The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1940-08-07
WILL Defense
INTEREST STOP
ANTITRUST suit


weeks should pretty well tell tn,
story of how far the administrator
is willing to go in toadying to privat,
industry under the name of nationa
defense.
By that time some decision Should
be reached on the pending anti-trus
suit against the major oil companies
Iof the U. S. The decision, whatever
it is, should indicate fairly clearly
what direction events are taking
The suit was to have been filed
during the last week in July. Having
worked on it for several years the
antitrust division felt they had il
down cold.
They could prove in court, they felt
that the alliance between the com
panies who drill refine and sell the
oil and gasoline used by Mr. and Mrs.
John Q. Public was costing said Mr..
and Mrs. John Q. a handsome and
needless penny.
For high test gasoline alone. they
thought they could show the public is
being overcharged in the neighbor-
hood of s15O,000,00O a year.
1t was to be the biggest antitrust
suit ever filed. 1t was to bust wide
open very tight monopoly of com
modify very important to the welfare
of the people of the U. S.
Just as final polish was being ap-
piled to the suit, however, the ma
tional defense commission stepped in.
"Lookit,7 the commission said,
Were trying to get private industry
to lay out lot of dough for plant ex-
pansion. We're going to need a lot
more of everything.
"The oil industry is terrifically inn
portant to national defense and is ter
rifically powerful. Let's study it,
Thurman Arnold, head of the anti
trust division, reluctantly agreed. The
national defense commission is study
ing the antitrust suit against the oil
industry to find out if it would jeo-
pardize national defense
In the meantime word of the events
leaked out So instead of peacefully
studying the question of whether the
antitrust suits against the oil indus
try would hamper national defense,
the commission is bordering the mat
ter with all eyes fixed upon it.
The decision, whichever way it goes,
is certain to be interpreted as the cue
to the administrations future policy.
It will then be interesting to see, if it
is decided to file the suit what steps
industry will take by way of retalia-
ton.
Not much has been said about it
yet-as a matter of fact 1t hasn't at |
this writing even been announced
but the contemplated establishment of |
state and local defense councils offers |
the possibility or far-reaching changes |
in the life of hundreds of American |
1t is proposed, Federated Press
learned August /, to set up state, and
perhaps local, defense councils that |
will be carbon copies of the national |
defense council. These councils will |
perform on a minor scale the same
junction performed on major scale
oy the national council.
Imagine the establishment of a de-
ense council in each state, welding /
he authority and prestige of the ma
ional defense council That will be
bringing government into the lives of
he people with a vengeance.
If the people who man them are the
ittery type who like to order other
people around there will be consider
lble excitement. The American peo- {
lie, according to expert testimony,
Ion't like being ordered around very {
much.