The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1916-04-08
Not One Case Pointed Out B1
Which Consumer Has Been ii
Do1;ox,oi =
TRUST DISSOLUTION -.
ONLY BOOSTS Stocks
Can Not Be Destroyed Until Ma.
tural Resources Are Restored !;
To People. =
BY gibson GARDNER

WASHINGTON, April 2,-The
Sherman antitrust law affords no re-
lief. This is the conclusion to which
leaders in Congress are being forced
by present conditions. notably the
gasoline situation.
Investigation, prosecution, 'dissolu-
t1on'-that is the routine of happen
lngs as per the Sherman law. Result:
reorganization, immunity, increased
stock values and dividends. and
higher prices.
Not a single case has yet been
pointed out in which the consumer has
benefited by the remedies admin
istered by the Sherman law. The vii
son administration has practically
gwen over prosecution under this
act. The President has apparent1v
seen that it's effect was primarily 2
harrassment Of big business without
material results, and, following the
precedent IN the case of the American
Telephone and Telegraph and the
western Union monopoly, the gov
ernment has been carrying out it's
pohcy of "constitution of peacen
Big 1lrms which were disposed to he
Ill any degree reasonable have been
exempted from prosecution, and the
federal Trade Commission, instead
OF a militant body, as contemplated
oy the trainers of the law, has be-
come under the management of
chairman Davies, an aid and en-
couragement to big business.
Investigating in Circle.
Senator George Sutherland, of
otan. spoke in the Senate of the
gasoline situation recently and urged
investigation. He was reminded that
the Federal Trade Commission, the
interior Department, the Depa rtment
or Justice and several other agencies
OF the government already for several
months have been investigating.
moreover, this business of investiea-;
ting merely takes up the endless
circle which began with the sinyesti- J
cation of the Standard Oil and ended
with it's "dissolution."
1t is silly to talk about inyestieat-
ing the Standard when there is a. vol
luminous record in the files of the
Supreme Court, in which a majority
of the justices agree officially that
the Standard is guilty of all charges
made and that the public is entitled
to relief; that the monopoly should
be ended in order that competition
might be restored, independets might
hVe, and the public might not be
subjected to the public whims of
this vast organization to be goured
and bled at the trusts pleasure. The
declarations of the court decision
would thrill the user of gasoline and
warm the cookies of his heart. It
was a great victory for the public.
and hailed as such at the time the
decision was handed down. Every
lawyer put it into his list of import
ant cases, and it is today the last
word on the matter of dealing with
great monopolistic bodies like STAN
dard Oil.
Aided Standard Oil.
But that is all it is: words onlv.
The court in this case, and in the to-
bacco case, delegated to an inferior
Federal Circuit Court the carrying
out of it's intentions in regard to "dis-
solution" and the Circuit Court sat
down with the Attorney General and
figured out a scheme entirely salts
factory to the attorneys for the oil
company. Nothing vital to the ex-
lstence of a trust was disturbed. The
pipe lines, the ownership of the oil
fields, the trusts leases, the amount
of ownership which might remain in
single hands were left undisturbed.
with the result that the monopoly re-
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