The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1911-11-03
WORD To
BIG BUSINESS
Continued from Page one.


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to defiance Of the law. There may have
been lack OF energy displayed in the
past in the enforcement OF the law. but
there Is every evidence that this can
not De truthfuliy said with respect to
the Taft administration. !
President Taft is not running amuck
or permitting Attorney General Wick
ershan1 to do so. The country may
rest absolutely assured on that point.
Az heretofore stated in these dis
patches, no corporation or business
concern has been or will be asked to
do more than comply with the law as
laid down BY the supreme court. TN
I'll the court goes further than 1t has
and there are many persons who think
It should do so-the Standard on and
tobacco trust decisions stand as the
law OF the land. The president and
his chief legal adviser expect all corr
porations TO abide strictly by the man
date OF the court in those cases.
The general feeling among officials
here liz that 1t Is absurd for the lead
Ing financiers in New York and else
where to express surprise at the filing
OF this suit. J. Pierpont Morgan an
nounced with great gusto couple OF
weeks ago that the steel corporation
would not be dissolved, that It was In
every respect Legal, etc. 1t was sup
posed at the time that he was talking
to save the market He succeeded
in doing so.
AT the same time the great financier
must have known, officials say, that
the suit was inevitable The steel cor
porataon lie the greatest combination
or capital on earth. re the STANDARD
OH Co. was a proper subject for dis.
solution, therefore, the steel trust must
be. The fling OF the suit Is the an
sWer of President Taft to Mr.. Morgan
and Wall street and effectualIy dis
poses OF the financiers' announcement
that the steel trust liz legal and win
not be dissolved.
The truth OF the whole matter Ia
that combinations such as the steel
trust have known for a long time that
their day was coming. They know
today that 1t Ia now here. The stand
ard Oil suit was filed years ago. When
that action was taken other great cor
porations were indirectly warned 10
put their houses in order. some OF
them did so. Others did not. Those
In the former class may reasonably
expect to escape dissolution, while
those In the latter class may as rea-
sonably expect 1t.
There has been an Intimation that
capitalists have pushed the work Of
organizing trusts and rnpnopolies
rapidly with view 20 making them So
numerous that no administration
would dare to tackle them, fearing the
depressing effect on business In ren-
eral The fact that every industry OF
considerable proportions Is either di-
rectly or indirectly affiliated with one
of the great monopolies Is taken as
evidence that there Is foundation for
this theory.
It may be said that Attorney General
Wickersham IL hopeful that the steel
corporation will consent to dissolve
under a decree OF the United States
court without engaging in long and ex-
pensive litigation. Inasmuch as no re-
sp0nsible official OF the great trust
has yet been willing to admit that
there 10 any ground lor fling suit
tor dissolution or to concede that the
steel corporation has in any respect
violated the law, II does not now seem
probable that the trust will consent To
any decree until after the supreme
court has passed on the case.
The story that the suit against the
steel trust was brought for purely poli-
tical purposes is denounced here as an
bosh. The case was carefully pre-
pared on information gathered frst by
the bureau OF corporations OF the de-
partment OF comrnerce and lahor
which has been at work on the steel
trust investigation for six years. bv
the bureau OF investigation, depart
ment OF Justice, and by the STANLEY
committee Of the house II took a long
time to prepare the suit. Besides. the
Standard OIL and tobacco trust cases
were pending for years, and the vow
eminent naturally desired 10 know thu
decision OF the supremeacourt in thoxa
cases before formally filing additional
suits
This Is precisely what occurred In
this case. From now On the legal de-
partment has a rule to go by and viii
continue TO press vigorously ite cam
paign for the enforcement OF antitrust
law II liz pointed out BY friends AZ
the president that II the action against
the steel trust was taken for political
purposes II IL. apt to prove d boorn-
erang, since 1t will have d tendency "a
OEtracixe the business element.