Americus times-recorder., 1918-01-08
NEW TRUST POLICY.

pone action on all antitrust SUITS
pending in the courts has gone almost
unnoticed. 1t represents, however
momentous change of government poL-
cv with regard to big business.
The department Of Justice has asked
for postponement of its trust dissilu-
tion suits until next October. 1t is an
nounced that at that time further sus-
psnsion will be asked for until the.
close of the war. And we safely as
sume. a. the administration doubtless
does that by that time the nation
viii have evolved new public EoIicy
toward business which will make
further ~trust-busting' unnecessary.
The Sherman law, which has doml-
rated our governmental attitude to-
ward industry and commerce for a
generation. is already a dead letter,
superseded by congressional acts au-
thorizing the executive department to
disregard it. Today there is. IN this
country, no effective federal law
against monopoly, and no desire for it.
What was recently prescribed is now
praised and practiced. Combination,
pooling, Capitalization elimination OF
competition, these are the watchwords
of the nation. Business and govern
ment are at last on common ground
The government is doing, with the -helr
of big bus'"eess5s,,''w ees5s,, what it so long for
bade big business to do. And the pub
lie applauds
The war, with its big broom, has
swept away academic theiries and
forced the world OF recognize and act
upon facts. And the biggest economic
truth that has dawned on this coun-
try is the fact that the age of com
petitions is past 1t was good and
necessary in its time, but we have got
beyond it.
Let no superficial thinker imagine,
however. that we are literally prac-
tise today, or will practise hereafter,
Nthe very thing We have heretofore for
bidden. Trusts. combinations, mo,
nopolies, were formerly condemned be-
cause they were conducted as private
enterprises, for private profit, and
were thus inimical to the welfare of
the general public They arc approx
cd now because they are conducted,
directly or indirectly, by public rep
resentatives for the public interest.
The method is pretty much the same,
The basic economy is the same-the
suppression Of wasteful competition
the gaining OF greater economy and
ecittiency through more complete CO.
operation and centralized control. But
the motive and purpose are different.
The essential thing is the protection
OF the public. With that assured, the
matter becomes simple. We have a
railroad monopoly, wheat monopoly,
& coal monoply, a wheat monopoly. a
4 sugar monopoly, steel monopoly,
etc. But we shall have in every case a
benevolent public monopoly instead
of selfish private monopoly.
BY the the the var ends we shall
probably have this new system n ex-
cellent working order. and be ac-
customed to it. If so, we shall hardly
want to change back to the warning,
wasteful system of unrestricted private
in fields that are natural
ly adapted to monopolistic manage-
ment. We may expect, then, an end
Of antitrust legislation and trust
busting. We shall be reconciled, in
our biggest and most vital industries,
to the sway of new trust magnate,
the biggest IN the world-Uncle Sam,
who will control these matter through
ownership or Supervision. And the
once selfish aud hostile captains of
irdustry will be working cheerfully
and ioyally for their new hoss.
American soldiers wearing Nos. 10
and Ia shoes are of the incidental de-