The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-01-29

The New Trust Legislation.
We have no doubt that some of the
new trust legislation. II enacted. will be
declared unconstitutional. Efforts by
Congress- such as have been outlined. to
say Just whom merchant shall deal
scribe the number and kinds Of corpo-
rations Of which a man may be and
may not be a director, and to subject
all persons engaged In business to any
such harassing and inquisitorial ecru-
tiny into their private affairs as
Of trade commission, are apt to be
scanned very closely by the Supreme
Court OF our country. 1t will be dis
covered in due course that there Is II
provision in our Constitution protect
ing citizens from unrea sonahle searches
aud seizures; and at the same time IL
will very likely I've discovered that the
Constitution guarantees. after all. a
very rea soma BILE degree of personal lib
erty which was in no way intended to
he greatly restricted by the brief and
vague clause Of the Constitution giving
Congress the power To regulate inter-
state commerce."
For all that. the business men Of the
country should bestir themselves In the
matter Just as they did when the cur
rcncy bill was first introduced. They
should 90 down to Washington In per
4 ~ hai he
not those of attorneys or hired speak
ers of any description, place before
Congress the iniqulty and foolishness
that are sought To be accomplished by
some If these bills
There j. n consensus. for example.
that something may properly be done
to limit the extension OF interlocking
,lirectorates as il has been carried on
I'm recent years. We are frank to say
that we think the tendency has been
pressed too far. Eu, for all that, II IL
perfectly absurd 10 enact that no man
who Is On II bank board shall Ice "A
director in any industrial corporation
The idea is totally erroneous that ALI
ances of this sort are generally for the
purpose Of obtaining monopoly. Such
an alliance Is almost invariably made
at the request of the industrial corpora
tlon itself. and for the purpose Of hav-
ing a friend in the money world whose
advice and counsel will be available at
all times and whose help may be a YER
liable means Of salvation In times OF
peril. In the days of business depres-
sion and semi-panic last year the presi-
dent Of great business corporation
turned up in banking office in this
town and made the following state
ment I'VE are accustomed to sell our
paper in large quantities at this season
so as to give us funds for carrying on
our business. In the last two months
We have only been able tn sell paper
to the amount of $4,000. Our business
must stop and we shall fail unless we
can secure some accommodation. The
banker to whom this was addressed had
long been n member Of the finance COM
mittee Of the corporation concerned,
and although his work In this respect
had been largely nominal, 1t had been
sufficient to give him an insight into
the character of the business done by
the corporation and the absolute sound
ness of it's methods. Therefore, though
the effort required some sacrifice, he
was able To raise 81 900. 600 for the cor.
poration AMI To prevent 1t from going
To- the wall hut he would not have
moved single step In this direction II
his personal acquaintance with the af-
fairs of the corporation had not JUST.
fled and inspired his action. 1t Is en-
tirely probable that there were hun
dreds of Just such cases In our city
alone in the course Of the year Just
ended. and some clear and emphatic
way ought To he devised Of letting Con.
gress know the facts,
There is yet 10 be placed before Con.
gress. with the Presidents sanction. II
bill prohibiting the work Of holding
companies, and even, so 1t is said, pro-
hibiting an individual owning or vot-
Ing stock in one corporation from own.
Ing or voting stock In another corpora
ton whose business Is at all competi-
tive with that Of the other. The hold
lag company Is generally looked upon
by statesmen OF the Bryan type as be-
ing n device of the Evil One himself
for the wrongful exercise of financial
and business power. But do not the
President Of the United States and his
advisers know that the holding com.
lany represents n method Of doing
business that is absolutely necessitatel
by the diversity Of the State laws OF