The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1911-08-25
MAKE CHANGE N
ANTITRUST LIN
REPRESENTATIVE LTTTLETON
DEFENDER OF CENTRALIZED 4
INDUSTRY.
HAS NEW RESOLUTIONS
PROVIDES FoR INDUSTRIAL Con-
MrTTEE TO INVESTIGATE SHEER s
MAN LAW AND ITS
RANGE.

ASH lNtT1DN ID. t.s Aux. -
Representative Martin w. Littietons
Of New York. has come out In de-
Tense OF what he calls centralized Il
industry" To lapse into the phrases Il
ology OF more than one political plat
form, these progressive Democratic (
who view with alarm" the contem- II
plated Littleton resolution, which VIII
propose that a joint commission Of
Congress Is created to hold nsl..nEm
fer the purpose Of changing the Sher.
man antitrust law to meet modern
conditions, as MIR. Littieton puts IL
The New York lawyer who defende6
Harry Is. Thaw, and sprang into the
imelight in that trial. and who hno
made quite reputation as an orator.
! has said III Il plain spoken way that
/ he considers the antitrust stAtui1@I
now in force an obsolete law.
1t will be recalled that LittletOM
! IS tire meruber OF tim Stanley uteek
trust investigating committee wn0
prevailed upon the democratic ma
jority of that committee to diec0n-
tinue their attempt to force George
W Perkins, right-hand man OF u.
l.. Morgan, to tell of his cA'npaiSA
contributions. unless 1t could be e.
tablished that the alleged donatiOnD
were in some way associated with the
subject of the committees inquiry, tho
United States Steel Corporation. Per-
kins denied that the steel corporations
made any campaign contribution
directiy---and therefore, on Lifelong
advice. the probe in this direction wao
abandoned.
VIII Introduce Resolution.
When Perkins recent lecture before,
the Michigan College of Mines Waa
produced before the COMMITTEES. in
which the steel magnate and manipu-
lator with Morgan Of the financial
panic Of 1870 defended the steel corr
poraton. and suggested that an In
auiry be made looking 10 amend swnt
Of the sherman law TO facilitate tHU
doing Of good ny such huge corpora
tions, Littleton was ready with his
proposition
resolution witt shortly he fU-
trodueed in Congress calling for an
inquiry of that character" said Lit
Teton.
! Littfeton has given out an interview
/ in which he says he VIII INTRODUCES the
I resolution mentioned. He is of tho
! opinion that there has been evidences
| enough In recent years to show that
the commercial supremacy of the
United States is threatened by the
enforcement of the sherman anti
trust law, which he says. is preventing
legitimate expansion and develop.
ment.
Apart from whether any or many
concerns exist In violation of law. the
main question is what Is TO be tho
| future Of legitimate Industrial de-
Velopment, said Mr.. Llttieton. I'm
other words now that the law has
I been construed by the supreme court.
| is Il a wise and wholesome law Ii
1t too weak to reach offenders; or il it
too dastic upon centralized industry
! What is lawful organization under
the law? And is there any way to
know whether a corporation ID viu~
lating the law until IL Is too late 70
escape disaster?
The Sherman antitrust law wa1
created nearly twenty-five years Ago.
when modern Industrial development
was unforeseen. In my opinion It waaNs
the outcome OF the rather barbariQ
pooling arrangements then being en- =
tered into to extort exorbitant prices
and limit production. But. to-day, BIZ 1
far the most important question be-s
fore statesmen Is how to preserve tho q
efficiency, economy and upbuiiding Inc
fuence or centralized industry, and
how to get rid of the evils and wronRn n
which in many instances are prac~
tees in the name OF centralized uoaA
| erty.
For Industrial Committees.
Does the Sherman antitrust law
really meet the situation as now pre- il
scented? II is my opinion that we are
not dealing with the question intelli-.
gently and with courage, 1 think that
Congress, az the Legislative branch Or
( the government, coming from the
people periodically. should provide = AZ
| joint committee of the House and
Senate, TO be known as an Industrial
committee. charged with the respOn~ss
/ slbility of taking UP the Sherman laws.
I and thoroughly investigating its reach
| and range, its bearing upon all forms
Of industry.
This committee should call befoeokss
/ II the best informed men or the coun~ q
| Try. both from capital and labor. and
obtain all the facts and enlighteneos Il
| opinions upon the subject 1t shoul6EA
consult the methods of other coun@Ss
tues, their experience and their r4S#
suits. II should focus the atten.suU q
| or intelligent public opinion upon the
question for the purpose Of gAtherS
ing the ripest and wisest Judgments
| OF the country Sa#
| 1t Is not expected that Mr.. Iltttog
| ton will begin the movement 6GE%
/ sIeaks OF until the coming regul4&&
| eess.o on OF this CongresA nj
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