New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-07-20
Opens Courts to People.

The report declares that the Attorney
General and his subordinates should not
have complete jurisdiction Of proceedings
against corporations existing in restraint
Of trade and that the people or the in
jured parties themselves should have
equal access to the courts.
A second amendment dealing with the
"reasonableness" OF restraint is designed
TO meet the recent decisions OF the su-
preme Court in the Standard Oil and To-
bacco trust cases. in which the word
Reasonable" was written into the Sher-
man law.
The bill drafted BY the Stanley COM
mittee declares that all restraint Of trade
shall he construed as unreasonable and
that the burden of proof in every instance
shall 5e on the defendant.
II Is pointed out that the Sherman law
Is not intended TO differentiate between
good and bad trusts, and that "reasona-
be restraint" has no standing in the law.
The committee refers briefly TO the dis
solution Of the Standard OIL Company and
the American Tobacco Company, assert
Ing that the GissolutiOns were Ineffective
an6 II practically no benefit to the indie
pendents
The committee recommends legislation
for the complete separation OF production
and transportation. The proposed amend
ment 10 the interstate commerce law sup-
ulates that no corporation engaged In
mining Of any sort shall own or control
directly or indirectly any railroad or
steamship line. The amendment also pro-
Of
torates among industrial corporations ana
between industrial corporations and rail-
roads, and would estop one Industrial cor
poration engaged in interstate traffic from
owning stock in competing corporation
engaged in similar traffic.
In support of this suggestion the COM
mittee holds that the immense power Of
the steel trust has come through its con-
troll OF subsidiary railroads and the
manipulation Of freight rates
Disapproves Gary Suggestion.
The majority Of II committee disap-
proves of the plan suggested by Judge
t. II. Gary, executive head OF the steel
trust, for the creation OF a federal COM
mission to regulate the prices charged by
corporations subject 10 the interstate
commerce laws. The plan is described as
"serni-socialistic, impracticable and I'M
constitutional The government recites
the report, is without authority to under
take such regulation OF prices. and the
committee suggests that the situation
may be met in a more satisfactory way
By amendment OF the Sherman law.
During the hearing before the commit
tee Judge Gary and George ". Perkins
dwelt on the feasibility OF the creation OF
commission which should have such
Jurisdiction over Industrial corporations
s the Interstate Commerce Commission
now possesses over common carriers.
The report denounces the absorption by
the United States steel Corporation Of the
Tennessee Coal and Iron Company, but
II will not contain. when presented TO the
House. the language employed IN the
rough draft by Chairman Stanley. This
Part Of the report, which was premature
ly published. did not meet with the sp-
probation Of the full Democratic member
ship OF the committee. The criticism Of
those responsible for the Tennessee Coal
and Iron Company deal and OF Colonel
Roosevelt who was President at the
tine. will not be 80 rhetorical as the
Stanley draft. The committee has both
Shortened and Modified the tone OF this
chapter Of the voluminous report.
Having discarded the original Stanley
draft, the majority members OF the COM
mittse are now drafting chapter deal
ING with the amalgamation Of the two big
steel companies during the 1897 panic,
and after cutting out the frills VII
oiuntly state that the ex-President ex-
cseded his rights in permitting the ALB
orption.
The committee scores the famous Gary
onners'' az vehicles whereby steel men
MADE informal agreements which were
Just az binding as the formal pools OF
"her days. Speeches made at these DIN
ners are quoted. and the committee de-
votes several pages Of it's report 20 show
.nat while prices were not actually hxeo
written agreements, the gentlemen
sueeinents' were just as effective