The new era., 1911-02-23
may TRY TO
BREAK COMBINE
GOVERNMENT AGENTS ARE
AFTER TIMBER AND LUMBER
TRUSTS.
MONOPOLY IS CHARGED
EIGHTY PER CENT OF ALL TIM
sER IN HANDS OF A FEW
PARTIES.

some sort OF an antitrust suit against
the lumber interests, the department
Of justice has been at work nearly
year investigating complaints OF dis
elimination, blacklisting, price raising
and combinations to apportion terri
tory.
Many hundreds OF such complaints
have been received from small lum-
ber dealers, independent mills and in
dlvidual consumers in all sections OF
the country, and the antitrust agents
have given detailed investigation to
many of them.
1t seems to be the plan of the de-
partment to devote its attention first
to one of the so-called divisions" OF
the interests, and what may be an
antitrust suit against one of these is
now being perfected. 1t is likely that
when the investigation in this one par
tlcular case is complete, no suit will
be filed Immediately. Despite the fact
that several antitrust cases are
ready to be started, it is the disposi-
ton of the administration to wait un-
Ii! decisions of the Supreme Court
have been given in the Standard Oil
and tobacco cases. l,
The investigation which the depart
ment of justice has been making has
been entirely separate from that made
by the bureau OF corporations, which
has just reported its findings.
Concentration of the control OF the
standing timber in few hands. vast
speculative holdings far in advance
OF any use thereof" and an enormous
increase in the value ''of this dimin-
ishing natural resource with great
profits to its owners" and incidentally
IAN equally sinister land monopoly"
and closely connected railroad DOM
iHation'-these are the findings re-
ported to the President by Herbert
Knox Smith, commissioner of corpor-
atoms, in the first installment of his
long-awaited report on the lumber in
dustry in the United States.
The report was made public by the
President sending it to Congress.
The report is effectively summarized
IN the commissioners letter of sub
initial.
There are many great combinations
In other industries" says the COM
missioner, whose formation Is COM
piete. In the lumber industry, on the
ether hand, the bureau finds now in
the making, combination caused fun
damentally by long standing public
policy The concentration already ex-
listing is sufficiently impressive.
"In the last forty years concentra-
ton has SO proceeded that 1876 holders,
many interrelated, have practically
one-half of the privately owned tim
Ter in the investigated area (Which
contains 80 per cent of the whole).
This formidable process certainly in
wolves grave future possibilities of i'm
pregnable monopolistic conditions
whose far-reaching consequences 1t is
difficult to anticipate fully, or to over
estimate"
The commissioner reserves for later
report the subject OF combinations i,
the manufacture or sale Of lumber
(as distinguished from ownership OF
standing timber). Following is sub
stantially the full text of the letter
summarizing the report:
"The foremost facts shown are:
..First-The concentration Of a DOM
mating control of our standing tim
ber in comparatively few enormous
holdings, steadily tending toward a
central control of the lumber indus
try.
"Second-vast speculative purchase
and holding of timber land far in ad-
vance of any use thereof.
"Third-An enormous increase in
the value of this diminishing natural
resource, with great profits to its own
ers. This value, by the very nature
of standing timber, the holder neither
created nor substantially enhanced.
These are the underlying facts Of
tremendous significance to the public
welfare. They are primarily the re-
suits of our public land policy long
continued. The laws that represent
that policy are still ladgely opera
tive. The past history and present
status of our standing timber drove
home upon us the imperative necessity
OF revising our public policy for the
future management of all our remain
ing natural resources"