The Washington times., 1912-09-20
COLONEL DEFENDS
STAND ON TRUSTS
WHILE PRESIDENT
Roosevelt Declares Principle
of Government Suprem-
acy Established.

In an editorial in the current issue OF
the Outlook. Colonel Roosevelt makes a
vigorous defense of his attitude toward
the Sherman antitrust law. 49,.
Under the caption THE Taft Wilson
Trust Program" Colonel Roosevelt
says: ..,r .,.., -,f ?
During my Administration, and since,
/ have first directed and tested, and
then studied, the working of the Sher-
man antitrust law. When / came in
to office that law was, dead; l took 1t
up and for the first time had It en-
forced. -.
We gained this much by the enforce
ment: we gained the establishment of
the principle that the Government was
supreme over the great corporations; I;
that came through. our lawsuits
Take the Northern Securities case.
Under me that suit was brought to a
successful conclusion at first thought
that we had secured definite and real
solution of the difficulties, and my OPP
ponents thought so, too, at first, and
We're very sore; but in the end 1t proved
that all We had actually, accomplished
was what Is said above. AS one of
ward remarked: "Weil, when the
smoke cleared away. 1 found that
whereas formerly I had to prove my
have TO prove 1t by two"
Standard Oil Decision.
Take again the STANDARD Oil decision.
The Standard Oil Company was nomi-
nally dissolved as a result of the suit
against 1t. 1t was divided nominaily
into thirty-four different companies. For
u moment there was a great deal of
fright in Wall Street; and under the
stress of that fright the big magnates
Tor the time being thought they would
come round and advocate the policy of
control 1 had advocated, because, while
that. control would really control them,
would hamper and limit them, at least
they thought that they would thereby
escape death. Then they found that 1t
was only make-believe death to which
the suit for dissolution Mr.. Rockefel-
1ers property rose in value to higher
degree than 1t ever had gone before,
and to an already sufficient fortune he
dollars. while the price of oil went up
TO the consumer. Men who purchased
Standard Oil stock on the curb in New
York tell me that the sole difference is
would give them one slip of paper, now
he gives them an envelope containing
thirty-seven slips-that's all.
You recollect Mr.. Pierpont Morgan
SdlQ. Ou can unSCTdUlDle tHe tBSs
in an omelet." This particular instance
of trying to- unscramble them didn''
help anybody but the owners of the
eggs for 1t increased the value of the
eggs indefinitely 'and made the omele'
cost more to the general public. Now
our proposal is not to try to unscram.
BILE the eggs by a mere succession OF
lawsuits, but to exercise such admin
istrative control by the Government a:
will prevent the eggs from ever being
scrambled. 49,
Mr. Wilson in recent speech in New
York said that mo body of men woulc
have the wisdom necessary to enable
them to regulate the industrial pro
Cesses of the country" / was much in
terested in that remark because it rep
resents the exact attitude always taker
by the respectable ultra-conservative II
matters of this nature. Word for wore
it is what some of the great railway
magnates used to say before the pas
sage of the interstate commerce law
They used to say that no body, o.
men alive could undertake to regulate
the complicated railway business.
Other big men used to say the same
thing when the proposal was to estab
lish public utilities commissions.
No More Difficulty.
I appeal from the prophet of today tc
the way the facts have refuted th'
prophets of yesterday. There Is M
more difficulty in regulating the Stan
dard Oil or the Steel Corporation thar
III regulating a big railway. We hav'
actually made the interstate commerc'
law work. We have found by the tes
of actual work that the way to contro
the railways lies through increasing th'
power. and especially through increas
ing the application of the power, of tn
Interstate Commerce Commission, b!
regulating and controlling those rail
ways, and not by any development o
the antitrust law. Real control of tn
trusts can come only by the adoption
of similar expedients. What / wan
to see done with our industrial concern
is to see an Interstate Industrial Com
mission established, which shall handl
the standard Oil, the Steel trust. tn
Tobacco trust, and every such big trust
through administrative action, just a
the Interstate Commerce Commission
handles the railways. and with a powe
extended beyond that of the Interstat
Commerce Commission.
And Mr.. Wilson need not bother him
self about finding men to administe
such a law. If he cannot find them,
can and will. l will guarantee to nm