Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1911-11-22

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z. Home Writes Common sense -
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$.s Home Writes Common sense -
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The public is hearing a good deal these
days about the dissolution Of the
Trusts.''A hint Of what is actually go-
ing on may be valuable. Take the To-
bacco Trust as case, in point: It has
been one Of the most fragrant OF the
violators Of the principle Of open trade
Now, after the Supreme Court, under
the trust-favoring leadership Of Justice
Hughes. amended the Sherman Law, In
sertfng therein "reasonable"x clause
which the people Of the United States,
thru their Congress, refused to insert,
this rank violator of law comes to the
bar Of reasonable justice, and asks
the Court to help it dissolve and reas-
semble In conformity with the new
reasonable law!
The Court thereupon orders the To-
bacco Trust to reorganize. not in con-
formity with the terms of the Sherman
Law, but In accord with the judge-re-
vised Sherman Law, ordering the trial
court to supervise the revision This
Is done, with the advice of the Attorney
General Of the United States, and in
conference with the attorneys Of the
Trust
= On the face Of it this looks like death
bed repentance, and in sincere desire
on the part Of the offending Trust to |
lead better life, should further length |
Of days be vouchsafed it. Let us con-
slider moment: Having agreed to the
terms of reorganization, the govern
ment, by every principle Of law, will be
barred from further prosecution Of the
Trust, and from saying that it is organ
lied in violation Of the laws Of Con-
gress The government, being a party
to the suit, will be bound by the terms |
of the agreement, and can not further
prosecute, no matter to what extent, UNI
der the new form of organization, the
Trust may control trade or prices.
It is reported that the International
Harvester Co. is about to reorganize and
get within the law. Steel, as the read
er knows, has been smashed to flinders
(see further narrowing details in the |
daily press), but it has just declared it's |
usual dividend just as of old. AS in the
case Of Standard Oil it's dissolution will |
be the signal for the freezing out of the |
small stakeholder. Other, trusts are
reported to be preparing as rapidly as |
possible for reorganization under the |
tutelage of the Supreme Court And we
may expect. within the next decade, to |
md case against the Trusts carried |
up to the Supreme Court and there |
thrown out on the ground that the |
Court. having assisted in the creation
Of lou
as free party to it's dissolution by or
der of court.
So much for the mock-heroics that |
entertain the galleries, and fool the Big |
Interests not at all! The disso1utions !
referred to need not be expected to ma |
terially alter the situation so far as |
prices or competition are concerned. The |
Trusts will keep on doing business, but |
under a slightly different form. Instead |
of one office there will be two or sew
eraL Instead of open agreement we
shall have secret understanding-and |
the people will pay the freight
But what Of the Trust itself? Is it /
wise to destroy it, supposing that these |
suits were instituted to |
that end? F. S. e. H. thinks that it is |
not wise to destroy the Trust, and Of
fers the following analogy as a reason
for It's position: .E....
?. In the days Of our grandfathers the |
fail was considered valuable tool. To-
day the fail is outclassed by the steam
thresher that threshes and winnows |
5000 bushels of wheat between sun and
sun. Naturally we hung up the fail |
some years ago, and use the thresher.
The modern Trust is to the business
world Of today what the thresher is to
the farming world-a highly-organized |
and efficient tool for the performance of
work effectively, and in most econ
omical manner
NOW let us suppose that the thresher-
man In the readers neighborhood were
to charge altogether too much for the
work done, what would be the remedy? |
Smash the machine and go back to the
fail as the method Of relief from extor-
ton? Some such plan was tried in the
earlier days Of the introduction of ma
chinery The plan of smashing the ma
chine failed, because the smashers were
fighting economic progress. Today no.
body things of using the sledge-ha.a.oe r
on the threshings machine in order to
lower the cost of threshing We would
jail any man as either criminal or in
sane who would attempt the STUNT"
We regulate the price demanded for
threshing, and we use the machine.
The Trust is the most efficient ma
chine yet devised for the direction Of
large business undertakings It is the /
thresher Of the modern industrial world, |
compared to the fail Of competition that |
hammered to destruction goodly share
of all those who entered business. The
Trust is machine distinctly in the line |
Of progress, and necessary to the best |
development Of modern industrial life |
Those who set about to Control" it by |
forcing dissolutions that permit the big |
stakeholder to eat up the little one are !
as wise in their day as the man who |
would go out and blow up the modern
threshfng machine because it's owner |
charged an extortionate price for thresh-
ing. True, they may force dissolution,
and then what? Will cut-throat compe-
tition be better for all concerned? What
is the outcome to be? Have the smash
ers any economic tool to take the place
Of that which they destroy? If so they
have said nothing about it. Crust !
busting" is economic ignorance blowing |
up the threshing- machine and handing
us back the fail. III