Coulee City dispatch. [volume] (Coulee City, Wash.) 19??-19??, 1937-10-28

Washing tOIl.-lIc WIlOlC IilCIiAoo
of breaking up 'trusts" and econ
spiracies in restraint of trade will
be changed if the Department OF
Justice is able to persuade congress
to revise the laws at the coming
session. Details have not been
worked out, but the idea is that if
certain practices, whether in con-
formity with the old construction OF
conspiracy or not, produce Identical
prices, or are to eliminate weak COM
petitors, or to concentrate control
of the market in any given line in
a few hands, those practices shall
constitute a violation of the law.
The whole point is to be that the
practices shall be judged not on
their own merit, lack of morals, or
whatnot, but on the results that flow
from them.
The best Interpretation of the adj
ministration' attitude is revealed
in the prosecution now going on, at
Madison, Wis, against oil compa-
MES, oil executives, and publications
which printed news about price in
tentions. 1t is contended by the
government that mere publication,
in certain journals, of price changes,
served actually as notice to all in
the oil business to make their prices
just that.
But the difficulties of proving vi
olation of the present statutes in
this practice is just what the govern
70 in
ture actions. Hence the desire for
new laws which will make the re-
suit a crime, regardless of the APP
parent innocence of the actions
which led to that result
What is really burning the gov
eminent up is identic bids on gov
eminent supplies. Officials mention
IL bids for reinforcement bars at
Denver, IA of which were precisely
$1,144.16 each; IL bids for such bars
at Los Angeles, with II of them
precisely $194, 051.89; every one of
10 bids at Fort Peck for such bars
exactly $253, $780, Then in Feb
ruary, 1886, there were 16 bids of
just So, 48350 for steel sheet or
der, followed in June by Is bids for
the same order at the same figure.
Lawyers Are 1rked
The prize case, officials complain,
was on steel pipe, where the navy
found SO bids by SO companies, each
one of which was exactly SIG, 001 .83.
These are just a few of the cases
of identic bids which have gotten
the Department of Justice lawyers
red-headed-cases which seem al
most miraculous unless one as
sunes, which is what the govern
ment lawyers want the public to as
sumo, that there actually was col
fusion among the bidders-conspira-
cy in restraint of trade.
This is the result the government
wants to make illegal, without COM
polling the government to prove that
in achieving that result some prac-
tees at variance with the antitrust
laws we're employed.
Not for one minute do the govern
ment attorneys concede that for the
corporations doing this bidding to
agree on such an absurd proceeding
in advance would convict them
of incredible stupidity They would
never admit that such. matching to
the penny could be coincidence
due to the combination of freight
rates, wages and supplies.
But it's pretty hard to prove that
there is really conspiracy" in the
meaning of the present antitrust
law language. That is why the
government is so avid, first in prose-
cutting this present oil case, and Sec
ond on amending the law to get at
the results instead of the steps lead
ing to the results.
The oil case, they think, will con-
vince the country and congress that
the law needs amending.
Midterm Conventions
The plan of Herbert C. Hoover and
of Chairman John D. M. Hamilton,
of the Republican national commit
tee, to hold a midterm Republican
national convention, is calculated by
Republican senator's and representa-
tives who happen to be in Washing
ton to insure the election of three
or four more Democratic senators
and from 30 to 100 more Democratic
representatives next year than
would otherwise have any chance.
1t is proverbial, these opponents
of midterm convention point out,
that the party not in power makes
a stronger showing in the midterm
election. In fact, there are very
few instances where there was not
swingback two years after land
slide, frequently strong enough to
lose control of the house for the
party in power. President Roose-
velt's enormous popularity prevent
ed this natural swingback in 1884,
pointing a prophetic finger at what
was to happen in 1886.
The Democrats gained the house
in 1910, after President Taft's enor-
nous victory in 1908. The Republi-
cans captured both house and SEN
ate in 1918, foreshadowing the over
whelming Republican victory of 1920
But aside from these big swings,