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Show DOCTORING SHERMAN LAW. Tho administration's anti-trust bills are a profcsHod attempt to dispel tho obscurity which the Democrats believe envelops the Shermah law. To accomplish accom-plish this object one of the trust bills seeks to define what monopolies and restraints re-straints of trade are unreasonable. It is argued in favor of this plan that big business will know just what it can do and what it cannot do in 'the way of restraining trade or suppressing competition. compe-tition. President "Wilson himself is said to believe in that king of big business which eliminates competition, while improving im-proving the quality of its wares and reducing re-ducing tho prices of tho wares to the consumer. The administration trust -bills, therofore, aro designed to clear the atmosphore, but will they havo this effect? The definitions of reasonable and unreasonable un-reasonable monopolies and restraints of trade are -founded on present evils and upon decisions of the United States supremo su-premo court. As big business evolves other evils will arise and now definitions defini-tions will be neoessary. Soon the definitions defi-nitions of the Sherman law will bo bulkier than tho law itself. This might not bo a serious objection if tho definitions defi-nitions were final and conclusive. Ab a matter of fact, all tho definitions will bo passed upon by the United 8tates supremo court. "Whore, thon, is tho gain? The United States supreme court has been tho final arbiter of the Sherman law's general provisions. It will bo no less an arbiter of the present pres-ent administration's specif io definitions. defini-tions. In other words, the question of reasonableness must be left to the supreme su-preme court. One of tho other trust bills would drive apart interlocking directorates. A wiso provision with this end in view cannot bo objectionable But hero again, in striving to be specific and dofinitc, tho administration again makes itself ridiculous. Most of tho banks in this country are small country coun-try banks whoso interests aro local. Nevertheless, a director in a bank at Bird Center or Smith's Crossing would be required to resign if he chanced to hold 6tock in a trolloy line operating, for examplo, between Omaha, Nob., and Council Bluffs, Iowa, if, wishing to protect pro-tect his interest, ho became a director or an officer of tho trolloy company. It is likely that in the attempt to do away with interlocking diroctors the Democrats will multiply dummy directors. direc-tors. In order to supply the necessary directors for corporations tho stockholders stock-holders would be compelled to cast about for ldje men who can take an oath that they novor were in any kind of business and are wholly lacking in enterprise. |