The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1911-12-07
TRUST PROBLEM
IS 1AFT'S TOPIC
Message to Congress Devoted
TO This One Matter.
DECISIONS ARE DEFENDED
Dissolution Plans Of Standard OIL and
Tobacco ExplaIned-Federa In
corporation and Commission
Recommended.

Washington President Taf''s annual
message which was read In both houses
OF congress Tuesday deals exclusively
with tho antitrust statute. The message
| In part IL ~ follows:
| To the Senate and House OF Represent
| atives Thia message Is the nrst or sew
| eral which shall send TO congress during
the interval between the opening OF It's
regular session and It's adjournment TOT
the Christmas holidays The amount OF
| information to he communicated as TO
tho operations OF the government. the
number Of important subjects calling Tor
comment by the executive, and the trans
| mission TO congress OF exhaustive re-
ports by special commissions, make II I'M
possible to include In one message OF
reasonable length discussion OF the top
les that ought TO be brought to the at
tention Of the national legislature AT us
nrst regular session.
Decisions Of Supreme Court.
In May last the Supreme court handed
down decisions In the suits In equity
brought by the United States to enjoih
the further maintenance OF the standard
OIL trust and OF the American Tobacco
trust. and to secure their dissolution the
decisions are epoch making and servo TO
advise the business world authoritetlvely
of the scope and operation OF the anti
trust law OF 1890. The decisions DO not
depart in any substantial way from the
previous decisions OF the court In constru-
ing and applying this important statute
but they clarity those important decisions
by further defining the already admitted
exceptions TO the literal construction OF
the act BY the DEGREES. they FURNISH
useful precedent as to the proper method
of dealing with the capital and property
OF illegal trusts. These decisions suY-
gest the need and wisdom Of additional
or supplemental legislation to make II
easier for the entire business community
TO square with the rule Of action and
Legality thus finally established and TO
preserve the benefit freedom ana spur
OF reasonable competition without loss or
real efficiency or progress,
II has been said that III" court ny IN.
Producing into the construction OF the
statute common law distinctions. mas
rmasrulnted II This is obviously untrue.
BY its Judgment every contract and com
hinatiau In restraint OF interstate trade
made with the purpose, or necessary rI
feet ~ controlling prices Ivy stiillng com
petition. or of establishing In whole or In
part monopoly NJ such TRADE, ~ CON
demupd hy the statute The most eN
tremo critics cannot instance case thn'
ought to he condemned under the statui"
which Is not brought within It's terms az
thuR construed.
The suggestion is also mad" that N" Su'
preme court by i,s decisions In the last
two cases has committed TO the court the
, underlined and unlimited discretion Ia de,
tsrmine whether case Of restraint Of
trade ia within the terms OF tho statute
I This IL wholly untrue. reasonable re
straint OF trade at common law IL wei
understood and Ia clearly defined. II docs
not rest In the discretion NJ the court II
must be limited TO accomplish the purpose
] Of a lawful main contract TO which. In
. order that II shall be enforceable At all,
II must be Incidental. II 1t exceeds the
. needs OF that contract II Is void
; Methods Of Dissolution.
+, In the standard OH case the supreme
3 and circuit courts found the combination
TO be a monopoly OF the Interstate busl
ness of refining Transporting, and mar
ketinE petroleum and lite products, efr"ct
I ed and maintained through thirty -sever
0 different corporations. the stock Of whicl
was held by New Jersey company. u
. in effect commanded the dissolution al
: this combination directed the transfer
y and pro-raiH distribution by the New Jrr
, spy company OF the stock held by It II
, the thlrty-sevcu corporations To an,
among lts stockholders, ana the corpora
tons and individual defendants were en-
n Joined from consplrlng or combining e
y ments between the subsidiary corporation
u tending to produce or bring about furth"
y violations Of the act were eujon"d
T. In the Tobacco case, the court foun'
:. that the individual defendants. twenty
y nine in number, had been engaged In
9 successful effort to acquire complete do
q rnInion over the manufacture. sale, an
distribution of tobacco In this countrl
and abroad. and that this had been don
T. by combinations made with a purpos
s and effect to stiie competition. contro
"a prices and establish monopoly no
only in the manufacture OF tobacco, hu
y also OF tin-foil and llcorice, used I'm II
4 manufacture and OF Its products Of Ct
n CARS cigarettes ard Bnuffs. The tobhcc
- suit presentend a far more complIcate
and difficult case than the Standard q
~ suit for a decree which would efrectuat
h the will of tho court and end the viola
- ton OF the statute. There was here n
single holding company as In The cas-
N Of the Standard Oh trust. The main CON
u pany was the American Tobacco CON
r pany, a manufacturing. selling and hold
ing company. The plan adopted 10 dc
~ stroy the combination and restore compt
ID ilton involved the redivision OF the cap
tai and plants OF the whole trust bstwee
:, some OF the companies constituting N
L. trust and new companies organized fo
the purposes OF the decree and made pal
ties to II, and numbering, new and ol'
fourteen.
Purpose Not ConfiscstIon.
II 10 not tho purpose OF the statute
confscate the property and capital OF II
q offending trusts Methods OF punlshmeT
~ by fine or imprisonment of the individui
:, offenders. by nne OF tho corporation,
~ by forfeiture OF Its goods In transport,
~ ton. are provided, but the proceeding
~ equity Is n specific remedy to stop Il
H. operation OF the trust by injunction ar
:, prevent tho future use Of the plant M
~ capital in violation OF the statute.
n venture TO say that not In the histor
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