Weekly journal-miner. [volume] (Prescott, Ariz.) 1908-1929, 1911-12-13
TAFT SUBMITS SOUND MESSAGE
rust issue oquarey Dealt With in Mastery Manner Show
ing the President Alive to the Grave Situation

WASHlNGTON, IL. u, Dee. j. -
President Taft's message on the
trusts was read by both branches of
congress, and generally was we'll re.
,c,cd. The objection Of Taft to the
repeal Of the Sherman law was an.
proved by some leaders on both sides.
although the democrats held that the
fret message should have dealt with
the tariff.
The message in full follows:
Taft's Trust Message.
To the Senate and House of Repre.
sentatives:
This message 10 the first of several
which ! shall send to congress dur.
ing the interval between the opening
Of it's regular session and it's adjourn.
ment for the Christmas holidays. The
amount Of information to be com.
municated as to the operations Of the
government, the number Of important
subjects calling for comment by the
executive, aud the transmission to
congress Of exhaustive reports Of
special commissions, make Il impos
sible TO include In one message OF a
reasonable length a discussion Of the
topics that ought 10 be brought TO
the attention Of the national lepisla.
turc at it's first regular session.
The Anti Trust Law-The Supreme
Court Decisions.
IN May last the supreme court
banded down decisions in the suits in
equity brought by the United States
g. cuioin the further maintenance OF
tie Standard Oil Trust and Of the
American Tobacco Trust, and TO Sc.
cure their dissolution. The decisions
are cpoch.making aud serve 20 advise
che business world authortatively of
thc scope and operation of the anti.
trust 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 decisions by further defining
thr already admitted exceptions 10
th' literal construction of the act.
By the DEGREES, they furnish "A useful
precedent as TO the proper method of
dealing with the capital and property
of Illegal trusts. These decisions sug.
gcst the need and wisdom Of addition.
sci or supplemental legislation TO make
i easier for the entire business com.
munity to square with the rule Of
action and legality thus finally es.
tahlished and TO preserve the benefit,
freedom, and spur Of reasonable com.
petition without loss Of real effici-
cncy or progress.
No Change in the Rule Of Decision
Merely in It's Form Of
Expression.
The statute in It's first section de-
c.ares to be illegal "every contract,
combination in the form of trust or
otherwise, or conspiracy, in restraint
oi trade or commerce among the sew
'ral States or with foreign nations"
and in the second, declares guilty OF
misdemeanor "cvery person who
shall monopolze or attempt TO mono.
police or combine or conspire with
any other person 10 monopolize any
part Of the trade or commerce of the
several states or with foreign ma
tons"
In two early eases, where the stat
ulc was invoked 20 enjoin trans.
portation rate agreement between in
terstate railroad companies, IL was
held that IL was no defense TO show
That the agreement as 10 rates com.
plalned OF was reasonable at common
law, because IL was said that the stat
ute was directed against all contracts
and combinations in restraint OF trade
whether reasonable at common law or
not. II was plain from the record,
however, that the contracts com
planned Of in those cases would not
have been deemed reasonable at com.
mon law. In subsequent cases the
court said that the statute should be
given reasonable construction and
refused to include within its inhibi.
ton, certain contracted restraints Of
trade which il denominated as Incl
dental or as indirect.
These cases of restraint of trade
that the court excepted from the oper'
alton Of the statute were instances
which, Mt common law, would have
been called reasonable. In the Stand
ard Oil and Tobacco cases, therefore,
the court merely adopted the tests OF
the common law, and in defining ex.
eeptions TO the literal application OF
the statute, only substituted for the
test Of being incidental or indirect,
that of being 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 de- |
cided would have been decided the
same way il the court had originally |
accepted In its construction the rule
AT common law.
II has been said that the court, by
introducing into the construction OF
the statute common.law distinctions,
has emasculated IL. This is obviously |
untrue. BY its judgment every con.
tract and combination in restraint OF
Interstate trade made with the pur-
pose OF necessary effect Of controlling
prices by sitting competition, or OF
establishing in whole or in part
monopoly Of such trade, Is condemned
by the statute. The most extreme
critics can not instance case that
afxl A. II H.. N