New-York tribune., 1912-04-08
URGES ANTITRUST VIGIL
MINERS MAY WORK SOON'PASSAC STRIKERS QUIET URGE
Smith Says Tobacco and Oil
Units Should Be Watched.
ASKS FEDERAL MACHINERY
Commissioner Of Corporations
Declares There Are No Means
of Judging Extent of Reform.

Washington. April The industrial units
which sprang from tho dissolution or the
american Tobacco Company and the Stand
ard oil Company should be watched un-
ceasingIv. Herbert Knox Smith declares in
! his annual report as Commissioner OF Cor
porations, made public to-day. He asserts
/ that the federal government must nave
permanent administrative office through
which 20 supervise interstate corporate
bI siness, saying:
There is little dispute as TO the object OF
: OR corpordtP policy. We want business
machinery of high efficiency, serving tle
! lest interests of the citizen and returning
ample reward 10 the ability ana lnuuSIly
/ of thos. VINO use that machinery Ialriy.
/ But the means 10 this end arc no" IN ue
! bate. 49,
| however whether Of preserving Compel.
! ton Of enforcing competition or or dHect
] governmental regulation of business opera
| tions or whether, as rs perhaps more ilke ea
! w. our policy will be combination OF tneSs
various principles. in any event such II
perman MT administrative system IS a nee
essary part cf II. That system must nav
! broad uOVers of investigation, taking con-
| tiuuous roe0izaaCp Of the operations OF
| large Industrial corporations. BY puDuciy
| and supervision Il Will preserve coilP'II
/ tion and provid" equal OPPORTUNITY, W con- M
expert knowledge Of current business coil-
ditious il viii display the working OF COIL
! petition and the cases II any. where TINS
/ fails TO bc OF benefit. II will always De pt III
| q position to furnish. through It's perEla
I nent force of trained specialists the lnlVl
nation needed for legislation or rr-uI
| tiOn y will also have the knoWleose an n
J data that may be required properly 10 f
/ force competition and to carry out the Nv
/ tent Of any decree Of dissolution 'h'''''
under the antitrust law.
! The Commissioner dwells on m" nee'i
Of federal machinery to inspect groups oI
companies that result from dissolution VI
groa. combinations. such as the STANDARD
| oil Company and the American Tooacco
Company as fellows:
: convincing object lesson on inc hteu
~ such administrative sAStenl - C,omnanv
| fore MS The American Tobacco ro,l.pdimS ronp,iis,
and tho Standard oil Company ild'@lue @
| been dsntegrated. the resultant run unioS disY 1
! now started on a new career. ,,.i'ad onI,
| intcgrations have been accomplished oilIy
/ after long litigation and at much eA
! The purpose was TO benefit the PUBL Os
! a broad reform in economic CVu"l.Io,r.s =
| And vet the country has no eHectlNe I'eo VI, @
! of 1ycertainlrg how FAR the desired relorIn
! ,yUI rcallv hn carried out NO ohs CaIl
! fnroscc the iutur" of these new u'I'.H ~ ~.
! the ,wo great industries. II WIZ pc pun ~
/ an economic and financial process; -
| uuIi, ial machinery is adapted 10 hdndIe ul's
novel problem. Indeed, the circuit Soutl
| expressly refused the suggestion ot NV
I kept open for thre" or more wears i"r SUI"
| purpose NJ supervision. 49,.
I PuhIi, interest requires that these tWo
groups of companies and any otheIs III
! Ike circumstances, should h" az oh'' ~
/ Iigcd D." law 20 submit 20 constant I"-
/ ~pottf0n hv a fcdeI al Office organized on
| lin.S similar to those suggested above. IN
| those two cases. which arc hut GurrenI
/ examples oi general principle. nptu pup-
! lr ard private rights are involved. The
| puIli, has no means Of following mo HH-
/ volo',p-nt of competition therein throusn
succeeding Years, no" nave me -, -.
, holders I'm those corporations certainly AZ
| least. those not "oU tho inside any means
~ Judging the ,uiue Of their holdings uh-
der the novel conditions now operative
Tho total appropriations for the bureau
for tho nsca yoar 1911 we're $500. Tho
number ~ employees ON June 20. 1911, vas
Ig7 The commission saws the publication
of Part 1T of the bureaus Report On
TRANSPORTATION by Water I'm the United
States" has had gratifying effect. both
I'm influencing public opinion and In its use
! I'm sprcidc controversies Attention Is called
to tho fact that fcw months after the
Issuance. ~ tho end Of tn" fiscal year, OF
tho Report on th" steel Industry, cru
risiuE tho nOuOVoliStIC tendency ot the
nited states Steel Corporation, the cor
poratiou announced its intention 10 cancel
The nm loaso aud also reduced BY about
D per cent the orc rates on its Northern
ore railroads
Continuius tho report SAYS.
Nt thc end of the fiscal year tber" Ncr"
SIN pondiug as work ON hand, inveSti>a'
tioue into the international Harvester COM
panv aud concentration of water power
ownership. as well as continued inveStiga-
tions Of tho steel. Tobacco and lumber ~"
dustrios Transportation 10y water ana cor
poratc taxation.
The bureau is now allowed by Law TO
rubIlsh only twenty-five hundred copies OF
a given report I'm one fiscal year. rms u'l-
Cnrtunqta restriction should BE- enlarged.
The present and increasing demand for
those reports Is 30 great that the bureau
supply is frequently exhausted I'm three or
fonr months ard Largo numbers ~ re-
nroetq must b., denied Considering the
importance of the subject matter OF these
reports the vast amount ~ work involved
,hc limitation 10 twenty-five hundred copies