New-York tribune., 1918-12-11
Sabin Says Repeal
OF Sherman Law Is
Vital to Business
Wants "Self-DeterminatiOn"
for American People and
Calls for Speedy Settle
ment of Railroad Question

CHICAGO, Dec. 1O.-Repeal of the
Sherman antitrust law and speedy
adoption of plan for future owner
ship and operation of the railroads
were strongly urged to-day by Charles
II. Sabin, president of the Guaranty
Trust Company of New York, in an ad-
dress delivered before the Illinois
Manufacturers Association in session
here.
IN seeking to establish the principle
of determination for The nations
of Europe" said Mr.. Sabir, I'VE should
be careful not to overlook the safe
guarding Of self-d determination for the
Amercan people and American bust
ness interests. In striking the shacklcS
of serfdom from other peoples we
should hbcrate ourselves from the
chains cf legal antiquities and a5
surdities. such as the Sherman anti
trIs. law. The war has taught US that
competition and individual action must
yield to cooperation and coordination;
we should Likewise recognize that free
dom includes the liberty to combine as
we'll as to compete.
"Certainly the national crisis through
which we have lust passed has proved
beyond the shadow OF reasonable
doubt thI1 # the Sherman law is not
.egally unconstitutional it is most as
suredly economically and logically 'un-
constitutional and should be repealed.
"ln the last year and a half we have
witnessed the strange anomaly of the
government practising methods which
it had decreed unlawful; but only thus
could we have won the war. And we
have seen Congress lately lift the ban
imposed by the Sherman law in so far
as foreign trade is concerned by enact
ing the Webb bill, which wisely per-
mts combinations of American busi-
ness interests in foreign fields and
opens up great opportunities for our
business groups. That was wise step
forward, but it did not go far enough.
Congress should substitute for the
Sherman law statute based upon the
elimination of economic waste, which
truly understood in its broad appica-
ton and justly administered would adc-
most of all those of the people. Such
a statute would not permit monopo-
listic combinations organized for the
restraint OF trade and for greed; it
would not allow the strong ito crush
the weak; it would not countcnance
wasteful overproduction nor ruinous
competition and destructive price cut
ting 1t would be based upon service
rendered to the public as whole, and
by that measure would it legalize
legitimate business to fulfil its des-
tiny of greatest usefulness"
Of the railroad problem Mr.. Sabin
declared that the one thing unques-
tionably certain is that the interests
of the public as we'll as Of the rail
roads would not be served if the roads
should be returned to their pre-war
status. The prc-war plan of regulation
was q demonstrated failure, he said,
and any plan of future government
control should eliminate the conflict Of
authority between state and Federal
agencies.
Government ownership would not
offer the needed measure of relief"
Mr.. Sabin added. "No evidence has yet
appeared that would lead me to assume
that the experiences of other countries
IN the government ownership of rail
roads warrant trial Of this form of
state socialism in the United States.
Furthermore, we do not find any help
full sign in the experience of our own
country in the field of public owner
ship which would encourage US to be-
lieve that we would profitably extend
it to such fields as transportation or
communication"