Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1911-11-10

ordinary lot Of individual SUCCESS. and
ono nred with - \ Inn inA ten HhiSh
hurries them on to the aocolnplish meit
OF those great results posiible only
thru extensive combinations. ss
Our comparatively new community
requiring greater resources for IT. .ds-
velOpment than the individual usually
commands. and the absence q state
control and monopoly. tho European
method Of experimenting Individual
effort. have had much TO do with thu
tendency to combination.
There is no doubt. moreover, that. -
many cases-as, for example, In thru
Of street railways. telephone compaA-
les, and railway cancellations creating
thru lines-public convenience has
been largely served thru the policy Of
combinations. %
The earlier combinations. however:
too frankly aimed at actual monopoly.
and the methods by which their ends
were attained were not always over.
scrupulous. A vague feeling OF dan.
ger was thus spread among the people.
the Sherman law.
AS to the good effect Of that law. II.
sofar as it served to check monopolto.
TIC tcuucUCIcSs1 SAluh thCAO Vail We -
reasonable doubt: but what is unfor.
tunate with respect to the law Is that
the public obtained the impression
from the earlier decisions Of the 50.
preme court that the influence Of the
statute was not to be extended beyond
this point; that the principle OF ambl-
ton was to be left intact. and THAI
mere magnitude Of business organiza.
ton or extensive ownership Of prop.
erty, even tho leading to a dominating
influence in a particular trade or bust.
ness, was not in itself to be con.
demned.
1t seems that these views. widely en-.
tertained by the industrial section Of
the community and based largely upon
this earlier conception Of the law. have
been rudely upset by the later turn Of
affairs.
speak Of the industrial section be-
cause public service corporations.
which had already been subject to
state regulation, to inhibitions against
amalgamation of parallel and compet-
ing lines, and to similar legislation,
have not been SO seriously disturbed
by the late decisions. But those OF our
people interested in organizations OF
this character are few, indeed, COM
pared to those interested in our many
and great industrial enterprises.
1t Is apparent, therefore. that con.
struction Of the statute which re-
verses the current Of industrial pro.
gress and requires the disintegration
into individual units Of combinations
formed under a different tho perhaps
mistaken construction Of the law must
have a profound bearing upon our
commercial progress as a whole, upon
the creation of private wealth. and
even upon the social development: Of
our people.
Whether the cost OF conforming to
the new standard of commercial life
may not be too great for the advan.
tages that the nation might otherwise
derive therefrom would seem to be a
question for the serious consideration
of the legislative branch.
IT, however. the policy which splits
up combined power and wealth into its
component parts is to continue, the
period allowed for carrying out so
fraudulent change should be consid-
cradle, and the change should be eff
fected thru the prudent cooperation OF
the government rather than at the
point of court DEGREES, with the over
shadowing threats OF receiverships for
solvent concerns.