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Show REGULATING THE TRUSTS. Administration's Efforts in Behalf of Public Interest Is Commended. Com-mended. FOUR years ago the regulation by law of the great corporate combinations called "trusts" stood substantially where It was when the Sherman anti-trust act of'lJOO was passed. President Presi-dent Cleveland, In his last message of December, De-cember, 1S9G, had said: "Though Congress has ''attempted to deal with this matter by legislation, tho laws passed for that purpose thus far have proved Ineffective, not because of any lack of disposition or attempt to enforce en-force them, but s,lmply because the laws' themselves as Interpreted by the courts do not reach the difficulty. If the Insufficiencies In-sufficiencies of exlstlnc laws can be remedied by furthor legislation, It should be done. The fact must be recognized, however, that all Federal legislation on this subject may fall short ot Us purpose pur-pose because of Inherent obstacles and also because of the complex character of our Governmental system, which, while making Federal authority supremo within Its sphere, has carefully limited that sphere by metes and bounds that cannot bo transgressed." At every election, tin; regulation of trusts had been the football of campaign oratorj and the subject of many Insincere declartlons. , Our Republican administration has ta-ken ta-ken up the subject In a practical, sensible way as a business rathor than a political question, saying what It really meant, and doing what lay at its hand to be done to accomplish effective regulation. The principles prin-ciples upon which the Government proceeded pro-ceeded were stated by the President In his message of December. 1902. He sold: "A fundamental base of clvill'atlon Is the lnvlc lability of property; but this 'Is In no wise inconsistent with the right of society to regulate the exercise of the artificial powers which It confers upon the owners of property, under the nomo of corporate franchises, In such a- way as to prevent the misuse of these powers. pow-ers. "Wo can do nothing of good In tho way of regulating and supervising these Corporations Cor-porations until we fix clearly In our minds that wo arc not attacking the corporations, cor-porations, but endeavoring to do away with any evil In them. We arc not hostile hos-tile to thorn, wo are merely determined that they shall bo eo handled as to subserve sub-serve the public good. AVe draw the lino against misconduct, not against wealth. "In curbing and regulating the combinations combi-nations of capital which ore or may become be-come Injurious to tho public we must be careful not to stop tho great enterprises which have legitimately reduced the cost of production, not to abandon the place which our country has won In tho leadership lead-ership of the International Industrial world, not to strike down wealth with tho result of closing factorlea and mines, of turning tho wage-worker Idle In the streets and leaving the farmer without a market for what he grova. "I believe that monopollco, unjust discriminations, dis-criminations, which prevent or cripple competition, fraudulent overcapitalization, overcapitaliza-tion, and other evils In trust organizations organiza-tions and practices which Injuriously affect af-fect Interstate trade, can bo prevented under the power of the Congress to "regulate "reg-ulate commerce with foreign nations and among the oeveral States' through regulations regu-lations and requirements operating directly di-rectly upon such commerce, the instrumentalities instru-mentalities thereof, and those engaged therein." After lon consideration, Congress passed three practical statutes on the 11th of February, 1903, an act to expedite hearings hear-ings ln,sults In enforcement of tho- antitrust anti-trust act; on the 14th of February". 1903, the act creating a new Department of Commerce and Labor with a bureau of corporations, having authoritv to secure systematic information regarding the organisation or-ganisation and operation of corporations engaged in Interstate commerce; and on the Huh of February. 1903. an act enlarging enlarg-ing tho powers of tho Interstate Commerce Com-merce commission and of tho courts, to deal with secret rebates In transportation charges, which aro the chief means by which the trusts crush out their smaller competitors. Not Talk, but Action. Tho Attorney-General has gone on In the same practical way. not to talk about the trusts, but to proceed against tho trusts by law for their regulation. In separato suits fourteen of lho great railroads rail-roads ot the country havo been restrained by Injunction from giving Illegal rebates to tho favored shippers, who by moans of thorn" were driving out tho smaller shippers ship-pers and monopolizing tho grain and meat business of the countrv. The beof trust waa put under injunction. The officers of the railroads ongaged In the cotton carrv-Ing carrv-Ing pool, affecting all that great Industry of the South, were Indicted and havo abandoned their combination. Tho Northern Securities companv which undertook un-dertook by combining in one ownership tho capital stocks of the Northern Pacific and Great Northern Railroads to end traffic competition In the Northwest, has been destroyed by a vigorous prosecution expedited and brought to a speedv and effective conclusion In the Supreme court under the act of February 11, 1B03. The Attorney-General says: "Here, then, aro four phases of the attack at-tack on the combinations in restraint of trade and commerce the railroad Injunction In-junction suits, tho cotton pool cases, the beef trust cases, and tho Northern Securities Se-curities case. The first relates to tho monopoly produced by secret and preferential prefer-ential rates for railroad transportation: the second to railroad traffic pooling; the third to a combination of independent independ-ent corporations to llx and maintain extortionate ex-tortionate prices for meats; and tho fourth to a corporation organized to merge into itself the control of parallel and competing lines of railroad and to eliminate competition in their rates of transportations." ' The right of the Interstate Commerce commission to compel the production of books nnd papers has been established by the Judgment of the Supreme court In a suit against the coal carrying roads. Other suits have been brought and other Indictments Indict-ments havo been found and other trusts have been driven back within legal bounds. No Investment in lawful business has been Jeopardized, no fair end honest entrprlei has been Injured; but it is certain cer-tain that wherever tho constitutional power of the national Government reaches, trusts are being practically regulated and curbed within lawful bounds as they never have been before, und the men of small capital are finding in the efficiency and skill of tho national Department of Justice Jus-tice a protection thoy never had before against the crushing, effect of unlawful combinations. |