
 Sure to Meet Opposition.
 Such national incorporation law will lNa Ia.r that trusts should be completely broken up and their property destroyed. It will be opposed second. by those who doubt the constituti0nality of such federal ih- corporation and even if it is valid. object to it as too great federal centralization- It will be opposed, third, by those who will insist that mere voluntary tneor- poration like this will not attract to US assistance the worst of the oHenders against the antitrust statute and who will therefore propose instead oI Il d sYs- tenn of compulsory licenses for all ieu- eral corporations engaged ia interstate business
 Let us consider these objections in their order The government is now trying to dissolve some of these combinations and it is not the intention of the government to desist in the least degree in its effort to end these combinations Winch are to- day monopolizing the commerce of thls
 
 acquisition and concentration of property go to the extent of creating monopoly of substantially and directly restraining interstate commerce. it is not the inten- ton of the government to permit this monopoly to exist under federal incor- poration or to transfer to the protecting wing of the federal government of state corporation now violating the Sher- man act. But it is not and should not be, the policy of the government to pre- vent reasonable concentration of capital which is necessary to the economic deYel- opment of manufacture, trade and com merce. This country has shown power of economic production that mas aston ished the world, and has enabled us to compete with foreign manufacturers ir many markets. It should be the care ot the government to permit such concen- traton of capital while keeping Open the | avenues of individual enterprise, and the opportunity for a man or corporation with reasonable capital to engage ir business. If we would maintain out present business supremacy, we shoule | give to industrial concerns an oppor- tunity to organize or to concentrate their | legitimate capital in a federal corpora | ton, and to carry on their large business l within the lines of the law.