Evening star., 1921-09-18
Remedy for Many Ills Lies
Within Powers of States
Bx THosGAs n. MARSHALL.
Former Vice President el the
URlfoA States.

DY TH0aGAs u. MARSHALL,
Former Vice Psssiaent ef the
. UalfsA States.
HART Of the price We pay for
the necessities and conven-
fences of modern life 10 the
nsver-ending fight upon the
part Of tho consumer to restrain
ana prevent too much cupidity
upon the part Of tho producer.
Men engaged in a common busi-
ness long ago discovered that by
combining they would be enabled
to do one or all Of three things:
They could reduce production and
thus enhance prices: they could
lessen overhead charges by divid-
Ing tho territory and thus obtain
practically q monopoly. and they
could by temporary reduction Of
prices drive weak competitors
Each Of these proceedings has
sense OF right ana ali have been
deemed ininlical to our system Of
government.
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The labor union has done nothing
to bring It into sharper conflict
with the great mass of the people
than its effort to limit production
by dxing the amount Of work any
ono man should do in a day. And
the excuse OF the "capitalistic
trust" that It could produce and
sell moro cheapiy to the public
than the small concern has enabled
1t to do business. but 1t has not
convinced the average man that
tho capitalistic trust is in con-
sonance with our governmental
theory.
It may be true that there is
always a $3o.oo0-a-year job in one
Of these organizations for q $780,
600 mar. but one Of the guaran-
tees Of my government is that
have a right to pursue happiness
II I. am willing to pay the price
OF that pursuit It follows. there
fore. that although l may be q
$4,000 man. and although there
may be a $4,000 job awaiting me.
stu, II would be happier in run
ming $4,000 business Of my own
where may be near my mother
in-law and enjoy her conversation,
a government which stands for
justice and this right of mine
should see to It that 1 am not
driven out OF business.
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This would have come to pass
long ago il It had not been for
the fact that there is just as much
cupfdity among consumers as
among producers. Independent fac
tories outside the combination may
prove conclusively to the consumer
that the combination Is selling him
goods at lower prices only tempo.
rarity in order to drive out COM
petitors. and the consumer may
know 1t. understand It and deplors
It, yet he will buy Of the combina-
tion. justifying himself with "suffi-
cient unto the day is the evil
thereof" Maybe TIL be dead or
will not care to buy when the price
goes UP, he argues.
IT usually Is futile to warn the
public and 1t is worse than folly
to serve the public upon tho theory
that 1t will assist you in your la
bors. appreciate your services or
reward you for them, even though
they prove successful. Sin 10 what
the other fellow does. No class OF
people has inveighed more Bit
terly against the trust than labor
upon the part OF their members,
they have themselves organized q
trust and increased the prices Of
their products.
Between Justice and cupidity
there IL q never-ending fight. The
law Is constantly being invoked to
redress grievances. For twoscore
years Attorneys General Of the
United States have suffered night
mares caused by their efforts to
dissolve and destroy the trusts.
Prosecutions galore have been in
s.ituted and successfully prose-
cuted. and the courts have ordered
the dissolution of this trust and
that trust: yet, in some mysterious
way, the trusts have been stronger
after dissolution than before. So
impotsnt have been the efforts OF
tho government that the Flyers OF
the black nag" have adopted .
song running like this:
s.Hallalujah! thine the glory.
Hallelujah! Amen.
Hallelujah! thine the glory.
Dissolve us again"
SO hopeless has been the legal
contest that during the last ad-
ministration an effort was made to
adjust inequalities by exempting
certain combinations Of citisens
from the penalties Of the antitrust
laws. The moment this was done
the hour had arrived for the repeal
Of all laws upon the subject OF
trusts. This government can no
more divide it's cftixens doing the
same thing into two classes. one
exempt from tho penalties Of the
law and the other responsible to
slave and half free Every one must
must have the right to do thing
without punishment or NO one
should have that right.
The incapacity OF the general
government to deal with this quss-
tion has at last brought some of