The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1912-01-06

public opinion.
AS check to discomfort arising
from monopolstic tendencies nothing
has been more reassuring than the
decisions of the Supreme Court in the
Oil and Tobacco cases. These were
not unduly drastic opinions and Meth
er destroyed property nor impaired
vested rights. They simply curbed
monopolistic plans, put an end to ex-
orbitant monopoly profits, gave others
better chance to compete and
obliged combinations of a monopolls-
tic character to dissolve as far as
practicable into their original parts.
OF course, such pronounced change
of methods in our business system !
was a marked check. Such an arrest
of brilliant schemes was confounding,
and there is still more or less uncer-
tainty about the conduct of business,
which must be endured until the law
or the courts have clearly demonstrat-
ed what monopoly is, what constitutes
reasonable or unreasonable restraints
OF trade and what Is fair or unfair
competition These are problems
that must be patiently and intelligent
ly worked out. 1t is impossible for
the law to define what is reasonable
or unreasonable in restraint of trade,
because of constantly varying cond1-
tons. 1t is perfectly plain that thus
far big business has been more fright
ened and displeased than hurt.
Dreams of industrial empire have
suddenly collapsed, and the conse'
ouent disappointment can be easily
understood. Big business, however,
Z is not doomed to go.
= Foreign Commerce.
, One of the healthiest symptoms in
d. the whole business fabric is the re-
: turn of our foreign trade to normal
3 conditions. For the calendar year our
t foreign trade aggregates about 49,
i 500 900 900, an increase of more than
e s171 900 900 over last year. This is
e highly encouraging and shows that
+ natural remedial forces are energetic
s ally at work. Our exports were the
e largest on record, while our imports,
t which were also record breaking, will
f fall only slightly below 1910. Details
l. for the twelve months just ended are,
n of course. not available, but figures
a for the eleven months ending Novem-
n Der 80 clearly show the trend. Dur
s. ing this period our exports ran $231,-
e 900 900 ahead Of the same time last
l. year. while our imports fell $34,00,-
% 900 behind This expansion of ex-
Is ports and contraction of imports left
Ic us with an excess of exports amount
ID ing to $475,000,000 during the eleven
" months specified compared with $211.
r 900 900 at the same time last year and
to $219 ,O00, 900 the year before. In al
rs probability the excess of exports IL
Or 1911 has been only once surpassed
es and that in 1908, when the excess raj
u as high as $710,000,000. In Export
1t the increase for the year was wei
III distributed among the great divisions
n Cotton, our chief article Of export
n showed a large gain in values. TIL
nd most suggestive feature, however, i
d. the export line was the shipments O
Sc iron and steel manufactures, which /
ne the first ten months reached the SUI
ial prising sum of over $200,000,000, a
to against $164,OO0O00 the precedin
nd year. Great Britain's steel export
his were about $35O,0O0,000 during tn
On first ten months, so that we are grad
m ally overtaking our chief rival in tt
'ur foreign trade, which offers an unlir
al tied field for American enterpris
This country already leads as an ire
the and steel producer. Before long it W
lnu also lead as an iron exporter, swee
ing away entirely the pre-eminen
led which Great Britain and German
wi have sol ong held in this field
mo- Automobiles.
the The automobile must be taken In
i've consideration as a business factor.
riff is estimated that there are about so
ion. 900 automobiles in the United Stat
OF If these cost about $1,000 apiece
cry would mean an outlay of about $50
ure. OO0,O0 The automobile industry b
its already assumed a position of fl
fter importance, giving profitable empl'
or ment to very large number of p
fter pie directly and indirectly. But
:, it automobile is generally an imp
ductive machine and chiefly a SOU
sent Of amusement, the auto-truck not
told. having come into common use
the most important thing about the al
our mobile is the cost of running. 1t
.telv safe TO assume that the average c