The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-02-04
WANT TRUST
 LAW CHANGED Chamber of Commerce Wants Debatement of Shumway and Clay
 ton Acts.


 ''restatement" of the antitrust laws, | This sounds innocent and logical, for the Government needs and policies during war time sadly scrambled the numerous and intricate measures framed to protect competition, but the trust busters in Congress have taken alarm and declare that the effort is to draw the teeth of thu Sherman and Clayton acts.
 The programme is to have the next Congress revise all antitrust legis- lation and give the Federal Trade Commission supervision over the op- eration of the laws affecting monop- olies. The proposition is now being promoted by the Federal Trade Com n1ittee of the Chamber of Commerce of the United States, which is the most powerful organization of the kind in the country.
 'NThat is the same old wolf in sheep's clothing" said a leading Re- publican member of the Interstate Commerce Committee of the Senate yesterday. q have no idea Congress will ever agree to any such revision l Of the Antitrust Laws. Under such legislation a trust could get inn munity, for a time at least.''
 Want Enforcement Policy.
 Large corporate interests have two plans. One Is to have the Department of Justice define It's postwar policy on the enforcement of the antitrust legislation, and the other to revise the laws so as to "iberalize" them.
 During the war prosecutions under the Sherman and Clayton acts were practically discontinued.
 One of the first appeals to the next Congress will be made by powerful business interests for liberalization of the antitrust acts, It is argued by captains of industry that the Govern ment control of powerful corpor- ations during the war has convinced members of Congress that America can be made a much stronger and richer nation financially if trust regulations are not pressed down too hard.
 The Chamber of Commerce of the United States has submjtted the fol- lowing proposals to Its membership:
 A recommendation that Congress at once consider all antitrust legisla- ton; that 1t provide for standards of general business conduct to be ad- ninistered by a supervisory body, , and that an enlarged Federal Trade Commission be made the advisory body. It is also recommended that l the Federal Trade Commission be in- creased from five to nine members The purpose as stated by members Of th a TTadaro TIr-e Q Tyoy,, ,,,Iftaa oP +bA Chamber of Commerce, is to have a revision of the antitrust laws and the Trade Commission Act to amend or replace them in such manner as to | make this legislation responsible, | clear and adequate" It is pointed out that this is the opportune time for ''remaking'' these laws.
 Efforts have been made in recept years to have Congress permit some Federal body interpret the meaning 1 of the antitrust laws so that corpor- | ations would know exactly what to do. Senat r Reed Of Missouri and other leading laweyrs in Congress have opposed such legislation, ar gutng that the court is the only agent of the Government to interpret the law. Any such proposition at this time will be stoutly opposed in Con-
 gress.
 The argument of the Chamber Of Commerce Committee for revision
 of the antitrust laws gays in part:
 There is special occasion for such reconsideration of new legislation of
 this character in the period of read
 justment which will follow the close
 of the war. In this period new and
 difficult economic problems will arise
 from the control and solution of
 which existing legislation can scarce
 ly be adequate. Many of these will
 be projected into the post-bellum De-
 riod from the controls set up with of fcial sanction during the war. Not
 all of these controls have been off cia1ly conducted; perhaps most fre- Quent1y they have been arranged by the industries and given official ap- proval and official supervision. Thus there have been agreements upon the , types and styles that will be manu. q fa ct ured allocation of raw materials
 and standardiza of prices fol
 many important commodities. Con centrahon of industrial and commer
 cial activity to meet the requirement.
 of the Government and the essentia
 needs of the population has been st E important that cases which have beel
 pending before the Supreme Cour
 under the trust laws, and which i ' decided in favor of the Governmen :, would, as stated formally by the De = partment of Justice, require exten n sive financing at a time when tn q Governments needs for credit hay @ Teen great have at the request of tn
 Government been postponed.
 s With & return of peace the condi d ] tions caused by war cannot at ono s rass away. The difficulties of ne1 e financing will for some time continue IT There must be avoidance of sudde 3. changes in industrial situation in or
 der that unemployment and precipi
 tate decline in wages may be pre- A scented. Transportation which
 needed alike for raw materials an i- finished products will only gradual n become free from the burden of mill le tary uses These inevitable condi l. tions suggest that markets cannot t. forthwith returned to competitiV i- conditions and that prices for in In portant commodities cannot suddenl s. be released from restraint