Evening star., 1938-07-05
TWO TRUST PLANS
MAY Be JOINED
Combination of License and
Commission Ideas May
Follow Probe.
Is the Associated Press

Congress may have to choose be-
tween-or weld together-two 25-year-
old antitrust programs when it ends
the current study of monopoly.
One would require Federal licenses
to trade in interstate commerce. This
would supplement antitrust laws.
Variations Of the idea were cham
pioned by President Taft and such
industrialists at Elbert H. Gary as far
back as 1910.
The other would create a new COM
mission, or endow an existing one, with
power to police the operations of busi-
ness outside home State boundaries.
In different degrees, this was the kind
of a remedy that President Theodore
Roosevelt and Andrew Carnegie talked
about.
Congress thought about giving the
commission idea a trial when it Gre
ated the Federal Trade Commission.
That agency took over the work which
had been done by Theodore Roose-
velt's Bureau Of Corporations. 1t set
out with the idea that it had greater
powers.
Courts Take Away Powers.
But the courts took away the COM
missions slingshot and left it to fight
the Goliaths of industry empty-hand-
ed. BY the time the courts finished
the commission had neither the power
to make the rules Of fair competition
nor the strength to enforce its edicts.
In January, 1910. President Taft
sent Congress q message in which he
spoke of the great disturbance that
structure if all the offending trusts
were stricken down. He said most Of
these were SO big that their trade over
spread the borders Of their home
States. He added
This fact will justify the Federal
Government in granting a Federal
charter to such combination to make
and sell in interstate and foreign COM
merce the products of useful manufac-
ture under such limitations as will Sc
cure a compliance with the antitrust
law"
He wanted a Federal corporation
commission to supervise the issuance
of stocks and bonds, with rigid rules of
organization and procedure laid down
for Federal corporations He thought
the commission should have about the
dignity and power of the Interstate
Commerce Commission.
Similar Proposal Made.
A somewhat similar proposal was
made to the last Congress by Senators
OMahoney, Democrat, of Wyoming
and Borah, Republican, of Idaho,
members of the Monopoly Investigat-
Ing Committee. Their bill would re-
quire the Federal Trade Commission
to deny licenses to corporations which
1t held violated antitrust laws.
Theodore Roosevelt once sum-
married his views on the monopoly
problem in this manner:
Il strongly urged the inauguration
OF a system of thoroughgoing and
drastic governmental regulation and
control over all big business combina-
tions engaged in interstate industry"
Bill Drafted by Gary.
Many lndustrlallsts OF the day studied
the problem.
Mr.. Gary, long the guiding genius of
the United States Steel Corp, drafted
. Federal licensing bill.
James A. Farrell, president of the
same corporation, said the Govern
ment should supervise corporations in
interstate trade, give publicity to their
general operations, receipts, spending,
profits and losses for the beneflt Of in
vestors. He could not quite swallow
the idea of price fixing by Government,
however.
Bbut Andrew Carnegie, freshly re-
tired from smashing competitors, sug-
gested an industrial court similar to
the Interstate Commerce Commission.
He said it should set maximum prices.
based upon the average cost price of
the product in up-to-date, well man
aged works"