New-York tribune., 1911-11-17
ROOSEVELT ON TRUSTS
Continued from first page.

whatever their constituents wished them to
think, crafty reactionaries who wished 10
see on the statute books laws which they
believed unenforceable, and the almost
solid "Wall Street crowd" or representa-
tives of big business" who at that tline
opposed with equal violence both wise anu
necessary and unwise and improper regu-
latioa Of business-all fought against the
adoption of sane. effective ana iar-
reaching policy.
The Control Of the Trusts.
1t is a vitally necessary thing to have the
persons in control of big trusts OF the
character OF the Standard OIL Trust ana
Tobacco Trust taught that they are u%nneI %
the law, just IL was necessary tnlns
to have the Sugar Trust taught the same
lesson In drastic fashion by Henry J.. SUM
son when he was United states Dlslrict C
Attorney In the city of New YORK. But 10
attempt 10 meet the whole problem not py
administrative governmental action but by
a succession of lawsuits is hopeless from .ne n
standpoint OF working out peIHahenti!
satisfactory solution. Moreover, the results
sought to be achieved are achieved only
In extremely insufficient and fragmentary
measure by breaking up an Dig coIpVi p,, a., a.
tions. whether they have behaved wen oI
III. into a number of little corporatIons
which IL Is perfectly certain will be largey ,
and perhaps altogether. under the same
control Such action is harsh ana His
chievous II the corporation Is gum. a.
nothing except its size; and wnere, as m ~.
the case Of the Standard Oil. ana espec'aly
the Tobacco. trusts. the corporation mas
been guilty of immoral and ant-sociai pray.
tees there Is need for far more uraS,lt ~
and thoroughgong action than any una,
has been taken under the recent decree OF
the Supreme Court
OF the statements of the Tobacco case
in the Circuit Court. the ex-President
asserts that 1T practically leaves all OF
the companies still substantially under
the control of the twenty-nine orlglhai
defendants Then he says:
Such result is lamentabe from the stand
point of Justice The decision or tne CI-
cult Court, If allowed TO stand, means that
the Tobacco Trust has merely been oDlSed
to change it's clothes, that none OF the IedI
offenders have received any real puhisn,
rent while as THE New York Times,
a pro-trust paper says, the tobacco con-
Germs in their new clothes. are In POSITIONS
of ease and luxury" and immune from
prosecution under the law
"A Miscarriage of Justice"
Surely, miscarriage Of justice is not too
strong a term to apply to such a result
when considered i'm connection with what
the Suprem Court said Of this trust. Ihat
great court in its decision used language
which. i'm spite Of its habitual and severe
self-restraint in stigmatizng wrongdolnS'
yet unhesitatinSly condemns the Iopacco
Trust for moral turpitude. saying that the
case shows an "everpreSent manifestation
. Of conscious wrongdoing' by the
trust, whose history is 'replete with the
doing of acts which il was the obvious
purpose of the statute 10 forbid.
demonstrative Of the existence from inc
beginning OF purpose to acquire DOMINION
and control OF the tobacco trade not by
the mere exertion Of the ordinary right 10
contract and tu trade but by methods de-
ViSed in order to monopOlize the trade Dy
driving competitors out OF business. Whlch
were ruthlessly carried out upon the as
sumption that the work upon the fears or
play upon the cupidity OF competitors
would make success possible.
The letters from and TO various ofhclais
of the trust. which were put I'm evidence,
show a literally astounding ana horri1Nlns
indulgence by the trust i'm wicked and de-
praved business methods-such as the EN-
deavor to cause strike i'm their la rival
business firm'Sl factory" or the shutting
off the market OF an independent tobacco
firm by taking the necessary steps To
give them a warm reception or forcing
importers into a price agreement by cauS-
ing and continuing "a decentralization or
the business for such length OF time as
may be deemed desirable U quote from
the letters.
trust guilty of such conduct should be
absolutely disbanded. and the only way to
prevent the repetition of such conduct Is
by strict government supervision, and not
merely by lawsuits
The antitrust law, Mr. Roosevelt as
serts. cannot meet the whole situation,
nor can any modification of the anti
trust law avail to meet the whole situ-
alton. He continues:
The antitrust law cannot meet the whole
eituation mo- can any modification of the
principle OF the antitrust law avail TO
meet the whole situation. The fact Is that
many of the men who nave calieu thSih-
selves Progressives and who certainly be-
I.eve that they are Progressives, represent
I'm reality i'm this matter not progress at all
but kind of sincere rural toryism.
The effort to restore competition as II
r-ae eivty Years ago and to trust for JUS
tice solely to this proposed restoration OF