Daily Kennebec journal., 1913-12-08
SOWiIISeek the Presidents
Antitrust Views.
They Hope 10 Have Currency
Bill Passed by Dec. 20.
Hewlands Favors Creation of an
Interstate Trade Commission.

Washington, Dec president Will
sons views on trust legislation are
to be sought, this week, by Congress
sional leaders upon whom will fall
the task of mapping out the anti
trust program for legislative action.
The last week has developed a pro-
nounced view among Democratic
members of the Senate that the anti
trust acts of the present session of
Congress should be few, and should
effect only the more obviously needed
reforms in the field of combination and
corporation activity.
While the President has announced
his purpose to send special trust
message to Congress in the near fu-
ture, the scope of the communication
has not yet been outlined.
The demands of Democratic leaders
during the last week, for speedy action
on the pending currency reform bill,
have had a marked effect on the Sem
ate. Confident predictions are now
made that the bill will pass that body
before Dec 90.
Republican members have made it
clear they do not want to be charged
with delay of currency reform and
will not use obstructing tactics to en-
force the changes they would like to
see in the bill.
General legislation which has been
held in restraint throughout the spe-
cial session of Congress, is flooding
every channel of Congressional action.
The House has before 1t during the
coming week Alaskan railroad legisla-
ton, the Thomas Naval holiday" res
olution, immigration regulation, high
cost of living Investigations, the lobby
committees report and numerous 9TH
er matters.
II is the hope of House leaders now
that the Senate will be able to com
plete the currency bill so that two
weeks recess can be taken for the hol-
iday season.
Advocates of antitrust reforms in
both houses expected to concentrate
upon a few trust bills early in the new
year. 1t is believed that these will
cover only part of the field of trust
regulation and will not attempt to car
ry out all the reforms considered nee
essary.
The President in his address to Con-
gress, last week, urged that the Sherman
antitrust law be left without alteration
and that any new laws be made sup
Elementary to it. Some of the congress
sional leaders are now urging that busi-
ness be allowed to readjust itself to the
new banking conditions, and that the
country be given chance to accept and
reorganize business and finance under
the new currency law before laws are
passed bringing any general change in
the regulation or control of corporations
The early trust bills will probably be
aimed at the abolishment of interlocking
directorates and holding companies, and
possibly of voting trusts and fiscal agen-
cies.''
Legislation strengthening the rights of
minority stockholders will also be asked
for; and attempts will be made to
strengthen the Sherman law so as to get
rid of the effect of the supreme courts
decision that reasonable" restraints of
trade are not unlawful.
1t has become apparent that there will
be strong effort there or in the next
session to create trade or industrial
commission, similar to the Interstate
Commerce Commission and with the
broadest possible powers of control over
all corporations doing business across
state lines
Chairman NeWlandS hlmSelf 1aVOrS the
creation of an Interstate Trade Com
mission as one of the most important
steps toward control of big business"
He has bill that would give this COM
mission general oversight over corpora
tions, with power to make original in
vestigations and report conditions to the
attorney general for all necessary prose-
cutions Some of the other bills now be-
fore the Senate, however, will go much
further in the rigid control of corpora
tons and would give commercial COM
mission to determine in advance whether
corporations stock was 'watered,
whether it had left too much to the fiscal
agents who financed it, whether it's prices
were unreasonable or it's methods of
sitting competition illegal. and authority
to keep out of interstate business any
corporations whose methods it did not
approve.
Other bills, including those by Senators
La Toilette and Williams, Cummins and
Clapp, would impose rigid laws defining
as Illegal acts price cutting methods to
stihe competition or forms of over-capi-
talization, and would impose drastic pen
alties for the infraction of these laws
Many similar measures are before the
House at the present time.