The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1911-12-05
mot REPEAL OR AMENDMENT
BUT SUPPLEMENTAL LAWS
The Tobacco Trust Decision an
Effective 0ne-- Federal InCor-
poration Recommended and
!. a Federal Corporation Com
mission Proposed.

Il Washington, D. c., Dec. president
Taft's third annual message to Congress,
devoted exclusively to the Sherman anti
trust act and the trust question in gem
eral, was read in Congress to-day. The
president defended the Sherman act as
interpreted by the supreme court of the
United States, indicated plainly his op,
position to the repeal or amendment Of
this statute, but suggested that Con-
gress pass federal incorporation law
and supplemental legislation that would
describe and denounee methods of COM
petition that are unfair
To supervise corporations chartered
under federal law, President Taft pro-
posed the creation of an executive bureau
or commission, with powers akin to those
OF the interstate commerce commission.
Speaking Of the much-discussed disso-
luton of the tobacco trust, the presi-
dent declared that in his opinion mot
in the history of American law has a
decree more effective for such a purpose
been entered by a court"
To the Senate and House OF Repre-
sentatives:
This message is the first of several
which | shall send to congress during
the interval between the opening OF
its regular session and its adjourn
ment for the Christmas holidays The
amount of information to be commu-
nicated as to the operations of the
government. the number of important
subjects calling for comment by the
executive and the transmission to con-
gress of exhaustive reports of special
commissions make 1t impossible to in
clude in one message of a reasonable
length n discussion of the topics that
ought to be brought to the attention
of the national legislature at its first
regular session.
The Antitrust Law--The Supreme
Court Decisions.
In May last the supreme court hand.
ed down decisions In the suits in equi-
~ brought by the United States to en-.
join 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.
ness world authortatively of the
scope and operation of the antitrust
act Of 1890 The decisions do not de-
part in any substantial way from the
previous decisions of the court 10 con-
STRUNG and applying this important
statute. but they clarity those deci.
sions by further defining the already
admitted exceptions to the literal con.
struction of the act By the DEGREES
they furnish useful precedent as to
the proper method of dealing with the
capital and property of illegal trusts.
These decisions 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 pre-.
serve the benefit, freedom and spurrof
reasonable competition without loss of
real efficiency or progress
No Change In the Rule of Decision,
Merely In Its Form of Expression.
The 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 a
misdemeanor every person who shall
monopolize or attempt to monopoliZe
or combine or conspire with any other
person TO monopolize any part Of the
trade or commerce Of the several states
or with foreign nations"
In two early cases. who're the statute
was invoked to enjoin transporta-
tion rate agreement hetween inter-
state railroad companies. it was held
that 1t was no defense to show that
the agreement as to rates complained
of was reasonable at common law. be.
cause 1t was said that the statute was
directed against all contracts and COM
binations in restraint of trade. whether
reasonable at common law or not 1t
was plain from the record however.
that the contracts complained of in
those cases would not have been deem
ed reasonable at common law. In sub
sequent cases the court said that the
statute should be given reasonable
construction and refused to include
within its inhibition certain contrac-
tual restraints Of trade which it de-
nominated as incidental or as Indirect