Tonopah daily bonanza. [volume] (Tonopah, Nev.) 1906-1929, 1911-11-07
L1TTLEToN ON THE SHERMAN LAW

Exactly how the president Of the United
States regarded the change of program under
which he reegated to the rear among speakers
at the Pittsburg Chamber of Commerce banquet
last week-sent to the very foot Of the list, in
fact-may perhaps never be known to the public.
The story goes that he Mad been scheduled to
speak first but that, when it got noised about
that the Honorable Martin w Litteton, repre-
sentative III congress from the first New York
district to be guest of the chamber and
loaded for bear against the sherman
law, the committee prompts. gave him the presi.
dent s place on the speakers lst-at any rate, he
spoke first. On the assumption that the incident
has been correctly reported it is OF keen winter
esting significance indicating the eagerncss Of
the leading business men of Pttsburg to hear
something in criticism Of the antitrust law in
stead of eternal appreciation and praise OF it.
Congressman Littletons views the Oil and
the Tobacco decisions and the law that they
interpreted are reasonably well known He went
to length into the subject not long after
the decisions handed down. He went to
some length into the subject not long after the
decisions were handed down In the Pittsburg
speech he merely reeXpressed and elaborated
those views saying in part as follows:
AS the Sherman law now stands, every
contract in unreasonable restraint of trade
is unlawful. But since under section four
no one may challenge the contract at the
time of its making later except the at
toney general and since he never
know and the millions Of contracts and
agreements which in the process of build
ING up great industries made and en-
tered into. it follows that he must and
does wait until by the painful processes of
growth the great industry is knit together
in one grand unit of business and then.
Judging it whole, if he finds it in
contravention of the Sherman antitrust
law, he proceeds to pull it to pieces
It seems clear to me that the Sherman
law cannot possibly be made effective i'll
DISCRIMINATING the real evil without carry
ing with it too large a sacrifice of the
whole industrial fabric, and that it should
be absolutely repealed and policy
scheme Of legislation be inaugurated.
Two men, Black and Brown, may each be
doing wagon express business together between
New York and IIoboken-interstate commerce.
Black may buy out Brown, and the latter enter
into agreement with the buyer that he will
not engage in the business any more in that ter
ritory Right there the New York congress-
says, violation of the Sherman law begins.
But who knows anything about it outside of
Black and Brown? Later on, Black buys out
another eXpressman and gets from him similar
agreement-more violation Of the law, and no
body outside of buyer and seller the wiser Then
in the Of events Black with associates,
perhaps) comes to own and control 35 or 40
per cent of the New York -IIoboken wagon-ex
press business and for convenience he Incorporates
the business under the Of the Manhattan
lIoboken Amalgamated Express company but
neither cuts rates nor seeks to browbeat or bull
doze his competitor merely pursuing the even
tenor OF his way corporation president and
manager instead Of plain ''Black. =
But the department of justice forthwith sits
up and takes notce-and especially if some IIo-
bolen newspaper has dubbed the company the
Wagon-Express Trust and has sent marked copies
to the attorney general. Then Black will be
lucky if bis concern escapes order of dis
tegration' and if he himself manages to keep
out of Jail. lie has knit together a big business
in restraint of trade and must pay the penalty.
Is such law common-scnse and practicable
one? If something better is offered will the fed,
eral lawmakers persist in keeping the discreded
one on the statute books IN Y Commercial
The presidents physician now declares that
he can eat much pie he pleases Small