New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-05-20
The Clayton Antitrust Bits iii
mupitv" Gold Brick.

,c, .o,rosontatiyes of organized LABOR arc
Ida With the paragraph in the Ol"!'on
,st hill nrofessng TO give immunity " mooson
49,, rornors, organizations. There Is e>.i' -.
II thev should be- Mr.. Clayton is 's"S les
.hn,o off with ambiguous phrases ms 10
= ,ro,oise 20 the ear and breaks IL u '' .,,o
ua is afraid to write into his anu .@ -. con.
,rinclnle which the Democratic H"'0' it'll
.,.,rotod last wear into the suhurv 'i'N
-, oct He wants to persuade the iaool
leaders that he is giving them soine'e tho
Iii roservipc the right 10 say 10 '"'
President and the country thaV ""''
them is valueless ,,., ., accent with
rh ,ohor leaders would be foolish to accept WIN
..,,,do tho CLAYTON gold brick. Last !e"i q"
nor,ocratic Congress- appropriating soooo'o iOl ,o
.,,o 1,onar+ment of Justice in enforcing '"'
sherman antitrust law. made TINS supu'''''i
M mart Of this money shall be spent IN t fnv
,,roeccution of any organization vi o,o,t having
entering into any comblhatlo ebortening of hours
a. view, the increasing Of wages fr arv act
Hot,srnp the conditions of labor or loI I dI
done in furtherance thereof noe hs annropration
-beu he expended for the prosecution or - ,,ho
If farm products and associations o. La a Gov The
cooperate and organize In an eno Io mice for
nurnose 10 obtain a fair and reasonaple p'oo 1''
their products ~.
THAT was An open and manly CONFESSION u
dosire 10 discriminate in favor OF two sroup "
,..o.os+s onoratinr in conflict with the provisions
on the Sherman law. The President signed thc ONn
carving the exemption on the ground that tne gov
orrr,ant had other funds on hand with winch u
enforce the antitrust law against all classes VI
violators But he said that the exemption au'noi-
lied bv Congress was vicious in principle
Now Mr.. Clayton wants to substitute lor l"s'
wears clear and Understandable cohceSsioH '"o Iva
lowing hazy assurance:
Nothing contained in the antitrust laws sna pe s
construed to forbid the existence ana oPel -,
eternal labor consumers, agricultural or horti
cultural organizations orders or associations MS
tuted for the purposes Of mutual hep, "a anu no ~
having capital stock or conducted LOT Io, cS or
forbid or restrain individual members OF sucn Or
yanizations orders or associations from carrying
out the legitimate objects thereof
This may be an exemption or it may not De- anu
that is its great merit in the eyes OF Its cohcoc'er
If if grants immunity it is piece OF Migrant CLASS
LEGISLATION Yet that it does grant immunity Is lar
from certain for the real test of the Elegantly o
an organization violating the antitrust law is not
,rbather If is q labor or agricultural fraternal
organization or whether it has capital stock or is
not ostensibly conducted for profit but whether it
actually restrains or monopoizes trade.
wo homo that the labor leaders will not let up
on Mr.. Clayton until he revises his exemption para
graph so as to make ii show exactly what 1t means
As n stands It is a cowardly evasion. If it means
nothing It should he stricken from the bill. II IL
is intended to change the spirit and scope OF the
sherman law, that purpose should he established
beyond question.
The public does not want to be buncoed by Mt
Clayton any more than the labor leaders do