Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1911-11-23
ROOSEVELT ASKS
MORE TRUST LAW
Colonel Gives His Idea Of q
Square Deal.
PRESENT STATE IS CHAOS
Calls Supreme Court Decisions Mis-
carriage OF Justlce-Denies
Being Mlsled In Steel
Merger.

Legislation to regulate the trusts is dis
scussed and remedy to meet the pres
ent situation suggested by Theodore
Roosevelt in an editorial entitled,
The Trusts, the People and the
Square Deal" published in the Out
look
"The suit against the Steel Trust by
the Government, Mr.. Roosevelt be-
gins, has brought yividly before our
people the need Of reducing to order
our chaotic Government policy as re-
CARDS business" He concludes with
the following recommendation:
tThe national Government exercises
control over Interstate commerce rail-
roads, and 1t can in similar fashion,
through an appropriate governmental
body, exercise control over all In
dustrial organizations engaged in
Interstate commerce This control
,hould be exercised not by the courts
but by an administrative bureau or
board, such as the Bureau Of Corpora.
tons or the Interstate Commerce
Commission, for the courts cannot
with advantage permanently perform
executive and administrative func
tions"
Denies Steel Trust MIsled Him.
Il believed at the time that the facts
in the case were as represented to me
on behalf of the Steel Corporation. and
my further knowledge has convinced
me that this was true. believed at
that time that the representatives OF
the Steel Corporation told me the
truth as to the change that would be
worked in the percentage Of the bust
IS which the proposed acquisition
would give the Steel Corporation, and
further inquiry has convinced me that
they did SO. was not misled.
Says LawsuIts Do Not Regulate.
Returning to the main subject, M
Roosevelt continued:
ITO attempt to meet the whole
problem not by administrative govern
mental action but by succession OF
lawsuits Is hopeless from the stand.
point Of working out a permanently
satisfactory solution. Moreover, the
results sought to be achieved are
achieved only In extremely insufficient
and fragmentary measure by breaking
up all big corporations whether they
have behaved well or i'll, into q num-
Der Of little corporations, which it is
perfectly certain will be largely, and
perhaps altogether, under the same
control. Such action is harsh and mis-.
chieyous II the corporation is guilty of
nothing except it's size, and where, as
in the case of the Standard Oil, and
especially the Tobacco trusts, the cor
poration has been guilty of immoral
and anti-social practices, there is need
for far more drastic and thorough
going action than any that has been
taken under the recent decree of the
Supreme Court.
Calls II Miscarriage OF Justice.
Surely, miscarriage Of Justice is not
too strong a term, to apply to such
result when considered In connection
with what the Supreme Court said of
this trust.
The effort to prohibit all combfna-
tions. good or bad, Is bound to fail,
and ought to fail, When made, It
merely means that some of the worst
combinations are not checked and that
honest business is checked. Our pur,
pose should be, not to strange bust.
ness as an incident of strangling com
binations. but to regulate big corpora,
lions in thoroughgoing and effective
fashion, SO as to help legitimate bust.
ness as an incident to thoroughly and
completely safeguarding the interests
of the people as a whole.