The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1911-10-20
ATTACKS The SHERMAN LAW
GIVES POWER FOR HARM. SAYS
GOVERNOR BALDWIN.

Cites Presidential Order for Prose ION
Of New Haven Railroad and It's Later
withdrawal Would Have the states
Manage Their Commercial Anairs.
Hartford. Conn, Oct IA denun-
citation Of the Sherman law was uttered
by Gov. Baldwin in an address before
the State Business Mems Association in
Bridgeport to-day. Gov. Baldwin said
in part:
It Ia very hard TO make n statute that
works smoothly in actual practice. The
general. common law Is made by the people
as they 20 along. n grows up a. the Gus
tom Of the business world. 1t Ia generally
fair or u would not have grown up. A
statute often proves to work very uneQually
and very badly. II brings results often
| that nobody anticipated.
! The sherman act has brought about
results that nobody anticipated. One was
the indictment OF prominent manu-
facturer of Torrington, which might have
! sent him to iail and would have II the Judge
who sentenced him had not been Satisfied
| that he had acted according to the advice
of his lawyer.
| A statute ought 20 be SO plain that a
lawyer at least can tell what IL means.
| The Sherman act is not Of that kind I
presume that IL has already cost over
o. 900 900 to find ont from the courts just
what it forbids.
They have been slow in telling us, but
within the last year they have told us that II
does not forbid a reasonable restriction
of trade or production. This Ia what the
common law provided; but the United
| States have no common law. and so they
| Thought heat this
II gives tremendous power to the Presi-
dent of the United States. He can direct
a prosecution and he can prohibit prose
| cntion. lie can do both. one after the
| other 4 few years ago the President
directed prosecution against the New
York. New Haven and Hartford Railroad
Company under the sherman act II
shook public confidence in the management
of the company a good deal.
After few months he had the suit with
drawn. What good did all this do. OF
rather. what harm did all this do. TO the
company that IL the largest taxpayer II
Connecticut. and does the largest business
conducted in Connecticut. and has the mos
employees Of any concern in Connecticut
and has the most ckholders of any Con
: necticut corporation?
!, am told that there are thousands of me
employed by the United States to collec
eNluence OF NlOIaNlOns ol tne sherman aCt
They make their living by II. and the.
naturally sometimes report more than the
. can prove.
was glad to see that the biggest concer
= in the United States, the United States Stes
Corporation, recently when threatened wit
g n prosecution under the sherman act de
I clared that they could and should plead no
, guilty IL they were sued and fight II out.
, II they are not guilty and fiRht II ont an
win II Will be the turning point in the twen
tieth century business conditions.
They have never made a secret OF havin
I done one thing that might fairly be oues
h toned in court--the purchase OF the Ter
i nessee Coal and Iron Company But the
v did that nboveboard. They went frs
= to President Roosevelt and kneeled dow
:, aud prayed him to say that II they bougt
it he would not have them prosecuted
and he said in substance that he woul
not.
n Now If they have really walked straigi
e ever since | am glad Of it. " would sho
II that the greatest aggregation of indvidui
:. capital ever gathered together for ac'iy
q Use bv any one hand in human history ma
- be honestly and lawfully administered.
i We want more manufacturing capital
" Connecticut. II will give our people MOI
work and better wages. ! say let us thro
no unnecessary obstacles in the way ,
Y carrying on our large concerns and brini
n ing in more such. Let MS not encoural
Congress to create any more such obstacle
Lat the States manage their own concern
Let III have business peace as the rule an
business disturbance by legislative al
/. judicial action al the exception. That wa
lies the prosperity of Connecticut and
, her business men