The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1911-12-28
Any One With a Real Answer
Is Welcome Chairman
C|app's Statement.

full fedged "piratical giant" stalking
the small business man and DESTROYING
free competition.
Senator Clapp's Statement.
Senator Clapp of Minnesota, chair.
man of the committee now sitting on
the trust problem, made for the pur.
pose of this article a concise statement
of the divergence of views that exists
over this question of control.
1.-TWO general plans seem to have
been evolved so far by those who have
appeared before the committee" he
said. Zone is the creation of a COM
mission which shall pass u pom the or
ganization of concerns intending to en-
gage in interstate commerce. This in
wolves. again, two ideas.
'"The one is that corporations doing
interstate business shall be Incorporate
ed by the federal government under
some law which will prescribe the con-
ditions Of federal Incorporation. This
plan, of course, encounters a feeling of
jealousy on the part Of the states.
GAS opposed to this federal incor-
poration, but within the general plan
Of federal supervision, is the plan of
obtaining a license from the federal
board or official, by which corporations
chartered to do a state business can
engage in Interstate commerce upon
complying with certain conditions
These conditions can either be stated
in the federal license or put into the
law as conditions that must be COM
piled with before the license will be
granted.
"Of course both of these secondary
plans involve the thought Of describ.
ing, either in the charter or license or
in the law under which the license is
granted, the nature of efforts to pre-
vent monopoly and unfair means in
the destruction Of competition.
Prescribe Conditions.
'The other general plan which has
appeared in the hearings, opposed to
the idea Of the governments attempt
ing to supervise and coordinate itself
with the corporation through a COM
mission and a charter of license law,
is to prescribe by law in just as plain
and definite terms as can be employed
the conditions upon which corporations
can engage in interstate commerce,
leaving to the law enforcing agencies
Of the government the enforcement of
the provisions Of the law
"1n other words, without any CO.
ordination by government agencies,
simply put the subject where other
subjects are placed-enact your law
and then enforce it.
"As a legislative proposition the
the plan Of government coordination
will be easiest, because the law pro-
viding for that would necessarily
leave much to the discretion of the
government board or commission,
while the other plan would involve
much more difficulty in framing the
law itself
"On the other hand, the latter plan
has the advantage that it is easier to
enforce the law where the line Of de-
narration as to it's violators is made
plain than where the Interpretation of
the spirit of it is left to the judgment
of board or commission.
*tThe object of these hearings is to
get the views of men of all shades of
opinion, with the thought that some
of the views that are expressed may
be beneficial to the committee and per-
haps to congress generally.
"The decision Of the supreme court
in the Standard Oil and American 70
bacco company cases and the subse
quent action Of the circuit court in
New York in recognizing the tobacco
trust has rendered it very clear that
some legislation should be enacted to
relieve the situation of the uncertainty
which these decisions have created.
While it is clear that the situation re-
quires dealing with, I must confess
that it is not by any means clear as
to what the remedy should be-
Personnel of Committee.
The committee that is trying to shape
a yardstick that will unerringly meas
ure ''embryo trusts" or actual combina-
tons is made up of eight Republicans
and seven Democrats, thirteen of the
fifteen members being lawyers. The
members are:
Senators Clapp, Minnesota; Cullom,
Iowa; Brandegee, Connecticut; Oliver,
Pennsylvania; Lippit, Rhode Island;
Townsend, Michigan, Republicans.
Senators Tillman, South Carolina;
Foster, Louisiana; Newlands, Nevada
Clarke, Arkansas; Gore, Oklahoma;
Watson, West Virginia; Pomerene
Ohio, Democrats.