The Washington herald., 1920-03-02
STEELCOMBINE1
JUDGED LEGAL
BY JUSTICES
Supreme Court Decisiol
Clears Corporation Of
Violating Law.
NEW TREND SHOWN
Presidents Proposal fol
Federal Licensing Gains
Attention.
BY ROBERT T. BARRY.

The whole future policy of the
Federal goveryment with respect to
big business" may be altered as a
result OF the far-reaching decision
yesterday by the Supreme Court OF
the United States holding that the
United States Steel Corporation was
not a combination in restraint of
trade within the meaning Of the
Sherman antitrust act.
Despite the general surprise at
tending the decision and the ad-
mitted fact that the verdict was
that Of a minority of the full court,
the rule laid down coincided so
closely with a conclusion that has
been forcing itself upon Federal
officials that a positive departure
from hitherto accepted policies was
regarded as extremely likely.
Other Suits Unaffected.
1t was not anticipated that the
government would abandon its
prosecution of other antitrust suits
pending before the Supreme Court,
but it was expected that a direct
outgrowth of the steel decision
would be formulation of a new pol
icy of controlling or regulating
giant corporations rather than seek
ing to destroy them.
The Supreme Court. holding In
the steel decision I'VE must adhere
to the law and the law does not
make mere size an offense or the
existence of unexerted power an Of
tense" came close TO saying what
has been stated in many authorita-
tive quarters recently-that bigness
of itself did not constitute a men,
ace, that frequently it means great
er efficiency, and that the function
of the government should be to ex-
ercise, possibly through a Federal
licensing system, the regulation es-
sential to protect the interests of
the public in the matter of prices
and distribution.
( court Precedent UniikeIy,---.s,-
In a high Official quarter, the
point was made last night that the
majority opinion of the Supreme
Court. reached after a 4-to-3 vote,
| with two members of the court re-
framing from participation because
OF interest in the case. does not
mean that in antitrust cases the
court shall, in the future. adhere
to the principle established in the
steel case.
1t was insisted that the court, so
long as at present constituted.
stands 5 to in favor of dissolution
of monopolies. and that this latter
| majority of the full court adheres
30 the principles set forth in the
American Tobacco Company deci.
sion ordering dissolution.
Edward Douglass White. the chief
! justice. and Joseph McKenna. Oliver
Wendell Holmes and Willis VAN
Deventer, associate justices. consti-
| tuted the majority in the steel de-
cision. Justice Mckenna reading the
decision. The minority decision was
! written by William r. Day and
concurred in by Mahlon Pitney and
j John H. Clarke. associate justices.
Justice James Clark McReynolds did
| not take part in the case because
! of his activity in the antitrust cases
as Attorney General of the UniteS
| States. and Justice Louis u. Bran
deis refrained from participation
because of his activities as a rep
| reSentative of the public" in the
! hearings of the Senate Committee
on Interstate Commerce. under the
Craftsmanship of Moses Clapp. for
mer Senator from Minnesota. The
views of both Justice McReynolds
and Justice Brandeis relative to
! antitrust suits are so well estab
lished as to leave no doubt as to
| H., ha.
they voted.
Against Sherman Act.
But. however pertinent to the
general subject of government pol
icy in dealing with big corpora
tions in the immediate future the
escape of the Steel Corporation
from a dissolution order by the
nonparticipation of two justices, the
broader discussion in official circles
centered about this decision as but
another in n chain of events lead
ing responsible authorities away
from the Sherman act as the prop
er weapon of the government in
restraining big business to fair
and lawful practices.
Official thought has been turning
lfor some time toward the proposal
lof President Wilson. for a syste M
of Federal licensing of corporations
iengaged in interstate commerce.
The President advanced the sugges-
!, tion in his special message to Con-
gress last August, dealing with the
high cost of living. that the Gov
Iernment should assume national
control of the processes of distribu-
ton"
I'VE should formulate" he said.
ga law reouiring a Federal license
of all corporations engaged in in-
terstate commerce and embodying
in the license or in the conditions
under which it is to be issued, spe-
cific regulations designed to secure
lcompetiti selling and prevent un-
considerable profits in the methods
Of marketing. Such a law would af :
ford a welcome opportunity to ef-
, feet other much needed reforms in
the business OF interstate shipments
and in the methods OF corporations
which are engaged in it: but for
the moment I confine my recon-
mendations to the object immedi-
ately in hand. which is to reduce
the cost of living. :
! A. Mitchell Palmer, Attorney Gen.
erai OF the United States. has In
dorsed the Presidents proposed sys-
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