Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1911-12-05
TAFT n DEFENSE
Of ANTITRUST Law
ANNUAL MESSAGE At OPENING
or CONGRESS DEALS WITH
SOLITARY QUESTION.
Defends DECISIONS IN
OIL AND TOBACCO CASES
Present Statutes Held 70 30 Good 40
Far a. They Go But Suggests Sup
pismental lssisiation-Fsdsrai Corr
poration Commission Proposed.

poration Commission Proposed.
Washington. Dec. 5.-President
Taft's annual message. which was read
In both houses Of congress today, deals
exclusively with the antitrust statute.
The full text Of the message is as fol.
lows:
To the Senate and House Of Repre-.
sentatives: This message is the first
Of several which l shall send to con
gress during the interval between the
opening Of its regular session and its
adjournment for the Christmas holi.
days. The amount Of information to bs
communicated ~ to the operations Of
the government, the number of impor.
tant subjects calling for comment BY
the executive. and the transmission to
congress of exhaustive reports by sps-
ctal commissions. make It impossible
to include in one message Of a reason
able length a discussion Of the topics
that ought to be brought to the atten-
ton Of the national legislature at its
first regular session.
The Antitrust Law-rhe Supreme
Court Decisions.
In May last the Supreme court hand
ed down decisions In tho suits in
equity brought by the United States to
enjoin the further maintenance Of the
Standard Oil trust and Of the Ameri-
can Tobacco trust. and to secure their
dissolution. The decisions are epoch
making and serve to advise the bust.
nsss world authoritatively Of the scope
and operation OF the antitrust act OF
1890 The decisions do not depart in
any substantial way from the previous
decisions of the court in constituting
and applying this important statute,
but they clarity those important deci.
sions By further defining the already
admitted exceptions to the literal con.
struction Of the act. BY the DEGREES.
they furnish q useful precedent a. to
the proper method Of dealing with the
capital and property Of illegal trusts.
These dscisions suggest the need and
wisdom Of additional or supplemental
legislation to make 1t easier for the
entire business community to square
with the rule Of action and legality
thus finally established and to preserve
the benefit, freedom and spur of rea-
sonable competition without loss of
real efficiency or progress. 5
Ne Change In the Ruls % Decision
Merely In lts Form Of Expression.
Tho statute in its first section de-
clares to BE- illegal every contract,
combination in the form Of trust or
otherwise. or conspiracy, IN restraint
Of trade or commerce among the sew
eral states or with foreign nations"
and IN the second, declares guilty Of q
misdemeanor every person who shall
monopolize or attempt to monopolize
or combine or conspire with any other
person to monopolixs any part Of the
trade or commerce Of the several
states or with foreign nations"
In two early cases. where the statute
was invoked to enjoin . transportation
agreement between interstate railroad
companies. II was held that II was no
defense to show that the agreement az
to rates complained Of was reasonal
at common law. because It was said
that the statute was directed against
all contracts and combinations in re-
straint Of trade whether reasonal at
common law or not It was plain from
the record, however, that the contracts
complained Of In those cases would
not have been deemed reasonable at
common law. In subsequent cases the
court said that the statute should be
given q reasonal construction and re-
fused to include within its Inhibition
certain contractual restraints Of trade
which It dominated a. incidental or a
indirect.
These cases Of restraint Of trade that
the court excepted from the operation
Of the statute were Instances which, at
common law. would have been called
reasonable. In the Standard Oh and
Tobacco cases. therefore. tho court
merely adopted the tests Of the com.
mon law. and In defining exceptions to
the literal application of the statute
only substituted for the test Of bsins
incidental or indirect, that OF beins
reasonable and this. without varying
in the slightest the actual scope and
effect Of the statute. In other words
all the cases under the statute which
have now been decided would have
been decided the same way II the cour,
had originally accepted In its construc
don the rule at common law.
II has bsen said that the court, b
Introducing into the construction g
the statute common law distinct1ous
has emasculatsd T. This - obviously
untrue. By it, judgment every con
tract aaa eombination In restraint a
interstate trade made with the purpose
or NECESSARY erect q controlling prices
BY sitting composition. or of sstablish
ing IN whole or In part monopoly Of
such trade. 10 condemned By the stat
ute. The most sxtrsms critics cannot
instance q case that ought to be con
demned under the statute which = moi
brought within IT. terms q thus con
strued.
The s1GgsstSoa % also made Int thu
0uDeens cogft By tn decision IN thu
last Two cases has committed 70 TIKI
court the undsaned and unlimited dis
cretjon b dseermfne whether . cas<
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