Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1911-12-06
TAKES UP TRUST PROBLEM
Only Matter Touched On In President
Message to Congress
Additional Legislation to Strengthen Present
Statutes Is Recommended Defends Stand
ard Oil and Tobacco Decisions

cree these defendants will hold amounts
OF stock In the various distributes COM
panies ranging from 81 per cent. as a
maximum to 2Sba per cent. as a minimum.
except In the case OF one small company,
the Porto Rican Tobacco company, in
which they viii hold Is per cent The
twenty-nine individual defendants are en-
Joined Tor three years from buying any
stock except from each other, and the
group is thus prevented from extending
Its control during that period. All parties
to the suit. and the new companies who
are made parties. are enjoined perpetual
~ from In any way effecting any COM
bination between any of the companies
In violation of the statute by
way of resumption OF the old trust. Each
OF the fourteen companies is enjoined
from acquiring stock in any of the others.
All these companies are enjoined from
having common directors or officers, or
common buying or selling agents. or COM
mon offices, or lending money to each
other
Size Of New Companies.
Objection was made by certain indie
pendent tobacco companies that this set
tlement was unjust because it left COM
panies with very large capital in active
business. and that the settlement that
would be effective to put all on an equal
ity would be a division of the capital and
plant OF the trust into small fractions In
amount more nearly equal to that of each
of the independent companies. This con
tention results from a misunderstanding
OF the antitrust law and its purpose.
1t is not intended thereby to prevent the
accumulation OF large capital in business
enterprises in which such a combination
can secure reduced cost of production,
sale and distribution. 1t is directly
against such an aggregation OF capital
only when its purpose is that OF sitting
competition, enhancing or controlling
prices and establishing a monopoly II
we shall have by the decree defeated these
purposes and restored competition be-
tween the large units into which the cap
ital and plant have been divided, we
shall have accomplished the useful pur
pose OF the statute.
confiseatlon Not the Purpose Of the
Statute.
II is not the purpose of the statute to
conflscate the property and capital of the
offending trusts. Methods of punishment
by fine or Imprisonment OF the individual
offenders. by fine of the corporation, or
by forfeiture OF It's goods in transporta-
ton, are provided, but the proceeding in
equity is a specific remedy to stop the
operation OF the trust by injunction and
prevent the future use of the plant and
capital in violation Of the statute.
l venture to say that not In the history
OF American law has a decree more Ell
fective for such a purpose been entered
by court than that against the Tobacco
trust.
commor-Stock Ownership.
It has been assumed that the present
pro-rata and common ownership in all
these companies by former stockholders
of the trust would insure @ continuance
of the same old single control of all the
companies into which the trust has by
decree been disintegrated. This is err
roneous and is based upon the assumed in
efficacy and innocuousness of judicial in
functions. The companies are enJoined
from cooperation or combination; they
have different managers. directors, pur-
chasing and sales agents. If all or any
of the numerous stockholders, reaching
into the thousands. attempt to secure
concerted action OF the companies with
view to the control OF the market. their
number Is so large that such an attempt
could not well be concealed and its prime
movers and all its participants would be
at once subject to contempt proceedings
and Imprisonment of a summary charac-
ter The immediate result of the present
situation win necessarily be activity by
all the companies under different man
ayers and then competition must follow.
or there win be activity by one company
and stagnation by another. Only short
time will Inevitably lead to a change in
ownership OF the stock, as all oppor-
tunity for continued cooperation must
disappear.
Movement for Repeal OF the Antitrust
Law.
But now that the antitrust act Is seen
to be effective for the accomplishment OF
the purpose of it's enactment. we are met
for its repeal II Is said 10 be obstructive
OF business progress. to be an attempt to
restore old-fashioned methods of de-
structiye competition between small units.
and 10 make impossible those useful COM
binations Of capital and the reduction of
the cost of production that are essential
TO continued prosperity and normal
growth.
In the recent decisions the Supreme
court makes clear that there Is nothing
in the statute which condemns combina-
tons of capital or mere bIgness of plant
organized t. secure economy in produce
ton and a reduction of it's cost. II is only
when the purpose or necessary effect of
the organization and maintenance Of the
combination or the aggregation OF i'm
mense size are the sitting OF competition.
actual and potential, and the enhancing
Of prices and establishing a monopoly.
that the statute is violated. Mere size
is no sin against the law. The merging
OF two or more busines plants necessarily
eliminates competition between the units
thus combined, but this elimination Is in
contravention Of the statute only when
the combination is made for purpose of
ending this particular competition In or
der TO secure control Of, and enhance.
prices and create monopoly
Lack of Defindensss In the Statute.
The complaint is made OF the statute
that It Is not sufficiently dGfinite in it's
description Of that which Is forbidden. to
enable business men TO avoio its ,-iola-
ton The suggestion lie. that we may
have a combination OF two corpora tom.
which may run on for years, and ti,at
subsequently, the attorney general may
conclude that 1t was violation OF the
statute, and that which was supposed by
the conahiners to be inoeent then turns
out to be a combination In violation Of
the statute. The answer to this hypo-
theticai case Is that when men attempt
to amass stupendous capital az viii enable
them 10 suppress competition, control
prices and establish a monopoly they
now the purpose OF their acts Men DO
mt do such thing without having Il
clearly IN mind
New Remedies Suggested.
Much is said Of the repeal Of this stat
ute and Of constructive legislation intend