The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-11-11
BRYAN PROPOSES LICENSE PLAN ID BREAK UP TRUSTS IndOrses Democratic Plan to Limit Business Done
 by Corporations SAYS COMPETITION MUST BE PRESERVED Thinks the System Suggested Will Not Interfere With the
 Incorporation Rights
 of States
By WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN

By WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN The decisions of the United States su- preme court in the Standard oil and To- bacco cases have brought the country face to face with the trust question as it has not been before.
 When the Sherman antitrust law was passed the trust development was com paratvely limited Since then consoida- ton and combination have gone on until now, according to the Attorney Generals speech at Duluth recently, nearly every great staple of industry is controlled as to prices and terms of sale.
 Various efforts have been made to reach the evil through prosecutions and the people, while disappointed from time to time, still hoped for the enforcement of the criminal clause of the Sherman anti trust law In fact, there have been recent lntimations. with increasing emphasis, that the criminal clause would be em- ployed, but the supreme court decisions have practically repealed the criminal portions of the antitrust law and left the public to rely upon civil suits. Efforts to Modify Law
 After the decisions of b years ago it was supposed by the public that the law prohibited all attempts at restraint of trade, whether reasonable or unreason- able, the decisions of the court at that time having expressly refused to consrrue ft h Ia re- straint The decisions in those early cases were by divided court, and 1t now seems that the trusts had no idea of &C., cepting those decisions as final. Efforts were made to secure a modifca- tion of the law by act of Congress, but these efforts were unsuccessful. the last being made so by an adverse report from the Senate committee, which exposed the purpose of the effort and pointed otft the widespread demoralization that would
 be worked by the proposed change Now, however, the court has done what Congress would not do, and the judges who joined Justice White in the opinion | have the pleasure of seeing their logic. or, rather, lack of logic, euo szed by all the trust magnates, the last eulogy oe- ing pronounced by MT. Pa sons. who boasts that he organized the sugar trust. who is now under indictment
 Question Before Country The question before the country at this | time is What Is to be done? With the staple products of industry controlled by combinations, with the court obstrueung the processes of criminal procedure by d decision that renders it all but impos- sible to convict trust magnates criminany, | what are the people to do?
 MT. Gary, head of the steel trust pro- posed regulation even to the extent of the | regulation of prices, and this principle is indorsed by the Attorney General The latter compares the trusts with the railroads, argues in favor of regulation of prices, and puts the regulation of prices upon the same ground as the reg ulation of railroad rates. To clearly understand the situation, 1t may be well to suggest that there are now three remedies before the country: First, the national incorporation of inter- state industries. Second. the regulatfon of interstate industries by a board of the court which will have power 10 fix prices. Third, legislation which will dis solve, within a reasonable time, the pri-
 
 prevent the organization of new ones, thus restoring competition.
 Different Means; Same End
 The first and second are really one in essence, since they simply contemplate different means of reaching the same end. Those who advocate national incorpora- ton expect, of course. that the incorpora- ton will be upon conditions which will in tl, a ion those who advocate regulation only, with out national Incorporation. will reach the same end in little different way.
 The objection to national incorporation is that 1t is intended to do away with state regulation entirely and compel re- lance exclusively upon national reguia- tion This is objected to-and l think the objection is sound--on the ground that the state is left helpless in case federal legislation is not sufficiently strict.
 Federal incorporation is not only ob- jectonable but it is unnecessary. rne federal government now has power to em- ploy any means necessary for federal regulation without national incorporation. and whatever federal regulation is neces- sary ought to be added to state regula- tion. and not substituted for it.
 Second Plan Insufficient
 The second plan is objectionable for two reasons: First, because it is insufficient that is, federal regulation is not com plete remedy. The influence exerted by monopoies is so great that tae people would be in a constant battle with the great corporations to see which would elect officials through whom control would be exercised: and no one who has watched these decisions can fail to recog- nize the helplessness of the masses when they have to fight a vigilant. sleepless group of inanciers who have large pe- cuniary stake in controlling the govern ment
 The larger the control vested in the na- tional commission. or court, the more im- portant 1t would be for the trusts to con- trol the selection of the members. If the court was intrusted with the fixing of prices it would mean hundreds of mil lions year to the trusts. No we'll in- formed citizen need be told that with so large a sum at stake the trusts would be active in every congressional, sena- torial and presidential election.
 It has been suggested that the regula- tion of prices would be socialstic, and there can be no doubt that it's tendency would be in the direction of the ultimate ownership by the government of the in- dustries themselves. When the country