The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1913-06-12
PRESIDENT WILL ASK NEW LEG
IslATioN TO STRENGTHEN
SHERMAN Law.
M'REyN0LDS WILL GET BUSY
Department Of Justice Has inyestisa-
tors at Work Securing Evidence TO
Be Used In Many ,cases--To Force
Competitive Conditions
BY GEORGE CLINTON.

plainly apparent that President VII.
son and the Democratic leaders in
Congress think that If this country s
manufacturers and producers would
change their methods OF work they
would have no reason to fear APP
preaching tariff changes. The Presi-
dent has expressed himself as believ-
Ing that because high protection has
afforded such good shelter for Ameri-
can concerns they have neglected
opportunities to conduct their bust
ness In way which would make high
protection unnecessary and which
would enable them to sell things at
q lower price and to earn as much
dividend money as they earn today.
This is the expressed Democratic
view. az sraa -. .-.a...
1t was in connection with his words
on pernicious lobbying that the Pres
ident allowed his views Oh business
methods to become known. He thinks
apparently that this country can COM
pete with the world and with itself"
continue to pay high wages and con-
tinue to make money even II certain
and suhdry articles are put upon the
free list. '' -.8' ....-.
For New Trust Legislation.
When the tariff bill is passed and
signed. taking for granted that the
law will read nearly as the bill reads
at present, American competition will
have an opportunity to show what It
can do when brought into the contest
against products which are manufac.
tured or grown In other countries.
Attorney General McReynolds, who
under Theodore Roosevelt and Will
lam H. Taft had considerable expert
ehce as government investigating
and prosecuting officer, is still on the
trusts trail, and when overtaken each
trust is to be led to court, In which
good many Of them already have
had experience. When the Sherman
law is amended In accordance with
Mr.. Wilson's view OF what proper
changes should be. the Attorney Gen.
eral probably will have to go into
court or send others into court for
him, to present cases under new con-
ditions. Mr.. Wilson's thought, as he
has expressed it several times, is that
every combination which Ia found to
be in restraint of trade can be dis.
solved into integral parts and each
part forced to compete with every
other part for business, and that each
part can do it without bringing hard;
ships to holders of stock or to the
interests OF the business community
generally. ... I'd
President Taft, through his Attor.
ney General, aided in several cases by
the present Attorney General, who
was then an assistant to Mr.. Wicker
sham, succeeded in securing the order
for the dissolution Of several trusts.
The convicted ones promptly dis
solved and the stock of their compo-
nent parts instantly went soaring
but this is an old story. 1t is ap-
parent that the present administra-
ton, like good many hundreds OF
thousands OF Americans who save in
directly are not part OF the admins.
tration, believes that the combina.
tions which were taken into court
and told to be good still exist as com.
binations in spite Of the appearance
OF separation.
Want Actual Dissolution.
1t is the intention OF the Democ-
racy. so the party men say, to make
the dissolution OF all combinations in
restraint OF trade actual instead OF
merely apparent. There are Demo
cratic leaders willing to say that the
great corporations which seemingly
have been split up can be actually
split up, and that they can be made
to compete, to sell their goods at a
lower price and yet continue to make
money and pay good dividends To
accomplish these things is the job
which the Democratic party in Con
gress and in the White House has
ahead of it after the tariff and cur.
reney are out of the way.
AS things are now, the Attorney
General is busy, He has Investigators
at work in the New England railroad
field to get all the facts not yet
brought to light concerning the trans
portation monopoly there said to
exist. In Oregon and Washington
representatives of the Attorney Gen
erals department are looking into
telephone matters with a view to de-
termining II trust contrary to law
is there exploiting itself
Attorney General McReynolds Is
busy enough today, but from what the
Democrats say his activity of the
present is as nothing to that which
IL will be In the future when the DOM
tnant party puts new laws, or amend
nients to old laws, on the statute
books. 1t is asserted by the Demo
cratic leaders with seeming conf
dence, however. that while the anti.
trust activities OF the administration
will work for lower prices to the con-
sumner, they will In no wise injure
business. The competitive idea is
strong with the Democrats, and they
believe firmly apparently in the old
and perhaps bromide Competition
Us the life of trade" :. They say that
the trusts years ago changed the word
life for death in the old saying and
tried to make people accept the sub
stituts without dsmur.