The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-07-21
Parsons Declares Gary's Proposition of Restraint
 Is Wrong
HARLAN'S IDEA WOULD CAUSE BIG DISASTER
Former President of American Bar Association Ridicules Harlans Dissenting Opinion--Takes
 Blame for Combine

New York. July 20.-In an academic discussion of governmental relations to corporations this afternoon, John F.. Parsons, former president of the Ameri- can Bar association. and former coun- sel for the American Sugar Refining company, declared to the congressional committee Investigating the sugar trust" that the proposition of F. H, Gary,s chairman of the United States Steel corporation, for government con trol of business combinations was Aoclalistic. He added that in his opin- on Congress should place no restriction .-aatever on trade.
 ff"The government should permit com merce to take it's course" he said. "A great corporation cannot be organized merely on the valuation in dollars and cents of it's physical properties-the men behind 1t must be capitalized. They are worth something to the investor. The capitalization must be on the physi- cal properties. the prospects of the bus mess and the men who are to manage it. That Is not water.
 If Congress should pass a law con forming to Justice Harlan's dissenting opinion in the Standard Oil and tobacco trust cases, it would cause the coun- try's greatest disaster. If Justice Har- lan's opinion stood as the ruling opin- ion of the court. our jails would be filled to overflowing with stockholders and officers of corporations. No two businesses could combine to increase their trade"
 Mir Parsons was positive that there should be no government control of cor poratiops, that they should be permitted free hand and the ultimate consumer would profit by his plan.
 MT. Parsons told the committee his yer sion of the formation of the sugar com bine. He said at first that he was will ing to share all the blame, If there Is any
 The mysterious resolution which H. O. HaNemeyer put through the bosrd of di- rectors of the American Sugar Refining company in 1891 approving applications made by political parties is strangely lost The committee instructed Secretary Freeman of the company to produce tho resolution, but Freeman today opened the proceedings by saying his search for it had failed.
 Mir. Parsons followed MT Freeman on the stand
 Takes All Blame
 'fI am willing to take the blame for originating the idea of consolidating the sugar interests into the big company in 1sS7,' said Mir. Parsons.
 Mir. Parsons went further and said that the sugar combination was the first big combination. even preceding the Standard Oil company.
 Who suggested to you the idea Of bringing these independent companies to- gether in 1887 into the sugar refneries company? ?"
 Well, I think it was in all their minds. I'm the man. though, who deserves tho credit or the blame for actually forming that company which under reorganization. because of the Sherman antitrust law, became the present American sugar Re- fining company. I thoroughly believe in the combination of capital. of labor, or any other lines for the benefit of those interested when It is legal"
 How long did the refneries companies last?',
 ."rhe change in its affairs began when a political party brought suit to disor- ganize the North River Refinery com pany," said MT. Parsons.
 What party?" cried most of the con gressmen.
 We call it Tammany Hall.'
 Then all of them wanted to know why.
 Well, that was about the opening shot of a political party against the trusts and both parties have kept it up ever since That's why I am not good party man now"
 The court. MT. Parsons said. dissolved the North River company because 1t was a corporation and had no righ. to join q partnership which was the form of the Sugar Reineries company
 Mir Parsons explained how John k. Searles had paid s700,0oo for the $350.000 North River property and dismantled the refinery Then Searles, after killing the North River company's actual self" he said, entered 1t as partner in the sugar refineries company. This the court of appeals declared to be illegal, thus kill ing body that had already committed suicide.
 BuncOmbe in Courts
 50 you see, tonthiucu disohS, .there is even a lot of buncombe in our own highest court
 In discussing the agreement between the American Sugar Refining company and the American Beet Sugar company relative to the agreement for the control cf sales which was declared illegal, Mir Parsons refused to admit that 1t bound the refining company not to market it's cane products during the few months Of the beet sugar company's season, or vice versa Nor would he say that the clause in the agreement prohibiting the beet sugar company from selling in New Eng land was in restraint of trade. As s former president of the American Bar association. MT Parsons caused somewhat of sensation by announcing his differences with F. H. Gary, chairman or the United States Steel corporation and of former President Roosevelt in refer ence to corporation control.
 asI think Mr Gary's announcement that he is in favor of government control of corporations to be sociaistic,' said Mir. Parsons '.It Is not sound there should be no restraint on trade whatever"
 T thoroughly approve of recent Stand ard oil and Tobacco cases" said Mir. Parsons. where the supreme court of the fnit4d States read reasonable into the law Otherwise there would have been the worst panic this country ever knew
 This precipitated an argument in which the witness said that this decision would make it impossible to enforce the criminal clause of the sherman act.