Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1939-08-30

allow properly trained doctor to
exercise his judgment on the ques-
ton Of whether he wanted to 60
into private practice or assist In a
group health movement to give
cheaper medical service to low-in-
come groups. In a democracy such
a choice should be free.
r X 4
The Building Racket.
In the same way attempts to re-
move unreasonable labor practices
are often represented as attacks on
labor standards or collective bar
gaining. Recently the following
complaint came into the depart
ment: A contractor (who, no doubt,
was guilty of a number of restrictive
practices himselD was building
long row of houses. The truck
mems union delivered bathtubs to
the curb. He asked them to carry
them into the houses. They told
him it was against union rules. He
then asked the plumbers, who were
inside, to help him carry the bath
tubs across the curb. They told
him that their own rules pre-
vented them from going across the
threshold. He then called some un-
skilled laborers engaged in picking
up things about the place to give
him lift-whereupon everybody on
the job threatened to strike. Such
practices do not aid in collective
bargaining. They cannot be justi-
fled on the grounds of protection
to health or working hours.
OF course, it is natural and per-
haps excusable for labor organiza-
tons or corporations or professional
men to applaud the attacks on
others and at the same time to
bitterly resent prosecutions against
themselves. The Antitrust Division,
however, can play no favorites be-
tween labor unions or corporations
or professional men when any of
these groups attempt unreasonable
coercion of others.
X \
Clearing Away the Barbed Wire.
These are all simple illustrations
of problem with many compli-
cations. They bring home the point,
however, that the purpose of anti
trust laws is to clear away the
barbed-wire entanglements which
prevent experimentation and exer-
else of private initiative The effect
of those barbed-wire entanglements
is clearer in the building industry
than in almost any other. When
in 1896 and 1887, under the influence
of Government subsidy the volume
of building doubled in many cities,
the costs should have come down.
Instead they rose, sometimes as
much as "a per cent.
No ORGANIZED group is immune
from the temptation to exercise
power over others. 1t is not a
problem of whether the organiza-
ton is big or little. 1t is just as
unreasonable for a small organiza-
ton to prevent the use of stand
ardized products, which can only
be produced on large scale, as it
is for large organization to elm
mate the competition of small units
which offer lower prices. Indeed,
the boycott of standardized ma
terials is one of the principal re-
straints Of trade today in the build
ing industry. The stoppage of the
flow of competing materials and
services in commerce is equally bad
whether 1t be done by vertical COM
binations or by contractors, or by
manufacturers. or even by mu-
nicipal ordinances and State laws,
which are, in reality, protective
tariffs against other States of the
Union.
Evils in All Industries.
These situations do not cure them
selves Neither the businessmen nor
the labor leaders who try to domi-