Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-11-18
BILL ASKS MERGER
FACTS IN ADVANCE
Tinkham to Introduce Meas.
ure for Trade Body'S Aid
of Business.

Declaring that the law-abding men
of the country should be able no ascer-
tain in advance whether their proposed
business organizations are legal or
whether they will subject them to penal
laws, Representative George Holden
Tinkham of Massachusetts, today intro
duced in the House a bill empowering
the Federal Trade Commission to APP
prove the merger and consolidation OF
industrial and banking interests found
by the commission not to be monopolleS
or in restraint of trade.
For considerable time the atten-
ton of the country has been directed
to the merger and consolidation of large
business, industrial and banking inter
ests," said Representative Tinkham.
Some OF these mergers have reached
financial size never heretofore attained
in the history of this country.
The only effective legislation dealing
with the subject is the so-called Sher-
man antitrust law. enacted in 1890.
prohibiting monopolieS and restraints of
trade. The trainers of that law found
it impossible precisely to define the pro-
hibited acts and were forced to Use
general terms. believing that the courts
would build up body of law under the
act, which could be amended or modi-
fed as experience would render neceS~
sary. Almost 40 years have passed
since its enactment and during that
period there has beer no change in
the generality of its prohibitions.
Uncertainty in Business.
much uncertainty. however. has been
occasioned in business by doubt AS to
the application of the statute. Many
business enterprises conducted by men
of undoubted integrity, acting upon
the advice of competent counsel, have
organized their affairs, in good faith,
and issued stocks and bonds, which
came into the hands of innocent pur-
chaSerS for value, only TO find after
the lapse of years that under more
recent court decisions their organiza-
ton offended against the act, their
stocks and bonds issues were illegal,
and that they had subjected themselves
to the penal provisions of the statute
Such uncertainty, with such injurious
consequences, should be removed with
out further delay. Certainty in the
law is of the first Importance.
Until recent period, the Depart
ment of Justice at Washington declined
to advise as to whether or not pro-
posed organization so offended. Under
the Coolidge administration the de-
partment did not hesitate to advise as
w ACSdh1N Va PAOpOoCd
tionS, but it is now stated that the prac-
tice is TO be discontinued.
For Reliable Information
1T would seem that the time has
come when the law-abiding business
men of the country should be reliably
informed in advance. Procedure to as
certain this should be provided by
statute and should not be dependent
upon the changing views of the Depart
ment of Justice. 1t can be done with
out in any way weakening the effec-
tivenesS of the Sherman act
THE Federal Trade Commission,
Government agency already in existence
for the purpose of dealing 9Th business
questions, could well be empowered to
ascertain facts and decide advance
questions. For instance. upon applica
ton to the commission of such proposed
organization setting forth its proposed
acts, the commission could make an or
der for notice by publication and that
upon a certain date a hearing would
take place, and If after such hearing the
commission should find that the pro-
posed organization was legal a decree
could then be made approving the same,