Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1942-01-06

q tie c h n i CO l. David Lawrence.
minded antitrust division as per-
hitting the filing of criminal in
dictments or civil suits.
Thus, when the C. I. o. charges
that the auto manufacturers did not
last year curtail production of pleas
ure cars, it might be inquired how
this, or any other, industrial group
could under the law limit their out
put. Limitation of output could not,
of course, be attempted by one pro-
Queer without his being assured as
to the percentage his competitor is
cutting down. And the assignment
OF quotas voluntarily by group OF
manufacturers is violation OF the
Sherman antitrust law.
Whatever has been accomplished
thus far toward curtailing auto pro-
duction is the result of an order
from a Government agency. The
subterfuge used to limit production
OF automobiles is one whereby the
Government agency takes the initi-
alive and the responsibility in limit
ing production and the individual
producers theoretically are not doing
any fixing of production. Actually,
however, auto manufacturers are
consulted, and there are many OBJ
servers who believe that the auto
men are Just as much violating a
statute today, even with Govern
ment agencies in the picture. as
were the oil men who were recently
convicted in a Federal Court at
Madison, Wis. for having consulted
with one another to help get So
called distress" gasoline off the
market just after the N. R. A.
collapsed.
No Immunity Guarantee.
The Justice Department under the
present administration has given as
surance that it will not prosecute
where the o. P. NJ. limits production,
but this does not mean that the law
is actually being obeyed or that
some future administration can't 60
back and order a prosecution.
To get the war job done, it is
necessary often for facilities to be
pooled and for intimate relationships
to be established between COMPETE
tors. The theory of the antitrust
laws is that the public is mulcted
where combinations exist. But in
wartime the Government tax col
lector virtually confiscates all profits
anyway, so the original justification
for an antitrust law vanishes.
Since the contracts awarded by the
Government for defense work prac-
tically fix prices now without COM
petitive bidding, there is no sub
stantial reason to enforce the anti
trust laws against the producers.
But the antitrust division in the
Justice Department has big staff
of lawyers. They have to do some
thing to explain away the money
they spend. Already Assistant At
torney General Arnold is issuing re-
ports and statements proclaiming
how useful the antitrust division is
going to be hereafter. Actually, the
officials in this division are worried
about the continuance of their ap-
preparation and are trying to draw
q smokescreen of necessity over
bureau that is all but useless in
wartime.
Appropriations Increase.
The taxpayers are being asked to
make almost incredible sacrifices.
The troops in the field, the sailors
at sea, and the civilian population
are being asked to discard life as
usual and all normal rewards or
advantages in the interest of victory.
To keep useless expenditures in the
budget at a time like this is not to
keep faith with the people who are
being asked to lend their money for
Defense bonds or to pay higher and
higher taxes.
The antitrust division always has
gotten along with capable group
of lawyers. But since the era of
persecution and trumped-up charges
began under the New Deal, Congress
has been misled into appropriating
bigger and bigger amounts. Last
year the Congress was persuaded by
lobbying on the part of bureaucrats
to increase the appropriation beyond
what was actually asked by the
Presidents Budget Bureau.
If the war is to be won, a modifica-
ton of antitrust laws is necessary.
It is necessary, If for no other rea-
son, to keep the Sword of Damocles
from hanging over the heads Of hun
dreds of executives. For if the JUS
tice Department had had its way,