Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-06-15

Sherman act "even as now interpreted
an Ineffective remedy In the just COM
plant of the ordinary man against
monopolies," Judge Peter. s. Grosscup
OF the United States circuit court OF
appeals, proposed in the commences
ment address before the University OF
Iowa today new method OF dealing
with trusts.
"To recognize combination and
monopoly as something necessarily
here-suuare the law to the fact-and
then, as condition to granting cor.
porate power at all. reserve the right
to regulate dividends" is the remedy
Judge Grosscup advances.
Judge Grosscup's discussion OF the
remedy proposed by him was prefaced
by revi " Of the Sherman act ID
which he aid:
"As interpreted prior to May Of this
year the Sherman antitrust act was
believed to be a weapon, In the hands
Of the men who happened to consti-
tute the administration at Washington
to destroy such specific monopolies
and combinations as the administra.
tion chose to consider hurtful to COM
petition in enterprise. Instead the
Sherman act became q sunken mine.
over which nearly every form OF enter.
prise had to sail--the fuse that would
set 1t on, or keep 1t harmless, running
direct to the Office of the attorney gen.
eral at Washington.
Favors National Incorporation.
"But will big business" continued
Judge Grosscup, with no restraint
hanging over 1t other than the Sher.
man act as now interpreted, desist
from being brutal? Will one Of these
big business enterprises, caught now
and then employing the prohibited &C.
cessory methods and ordered to re-
habilitate, as the Standard Oil and to-
bacco combinations have been ordered
to rehabilitate, prevent others from
taking their chances along the same
lines, or from taking chances along
other lines?" Reyerting to his rem
edy the Judge continued:
But to which government, the ma
tional or the state, shall be given the
power to apply the remedy? My an
swer is, that, in the case of the big so
called trusts, such, for instance, as the
packers or the Standard Oil company.
the bulk Of whose raw materials 10
drawn from states other than the
company's domicile, or the bulk OF
whose finished product is sold In states
other than the company's domicile.
thereby bringing their business into
interstate commerce, the principle
am urging should be applied by the na-
tional government, through such pro-
cesses as will make 1t practically COM
pelling that enterprises OF this kind
organize as corporations under the
United States laws.
ITO that extent, at least, am for
the new nationalism. BY the hand OF
q single sovereignty, and that the su-
preme sovereignty, can the principle,
1t seems to me, be effectively applied
to the big so-called trusts. But this
does not mean that the smaller manu-
featuring and trading corporations In
any given field OF enterprise should be
nationally incorporated. From these
arises no monopoly. And where,
among these smaller concerns, combin-
ations arise in unreasonable restraint
Of trade, the Sherman act as now In
terpreted would probably be sufficient.
How He Would Draw Line.
.But where should be run the line OF
separation, you ask. between those to
be nationally Incorporated and those
left to the states; and how separate
those to whom restriction as to divi-
dends is to be applied, from those to
whom 1t is not applied, though nation
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