Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1911-11-02
TRUST PROBLEMS PRACTICAL DIE
FICULTIEH.


FICULTIE..
We showed the other day that the
principal effect Of the move to dissolve
the Standard on company had been g
force the business into the hands Of
subsidiary companies. and in the mcau-
time to enable the large etockEolderl
henr!ng tho market AS matter or
Kat business must he going on about
,he same as before in Sten1g.a Oil
companies in different sections VIVA,
tho psoplc want. howevs-. is t. SOC
sorNe offender punished
Il trGnspl:Vs that Attorney oeneral
manifestations. and in dealing wish
the question Of the reorghn zation OF
! the tobacco trust he is determined to
| guard against a result. of the charac-
ter outlined Mr.. Wichorsham'e answer
to the tobncoo trust reorganization
plan, filed in the federal circuit court,
SHOWS mat MS plan VIII be subject TO
! the following condition: The co.,
pcratlons. among whioh combination,
properties will he distributed for ,
period of five years shall not have Of
heers or directors in common. Tho
con- pantes she'll not have stock inter
est in each other. They shall not re-
tain tie same clerical Organization
mar occupy the sane ofHoes"
In all human probability this plan
the attorney scuernl socks to over
come. Taking familiar situation fo-
the purpose % illustration. it might
hc possible for the government 10
prevent the Rutland and the Central
Vermont railroads trom consolidating
OIL the ground that they are clearly
competing roads. But would an"
law be constitutional which said that
no man could own stock in both rail-
of men as Individuals own stock III
two corporations in this way can they
he forced to sell their stock? If not.
is there an law to prevent any man
or any group Of men acting as indi-
viduals from running each corporation
separately Yet SO that it shall nos
seriously interfere with the other?
IT is to lie noted in this connection
that Attorney General Wckersham
in his answer makes the following
drastic "sugge.tion:"
That the stock % the United Cigor
stores company he sold and distribut-
ed to parties other than the twenty
nine Individual defendants or others
OF the common stockholders of tho
American Tobacco company, 70 the end
that the corporation be entirely sep
arated from any come, tion with the
corporations to which the properties
and businesses now in the combination
are to be distributed
If the government can merely suE-
gest move Of this kind of what
avail will It be as regards the restora-
tlon of complete competition'
That the government realizes tie
present move to be temporary in cha-.
acter is indicated by other extracts
from the answer, as follows
"Obviously the effect of any plan Of
disintegration submitted % the consid-
Grafton Of the court must be more or
less a matter of onjeCture. and II Is i'm
possible for the court to determine in
advance whether or not a plan which
proposes to restore competitive condi-
lions will actually accomplish the
purpose Intended
"Any decree asccltaining and detcy
mining upon plan should therefore
reserve to the government the righ'
at any time within i've years from
date Of entry. to apply to the court 70,
other and further relief upon "A SHOW
ing that. as a matter # fact. sucr
plan las not resulted lu creating q
- in harmony with ana not rcprgnar'
to the law.
t ITO that end. as well as for Other
n purposes hereinafter expressed. eoct
. and everyone of the new corporation!
r proposed to be organized for the pur
II pose Of carrying out the plan shoulc
/ be brought in RS a party 70 this suit
# in order to be subjected to the 1uris
!. diction OF the court and bound by s.
- decree"
y Manifestly an embarrassing situa
} tion confronts the government Will
r business is Interrupted by the uncer
i" tainty a. TO what can lie done hvl
a IDENTIFY a practical solution OF n
= many sided trust problem remains I
be discovered