The Washington times., 1912-07-20
STEEL COMMITTEE
GIVES INDIVIDUALS
MORE PROTECTION
Coming Report Will Recon-
mend Giving Private Par
ties Chance to Sue.

including a provision that individuals,
without recourse to the Attorney Gen.
eral, may sue corporations existing in
restraint of trade, are included In the
report OF the majority members Of the
Stanley steel investigation committee,
which is practically ready for presenta-
ton to the House
Democratic members of the committee
threshed over the report until midnight
last night, and resumed the task today.
At the long night session Chairman
Stanley and Congressman Martin Little-
ton frequently disagreed over the Ian
guage in the report, especially that de-
voted to criticism of the Tennessee
Coal and Iron Company deal.
In their heated arguments, Mr.. Stanley
and Mr.. Littleton paced the floor Of the
committee room, putting cigars between
their verbal explosions.
Most Radical Change.
The recommendation, in the form Of
q bill, granting the right Of injured per-
sons to go into court and sue illegal
and grasping competitors--a proceeding
left heretofore entirely to the Depart
ment of Justice-is perhaps the most
radical of all the amendments proposed
to the Sherman act.
The Democratic report will embrace
two and perhaps three bills amendatory
of the Sherman act and the interstate
commerce laws 1t may be authorita-
lively stated that the principal recon-
outlined below:
That individuals, as we'll as the At
torney General, may institute suits to
enjoin illegal corporations or combina-
tions from wreaking injury to the inde-
pendent or the small business man. This
section provides: THAT any person in
jured or threatened with injury to busi-
Eess or property by any other person
or corporation by reason of anything
forbidden or declared unlawful by this
act, shall be entitled to bring suit in
equity in any district court of the Unit
ed States wherein the defendant corpor-
alton may be found to restrain such per-
jury
The report declares that 'the Attorney
General and his subordinates should not
have complete Jurisdiction of proceedings
against corporations existing in re-
or the injured Tq parties ta1 themseives, ns eepip
should have equal access to the courts.
Reasonableness of Restraint.
second amendment proposed with
the "reasonableness'' of restraint, and
is designed to meet the recent decisions
of the Supreme Court in the Standard
Oil and Tobacco Trust cases, wherein
the word reasonable" was written in
to the Sherman law.
The bill drafted by the Stanley COM
trade shall be construed as unreason-
able and that the burden Of proof, in
very instances. shall be upon the de-
1t Is pointed out by the Steel Com
mittee that the Sherman law is not in
tended to differentiate between good
and bad trusts and that reasonable re-
straint'' has no standing in the law.
In this connection, the committee re-
fers briefly to the so-called dissolution
Of the Standard Oil Company and the
ing that the dissolutions were inefrec-
tive and Of practically no benefit to the
independents.
Explains Amendment.
Explaining the proposed amendment
to the Sherman law to entitle injured
persons or firms to bring suits II
equity against illegal corporations,
member of the committee made the
following ,no s. statement ,S regarding the sig
The provision authorizing partiei
who have been damaged to go into q
court Of equity and recover Is of high
est importance. 1t is alleged that many
firms and corporations were driven ou
of business by the American Tobacco
Company and the Standard OIL Com
pany.
firms had no means of redress excep
through the Department of Justice
They could merely complain to the At
torney General and had no recourse o.
their own. We propose an amendment
to the law whereby persons or firms in
jured by corporations operating in re
straint OF interstate trade shall be able
to enjoin and recover in courts O.
equity"
It is pointed out that with such 6
law in effect Independent companie:
might of their volition proceed in any
District court against Violators OF th'
Sherman law. regardless OF the atti
tude taken by the Department Of Jus
tce.
The complete enforcement between
production and transportation Is an
other striking recommendation of tho
Democratic Investigators. One section
OF the bill to amend the Sherman law
stipulates that no corporati II engaged
in mining of any sort shall own or con.
troll, directly or indirectly, any railroad
or steamship line.
The same bill proposes a remedy fol
the interlocking system of directorateE
among Industrial corporations md in
dustrial corporations and railroads.
1t is pointed out by the comuittet
that the Steel Corporation owes mucl
of its growth and power to the contro
OF subsidiary common carriers.
Gary Plan Unpopular.
Distinct disapproval is voiced of tn,
Gary plan for the Federal regulation o
prices. Judge Gary advocated Fedora
commission to regulate prices and t
corporations engaged in interstate com
merce.
The Stanley committee report declare
that Federal regulation would be "semi
socialistic, impracticable, and of doubt
full constitutionality." The Government
il is declared, is without power to eX
ercise such a supervision and the coTs
mittee asserts more satisfactory mean
can be devised from the curbing Of tn
trusts.
The report denounces the absorption
of the Tennessee Coal and Iron Com
pany by the United States Steel Cor
poration, but this chapter of the find
ings will not be couched in the languag
originally prepared by Chairman Stan
ley. This rough draft of the T. C. &
chapter Of the report was prematurel
published, and when submitted to tn
Democratic membership of the commit
tee II was materially changed
Congressman Littleton, for one, com
planned that the Stanley draft wa
rhetorical, and when filed the commit
tee report will bluntly criticise the Ten
ennessee absorption and let 1t go a
that. The majority members have prac
tically determined to put the soft pede
on the more vitriolic sections of thl
nhan Nr q