Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1911-09-19
ANTi-rRUsr LAW sRINos INrot.
.tERAsLE .coNnlrloh TO susl.
NESS MEN.
sENAroR cuMMihs WORKING
ON IMPORTANT AMENDMENT,
Measure viii Provide For Some Sort Of
Tribunal to Pass Upon Reasonable.
ness o. Corporation Before Il Begins
eusinsss - Composition to % Pre-.
served.
Special to Times-Republican.

Dies Moines, Sept 19.-Relief for the
American business men from an in
tolerable condition which has come
about thru the imperfections of the
antitrust law is regarded as absolutely
necessary by a large proportion Of the
leading business men, and Senator
| Cummins is preparing to offer some
| amendments to the antitrust law that
will effect this needed relief. They will
be perfected when the investigations
now under way by senate committees
have proceeded far enough.
Senator Cummins Is at work upon a
bill, which he commenced long prior
to the calling of the extra session OF
congress, to provide some sort OF q
tribunal which shall pass upon the
legality or reasonableness of any or
ganization Of business men before It
begins business. At present there Is
no way that business men may know,
In advance. what attitude the govern
ment or the courts may take regarding
any business venture Of large proper
tons, and they must wait the tedious
process Of prosecution and the decision
of the courts. and this can only be had
after they have been engaged in busi-
ness a long time. Business men are
demanding that congress provide that
In some way the propriety of their
business ventures may be decided be-
fore they invest their money In the
same. The senator would provide this
relief
At the same time he Is planning to
add to the bill other provisions re-
garded as necessary to the preservation
Of competition as an active force IN the
business world-a limit to the amount
of capital engaged in any one business,
| varied according to the character OF
the business, the requirement that all
capital shall be paid in full value for
bidding any corporation owning stock
In another corporation, forbidding any
individual owning stock in more than
one corporation engaged In interstate
trade. and forbidding any one corpor-
alton engaging In more than one kind
of business:
Last January Senator Cummins out
lined this program for the placing OF
large business on better basis ana
clearing the atmosphere OF the COM
mercial world Of much Of the doubt and
uncertainty which now befogs 1t. and
since that time he has made much IN
vestieation and has done great deal
toward perfecting the plans for such
a. revision Of the antitrust law as VIII
leave all Its present good features IN
tact and greatly strengthen 1t for the
future. He expects that some time
during the coming winter these plans
will be perfected
Senator Cummins Is spending the fall
at work upon these and other import
ant measures which are sure to come
before congress and before his COM
mittee.
Practically all of the big rate cases
on which the attorney general has oeen
working the past year have now been
completed and are ready to go to the
ir+ar.tate commerce commission. The
Printed argument in the Mississippi
river cases was received and forward
ed YESTERDAY. 1t involves the same
question Of determinations as the Des
Moines and interior Iowa cases which
were completed some months ago. and
substantially the same question as that
in the St. Joseph-Des Moines case more
recently started These cases all In
yolye the gone" question of rate maxi
ing and the need for some method OF
deciding on what are proper rates at
competitive points. In all Of them 1t
is shown that less rate is charged for
a long haul than for a short haul. What
the interstate commerce commission
will do about these cases Is hard to tell,
but Iowa shippers who are working
thru the office OF attorney general ex-
pect some good results.
The board Of control adopted an in
in the quarterly conference OF
heads of the institutions this afternoon
John Davey. the so-called father OF
tree surgery speaks to the conference
on the salvation Of our trees and birds.
It is to be a stereoptican lecture given
in the portrait gallery Of the historical
building. Others on the program for
this coference are DIR. G. II. Hill. form
er superintendent at Independence;
George d. Eaton. the superintendent at
vinton; w. w. Runyan. assistant sur
geon at Clarinda; and e. A. Kepford,
the tuberculosis lecturer.