Las Vegas optic. (East Las Vegas, N.M.) 1908-1921, 1911-11-16
FAVORS GOVERNMENT CONTROL
BUT SAYS THE COURTS SHOULD
BE RELIEVED OF THE RE-
soNsIBlLITY
AN ADMINISTRATIVE BUREAU
Ex-PREslDENT BELIEVES BODY
OF THIS KIND COULD DO
MUCH GOOD

new 1Ofk, NOV. l6-Recent litiga
ton and legislation to regulate the
trusts is discussed and a remedy tC
mend the present situation is -sug
gested by Theodore Roosevelt in an
editorial entitled "The Trusts, the
People and the Square. Deal" publish
ed today in the Outlook.
The suit against the steel trust
by the government" Mr.. Roosevelt
begins. has brought vividly before
our people the needs of reducing to
order our chaotic government policy
as regards business"
He concludes with this recommen-
dation:
The national government exercis-
es control over interstate commerce
railways and it can, in similar fash
ion, through an appropriate govern
mental body, exercise control over all
industrial organization engaged in in
terstate commerce. This control
should not be exercised by the courts
but by an administrative bureau or
board, such as the bureau of corpora
tions, or the interstate commerce COM
mission; for the courts cannot, with
advantage, permanently perform |
executive and administrative func-
TONS
Before taking up his general theme
Mr.. Roosevelt pauses to deny that
the representatives of the steel cor
poration misled him while he was
p1 esident. Referring to the suit
against the steel trust, he says:
"One of the grounds for the suit
is the acquisition by the steel corpo-
ration of the Tennessee Coal and Iron
company; and it has been alleged, on
the authority of the government off
cials engaged in carrying on the suit,
that as regards this transaction
was misled by the representatives of
the steel corporation and that the
facts we're not accurately or truthful
Iy laid before me. This statement
is not correct. l believed at the time
that the facts in the case We're as
represented to me on behalf of the
steel corporation and my further
knowledge has convinced me that
this was true.
II believed at the time that the
representative of the steel corpora
tion told me the truth as to the
change that would be worked in the
percentage of the business which the
proposed acquisition would give the
steel corporation and further inquiry
has convinced me that the company
did 30. l was not misled. The rep
resentaives of the steel corporation
told me the truth as to what the ef-
feet of the action at that time would
be. and any statement that | was mis-
led or that the representatives of the
steel corporation did not thus tell
me the truth as to the facts of the
case is itself not in accordance with
the truth.
1T has been alleged that the pur-
chase by the steel corporation of the
property of the Tennessee Coal and
Iron company gave the steel corpo-
ration practically monopoly of the
southern iron ores-that is of the
iron ores south of the Potomac and
the Ohio. My information, which
have every reason to believe Is ac.
curate and not successfully to be
challenged, is that of these southern
iron ores. The steel corporation has,
including the property gained from
the Tennessee Coal and Iron COM
pany, less than 20 per cent, perhaps
not over 16 per cent, very much
samller percentage than the per cent
age it holds of the Lake Superior
ores, which even after the surren-
der of the Hill lease will be slightly