New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-07-13
History Repeating Itself with the
House Antitrust Bills.

If looks as IL history might repeat itseil 10 sunni
extent in the toning down OF the suppic'ne",a''
antitrust bill now pending in the Heh"'c'
three House bills will he rewritten. foSSio'! INV
will be merged into one before the Sc""'V
through with them. The worst OF their cruuI'''
spd antiquities are likely . he eliminated i"'"
the administration will boldly claim that 'Hc! rep
rosent exactly the ideas and programme VIII"
,,bcl, If started out although everybody else i'l
know, that the bills were hammered into less on
ioctonable shape under the prodding OF ou'slue
criticism.
That is what happened with the currency law
As il passed the House with the Freslueh's dP
proyal il was a menace to business. us charaV'e'
woe changed for the better when the Senate began
to vioId to intelligent protests, and decided %
make il conform more fully to the principles &c
ccpted in the construction OF the Aldrich Dill Inc
advice of bankers and currency experts was heedeu
and the bill as finally amended met the approval
If the country.
Yet only couple OF weeks ago in his speech To
the Virginia Editorial Association President WIZ
son. in order to pooh pooh the opposition OF the
business world TO the pending House ANTITRUST
bills heittlcd the transformation accomplished
with the currency bill and intimated that the
banking community had made a spectacle OF l'SeH
bv first blindy opposing currency reform and them
after enactment, Inconsistency hurrahing FOR IT.
Here is what he said;
Then came currency reform. You remember with
what resistance, with what criticism, with What
systematic holding back large body OF bankers
in this country met the proposals OF that REFORM
and YOU know how, Immediately after us passage,
thew recognized its benefit and Its benehcence, ana
how ever since the passage OF that reform Dahkers
81 tbe nit
lating themselves that 1t was possible 10 carry ou'
this great reform upon sensible and solid INES
What bankers and other advocates OF a sound
currency system have been cOngratuatng them
selves upon is that the currency bill was saved ny
sensible treatment in the Senate. Public OPINION
forced concessions and notifications. aud they
made the law sound and workable. Public opin-
ion in the last week has forced similar modihca-
tons Of the supplementary antitrust measures
Two or three weeks ago Mr.. Wilson was talking of
the antitrust legislation programme as "a com
Melted programme Now the House bills have
been ripped apart and the completed pro
cramme" Of June has been tossed into the waste
basket
Nevertheless however different the law finally
passed NAV lie from the original administration
plan. We expect to find President Wilson applaud
Ing il as an exact realization of his first ideas. and
denying any credit TO those who smashed the
original framework and made successful fight
for the transforming amendments. In Mr.. Viii
sons estimation only the opponents Of the admin
istration ever make mistakes and under the
necessity OF correcting In I. Such an attitude
amuses the voters more than ii annOys them.
The country just now is much less interested in
the Presidents agility in squaring what he SAID
TO the Virginia editors with what he said two
weeks later to the Chicago business men than il is
in reducing to a minimum the damage to business
threatened by the original Covington, Clayton and
RAyburn antitrust bills.