The Washington herald., 1914-03-18
new TRUST BILL
SHOWS LEN|ENCY
Fifth in Administration S Pro-
gram Makes Appearance
in House.
RECEPTION NOT CORDIAL
Present Holding Companies Not At
5 fected and Individuals Not Pro-
hibited from Buying Stock.

The administration bill designed e
prevent the organization Of holding
companies in interstate commerc'
made its appearance in the House yes
:erday. II is. the fifth bill to- be intro
duced in the Administrations program
of antitrust Legislation, and has beer
awaited with some anxiety by bust
ness interests ever since Presiden
o Wilson delivered his antitrust address
to Congress.
The measure as introduced by Chair
man Clayton, of the House Judiciary
Committee. does not go as far as many
feared IL would go. 1t falls consider
ably short Of the suggestions contain
in the Presidents address for legfs-
Iation of this character. No attempt
is made to curtail the rights OF indi-
viduals in the purchase Of stock or In
the voting of such stock, as was sug-
gested as q possibility in President
Wilson's address.
The bill as introduced in Congress
does not affect any of the present hold
ing companies. 1t proposes to make
Ii unlawful for any corporation en-
Eaged in interstate commerce in the
future to acquire directly or indirectly
the stock Of any corporation where
the effect would be to limit or lessen
competition.
Stronger Than Sherman Law.
This seems to 60 a little further than
the Sherman antitrust law. Under that
law, as interpreted by the Supreme Court,
the acquisition of one corporation by an
other is legal so long as the restraint
upon interstate commerce is not I'M
reasonable. The bill introduced yester-
day, however. declares such acquisition
to be unlawful if the effect is merely to
lessen competition"
The provisions of the proposed law,
however, will not prevent corporations
from buying stock solely for investment.
Here are the recommendations that
the President made in his address to
Congress in regard TO holding companies:
I'VE are agreed, I take il, that holding
companies should be prohibited. but what
of the controlling private ownership or
individuals or actually cooperative groups
of capital stock be suffered to be them
selves in effect holding companies? We
do not wish, I suppose, to forbid the
purchase of stocks by any person who
pleases to buy them in such quantities as
he can afford, or in any way arbitrarily
to limit the sale of stocks to bona fide
purchasers.
Shall we require the owners of stock.
when their voting power in several COM
one another. would constitute actual con-
troll. to make election in which of them
they will exercise their right to vote?
This question I venture for your con-
Reception Not Cordial.
The House Committee on the Judiciary |
has pondered the Presidents remarks for |
several weeks and has admittedly ex-
perienced more trouble in attempting to |
frame this anti-holding company legisla- |
ton than any other feature of the adj |
troublesome antitrust pro-
gram.
Many members of Congress who read |
the bill last night expressed the opinion |
that it would be subjected to severe criti-
cism- In fact, the impression is fast |
gaining ground in Washington that only |
few features OF the Wilson antitrust |
program will be put on the statute books
at this session Of Congress