Evening star., 1914-01-30
Louis D. Brandeis Gives Views
on Interstate Trade CON-
mission Project.
FAVORS UNIFORM SYSTEM
OF ACCOUNTING FOR FIRMS
Mr.. Stanley Continues Effort to
Strike Out Unreasonable" From
Sherman Law.

Hearings on proposed trust leEisia-
zion. embracing President Nilsoit'.
for trust reform. uer.
inauSurated today by the House conf
mittee on interstate and foreign com
merce. While the committee had onl-
the interstate trade commission bin be
fort 1t in printed form, chairnar
Adamson said information would 10
sought from the witnesses on ecncrsi
subjects. including the proposed ra.1-
ways securities hill ana other ri ases
OF the trust question over which Ma
committee will have Jurisdiction
Commissioner Davies OF the hureau &C
corporations, Representative CLAYTON.
which Will shortly hold hearings on tr.
trust bills coming under its iurisdictio-.
and Louis II. Brandeis Of BOSTON had f"-
ouested TO he heard today
Draft of Bill Only Tentative.
Chairman Adamson explained that ma
draft OF the trade commission bill wat
only tentative and that the COMMITTEES
probably would change its present form,
materially before II finally passed judg-
ment
Hundreds OF letters from railroad rep
resentauves. business men. inanufactur-
-
desire to be heard by the committee.
have been received and a long list ~
witnesses has been prepared. Members
of the committee said today 1T would hs
impossible to estimate the time the hear
fngs will continue
For Uniform Accounting.
Louis Brandeis IN discussing tAs
interstate trade commission project
declared that he believed there should he
a uniform system OF accounting among
all the 3O5.o0O or SO corporations that
would come under the commission, hut
gradually, because of the enormity of tho
task OF standardization. and that II GER
tainly would take a decade and possibly
twenty wears.
For that reason he believed that
trade commission legislation simply
should express the thought of Cor
gress that this idea should be carried
out and that with the powers given
the commi ssion 1T could be safely left
to that body to determine Just how
the standardization could be effected
by taking the larger corporations
first or certain group of interests.
and SO on
He also urged that "concealment breeds
suspicion" that publicity helps instead os
hurts and that every corporation should
lay its cards upon the board face up =
Stanley Continues Argument
How .fifteen-year campaign by capital
resulted in writing into interpretations o.
the Sherman antitrust law by the Su-
preme Court of the United states the
word .'unreasonab was described t.
the judiciary committee by Representa-
tive Stanley of Kentucky
He continued his argument for amend
ment of the act so that "reasona blenoss
or unreasonableness'' could not be ar
piled to monopoly or restraints of trade.
Members of the committee repeatedly
asked Representative Stanley why h.
would amend the law until 1t was shown
that the Supreme Court interpretation
was letting wrongs go unpunished.
Representative Nelson of Wisconsin.
one of the members present. made sug-
gestions In favor of the Speakers con-
tention.
During the hearing Representstl' =
Carlin said the committee was particularly
anxious to know if labor and farm organ
izations should be exempted from ths
operation of the law. Mr.. Stanley said
they should be.