The Washington times., 1911-12-16
BRANDE|S URGES
ENFORCEMENT Of
ANTITRUST LAWS
Lawyer Tells Of Secret Meet.
ing of Court to Approve
Tobacco Dissolution.

tiers related to regulation Of trusts,
Louis d. Brandeis told the Senate trust
investigators today.
Mr.. Brandeis, regarded as the most
completely informed and the most radi-
cal witness yet before the Clapp COM
mittee, declared with vigor that the
Sherman law should be preserved; that
business should learn that It means
what 1t says, and Is to be enforced.
He made the eyes Of committeeman
fairly stick out when he described the
star-chamber sessions Of the circuit
court In which the Tobacco trusts plan
OF reorganization was considered and
approved. All attorneys and interests
save those of the trust, the Individual
and other defendants were rigidly ex-
cluded from these hearings, which end
ed with the complete approval of the
plan submitted by the trust itself.
And those who were present were
pledged to secrecy as to what trans
PRED" added Mr.. Brandeis.
1t was news to the Senators and
ton. It likewise gave big impetus to
the Cummins bill which directs that an
appeal shall be taken from the circuit
court decree in the tobacco case. The
Attorney General has announced that
no appeal will be taken.
For three days Mr.. Brandeis has
been. on the stand. giving a wonderful
demonstration Of information, grasp,
and clear conception Of all aspects Of
the huge problem Of Federal regulation
OF business. He wants the Sherman
law left alone, but would have the La
foiiette Dill passed as supplement to
It to make its enforcement more easy
and effective.
Clapp Asks Questions.
Senator Clapp took up the Tobacco
Trust decision at the opening today. He
wanted to know If, as a matter Of fact,
In further antitrust suit against any
Of the companies that have been set
up by the court, the Government would
not be barred ,ssi, from all privilege Of in.
OF their organization, it's legality, etc.
IT should seriously fear that" re-
piled Mr.. Brandeis.
Demanded MSS S05 Senator Su d hner bon
know that these organizations being
approved by the judicial branch Of the
Government, 1t would be estopped from
entering into inquiry as to their le-
II think it would" Mr.. Brandeis ad-
Senator cummins took UP the question
commerce. He has favored a form Of
license. while Mr.. Brandeis declared
that he did not believe that would BE-
Of any use at all.
he ssid ne oud e nes be- ., serious. Be
cause q new corporation could he or
ganized at once under the laws OF an
n.e today to
row TO q HassaehSsetts Sorperation
sst ss the at a tna
SO long as the property itself was ner-
mitted. to be kept together and used
IN furtherance Of the general monopoliz-
Mr.. Cummins didn't think his plan Of
license would be open to this ob1ec..
ton ton; he had in mind different sort Of
Suggests Change.
Before taking up in detail this license
argument. Mr.. Brandeis said he wished
to suggest an amendment that should
be added to the La Toilette bill. He
would provide that a patent. controlled
and used in furtherance and support Of
enfed articles. should be forfeited
This would reach such cases as the
Shoe Machinery trust. which is charged
patented articles in order to secure
also those that are patented. and there
fore can be secured nowhere else.
Government ought not to patronize
trusts that 1t is convinced are violating
the law.
1.-The newspapers tell us today that
the British army has refused to receive
bids from the American Meat trust, be-
cause It is under prosecution for at
tempt to monopolize. Doubtless. that
will also be the attitude of the British
admiralty. 1t would be we'll II our own
Government would adopt the same policy
toward combinations that it Is prose-
cutting"
Senator Cummins expressed the opin-
ion that 1t should be possible for a
great commission to use the plan ard
scheme OF corporation, in its begin
ming, to determine whether 1t was cal
culated and vested with powers that
could be made oppressive to the peo-
pie. He used the excellent work of the
Interstate Commerce Commission as an
illustration.
Calls 1t Impracticable.
Mr.. Brande1 believed the plan was
impracticabls. because the problems of
industry are so infinite In variety and
number. Transoortation's problems re-
late to reasonablcness and to discrimi-
nation-they are uniform. standardized.
Those Of industry change for every
the Bureau Of Corporation investigation
Of the few business problems 1t has
studied. We should go very slowly in
great business affairs and policies"
Suppose" replied Mr.. Cumnlins. that
when the Steel Corpora ton was planned
the promoters had applied for license.
It would not have required long inquiry
to know that so great a combination
was or was not a possible monopoly, q
restraint Of trade, or menace to So
cietytnn ,n, ,,.r. maui, b. n.sd =, ,,,,..
long inquire sin many cases." replied
Mr. Brandeis, covering the whole state
of the trade. When men may reason
ably differ, you have the possibility OF
very extended inquiry. True. when the
commission shall have been in exist
ence a considerable time and gathered
a mass of trade facts 1t will be able
to pass on such issues much more
promptly. The volume Of accessible in
formation now is extremely small. In
making my investigation in the tobacco
trust case, though aided by the ablest
and best informed of the independents
yet ] found a remarkable lack of spe-
cific Information among these men,"
Tries Another Illustration.
Mr.. Cummins took another illustra.
ton:
''If In 1907 the steel corporations alb
eorption of the Tennessee company had
had to go to q commission for decision
there would have been no long in.
yesttRattOn needed to decide whether