Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1911-12-07
TRUST PROBLEM
IS 1AFT'S T0pe
Message to Congress- Devoted
to This Ono Matter.
DECISIONS ARE DEFENDED
Dissolution Plans Of Standard on and
Tobacco ExpIained-FsdsraI In
corporation and Commission
Recommended.

Tobacco ExpIalned-FsderaI In
corporation and Commission
Recommended.
washinston .-Presiden Taft's annual
nessage, which was read in both houses
Of congress Tuesday, deals exclusively
NTH the ANTITRUST statute. The message
a part 10 - follows: sfs s9
To the Senate and House Of Represent
Attves: This message 10 the FIRST Of SOW
oral which ! shall send "a. congress during
he interval between the opening OF it,
regular session and its adjournment TO
She Christmas holidays. The amount -
Attenuation to b communicated - .
HE Operations Of the government, the
Number Of important subjects calling for
comment by the executive. And the trans
nission to congress OF exhaustive r.
Ports by special commissions, make 1t I'M
tossible to include In one message of .
fcs that ought to be brought to the q.
4sntion Of the national legislature ut ~
2fst regular session.
Decisions Of Supreme Court.
In May last the Supreme court handsa
brought by the United States to en3oi4
the further maintenance Of tho standard
OIL trust and of the American Tobacco
trust. and to secure their dissolution, The
decisions are epooh-making and serve To
advise the business world authoritatfvoay
Of the scope apd operation Of the anti
trust law Of 1890, Tho decisions do nos
depart in any substantial way from the
previous decisions Of the court In constru-
ing and applying this important statute.
but they clarity those important decision4
By further defining the already admitted
exceptions to the literal construction OF
the act. BY the DEGREES. they furnish 9
useful precedent as to the proper method
Of dealing with the capital and property
best the need and wisdom Of additional
or supplemental legislation. to make 4
easier for the entire business community
TO square with the rule OF action ana
legality thus finally established and 70
preserve the benefit, freedom and spur
OF reasonable competition without loss o.
real efficiency or progress. g! mr.
It has been said that the court. by in
Producing into the construction Of the
statute common law distinctions, has
emasculated it. This 10 obviously untrue.
BY its judgment every contract and COM
bination in restraint of interstate trade
made with the purpose, or necessary e1-
feet Of controlling prices by sitting COM
petition, or Of establishing in whole or IN
part a monopoly Of such trade, is con-
demned by the statute. The most ex-
treme critics cannot instance a case that
ought to be condemned under the statute
which is not brought within Its terms ~
thus construed.
The suggestion is also made that the SUI
preme court by its decisions in the last
two cases has committed to the court the
underlined and unlimited discretion to de-
termine whether case Of restraint OF
trade is within the terms OF the statute.
This is wholly untrue. A reasonable re-
straint of trade at common law Is well
understood and Is clearly defined. It does
not rest in the discretion of the court. It
must be limited to accomplish the purpose
of lawful main contract to which, In
order that it shall be enforceable at all,
At ,>oust be incidental. If it exceeds the
needs of that contract it is void.
Methods Of Dissolution.
In the Standard Oil case the Supreme
and circuit courts found the combination
to be monopoly of the Interstate BUSH
ness of refining, transporting, and mar
keting petroleum and its products, effect
cd and maintained through thirty-seven
different corporations, the stock Of which
was held by a New Jersey company. Il
In effect commanded the dissolution Of
this combination, directed the transfer
and pro-rata distribution by the New Jer-
sey company of the stock held by 1t in
the thirty-seven corporations to and
among it's stockholders, and the corpora
coined from consptrtng or combining to
restore such monopoly: and all agree
ments between the subsidiary corporations
tending to produce or bring about further
violations of the act were enjoined.
In the Tobacco case, the court found
that the individual defendants, twenty
nine In number, had been engaged in q
successful effort to acquire complete do
min1on over the manufacture, sale, and
distribution of tobacco in this country
and abroad and that this had been done
by combinations made with a purpose
and effect to stifie competition, control
prices, and establish a monopoly, not
only in the manufacture Of tobacco, but
also Of tin-foil and licorice, used in ita
manufacture and Of its products of CT
gars cigarettes and snuffs. The tobacco
suit presentend a far more complicated
and difficult case than the Standard OH
suit for decree which would effectuate
the will OF the court and end the viola
ton of the statute There was here M
single holding company as In the CASE
Of the Standard Oil trust. The main COM
pany was the American Tobacco com.
pany, a manufacturing, selling and hold
ing company. The plan adopted to do
Stroy the combination and restore compe-
htion involved the redivision of the CAPT
Idl ana pletuLS Oh LHo WNOA0 tTu6I USIWOOl
some Of the companies constituting TIN
trust and new companies organized fo1
the purposes Of the decree and made par,
ties to it, and numbering. new and ot0
fourteen. 49,
Purpose Not Confiscation.
It Is not the purpose Of the 1statuts u
oonhscate the property and capital of tn
offending trusts. Methods Of punishment
by fine or imprisonment Of the fndivtdua
Offenders, by nne fof the corporation,ood
By forfeiture Of It's goods In trensporta,
tion, are, provided but the proGeeding 81
equity IL q specific remedy stog stop: thu
operation Of the trust By injunction, a.
prevent the future use Of the plant ant
capital in violation sof the statute.
venture to say that not IN the history
DS~~~-~~~~
Did 40 He was Told.
A young Irishman from remoel
part of Ireland recently secured I
a - q ~ r. n