Show ROOSEVELT ROOSEVEL T DISCUSSES TRUST EVil Cannot Successfully Be I Controlled by Lawsuits Says Ex ADVOCATES BUREAU OF CORPORA CORPORATIONS ONS I Cites Tobacco Trust Case Caseto to Prove Inefficiency of I Present Methods NEW YORK YOEK Nov 16 Recent Recent litigation litigation liti liti- gation aud and legislation to regulate the tr trusts is discussed and a remedy to meet the present situation is suggested suggest suggest- ed by Theodore Roosevelt in m an editorial entitled The Trusts the People and the Square Deal published in the Out look The The suit against the steel trust by bythe bythe bythe the government Mr Roosevelt begins has has brought vividly before our people I the need of reducing to order our chaotic ic government policy as regards busi busi- ncr ness nes He re concludes with the following vin recommendation rec rec- rec omm The national government exercises control over interstate commerce railways rail rail- wa ways s and it can aD in similar fashion through an On In Inappropriate appropriate gov governmental body bod exercise control over oyer all industrial or organizations engaged in interstate e commerce com corn merce This control should not Dot be exT et ex- ex- ex T sd by the courts but by an admin bureau or board hoard su such h as the bureau of corporations or the interstate commerce commission sion for fOt the courts cannot with advantage permanently perform per II form executive and admin administrative functions lone lone- Was Not Misled I Before taking up his general theme Mr MI Roos Roosevelt paused to deny denv that the representatives s of the steel corporation corporation- misled d ci him while he ho was was president Referring Re Re- I ferr ferring to the suit a against the steel trust truthe Jie he says say's One of th the grounds for the suit i ithe 11 the acquisition by the the steel of t the e Tennessee Joa ron pan b all on the ili a authority of t the th- e go government nl- nl p ell engaged d iri in oi on the suit snit that as this transaction J I was misled litis mis mi- led Ild by the representatives Of oJ the steel corporation the and and that the facts were not accurately lv or truthfully laid Iid before meThis me inc This statement is is not correct I T be be- at the time that the tho facts in inthe tb the tho case were ere as represented to ta me on behalf of the steel ell corporation and inv III further knowledge has convinced me that this was as tru true I I believed od at the time that the representative representative rep rep- of the steel stell corporation told me the truth as to the tho change that would be worked the in in the percentage of ot the business which the proposed acquisition acquisition ac acQuisition ac- ac would give the steel stee corporation corporation corpora corpora- tion and further inquiry has ed ed edme me that the they did so I was not m misled The representatives s of the steel orpo or or po ration told me nie the truth as to what the tIme effect of the action at that time would be and any statement that I Iwas Iwas Iwas was misled or that the representatives of the steel corporation did not thus tell telI me mo the truth as to the facts of the case casc is is in itself not in iii accordance with the truth No Monopoly of Ores It It has bas been en alle ed alleged that the purchase purchase pur pur- chase by the steel steal corporation of the property of the Tennessee Coal and I Iron on company gave e the steel corporation practically lly a monopoly o of f. f the southern iron ores that oreS that is of the iron ores south of the Potomac and the Ohio Mv My in in in- formation which I e ba have every every reason reao n to b believe e is accurate and is not successfully to be he challenged is is that that that-of of these southern south south- era ern iron ores the steel Corporation ration has hiss including the property g gained fred from the Tennessee Coal and ana Iron ron company less than 20 per perU cent perhaps cent perhaps not 16 p per percent r cent This is a very much smaller per per- centa e than the percentage perc nta e it holds bolds of the Lake Sup Superior ores which oven Cen after afler the surrender of the tIme Hill lull leewin lease will win be slightly over fifty per cent cut According Accordine to my view view therefore and unless which unless which I do not believe possible these these figures can bo ho successfully chal ebal- ed the acquisition acq of the Tennessee Tennes Tennes- see SM Coal and nail Troll Iron company's ores in inno inno in inno no way changed han rd the situation as regards making makin the steel a oly The The as to Hie the pr percentage of r reduction of ot all kinds of steel ingots and steel castings s in t the e United States by the steel corporation and by all other manufacturers respectively elv an even stronger case It m makes the case cas even f stronger than I I. I put it in m my testimony before the hl investigating committee com corn for I was WlaS scrupulously careful to tomake tomake make statements that erred if at all n against my own position Present Methods Unsatisfactory Returning tf to the main subject Mr fr Roosevelt t continued To attempt to meet the whole lem not by lv administrative e tal action but b by a I succession of lawsuits law Ian suits ill is hopeless from the standpoint of working out t a permanently satis satis- factory solution Moreover tb the results sought to be achieved are achieved only io in extremely insufficient in an and fra fraz In measures ures bv by breaking u tm Ul all all big biJl corporations whether they have hal be he hand bayed well elJ or ill into a number of lii lit lit- tic the corporations which it is is perfectly certain will bo ho lar largely eh and una perhaps a I together under lIndtT the same seine control Such I action is harsh and mischievous if the corporation is guilty y of nothing except its size ize and ana where as in the case ot of the thc Standard Oil and especially the tobacco to to- br bacco co tru trust t. t the corporation has lias been ben I guilty of immoral sari anti social antisocial practices tices there is ill nc need for far more IDore drastic and thorough going oin action than thaI m any I that has bas h been ln taken und under r the tho recent nt I. I rIer decree of tho the supreme court I In the caw cal of the tobacco trust t for instance 1 the settlement in in the circuit court in which h the representatives o C of tb the gov gov- O Continued ou on PG Page e ROOSEVELT Continued from page 1 1 s seemed m l inclined to concur concur practically leaves Ica all al the companies still sti substantially under the control contro of twentynine twenty original defendants Such Sue Sucha a result is lamentable lamenta le from the standpoint stand point of justice The decision of the pint circuit c court urt if allowed to stand means that the to tobacco acco trust ha has mer ly been obliged ed to change change the clothes that none Done of the real rel offenders have received any rca real punishment Effort Bound Bourni to Tail aU Surely miscarriage of justice is not hot I too stron strong a term to apply to such a result when considered in so connection with what the supreme court said of this trust The effort efort to prohibit all al combinations good or bad is bound to fail fi and ought to ta fail fai when made it merely means that some seine of the worst combinations com Corn are arc not checked and that honest hon est eat business is checked Our purpose should be not to strangle business as asan asan asan an incident of strangling combinations but to re regulate big his corporations in a thorough going oin and effective fashion so as to help I legitimate business as as an incident incident in in- in to thoroughly and completely safeguard the interests of the people as asa asa asa a a wholes Few will wi dispute the fact that the present situation is not satisfactory a and d cannot be put on a permanently satisfactory antis satis sats sats- factory basis bais unless w we put an end to that period of groping and declare for fora a died policy a a policy which shall clearly define and punish wrongdoing which shall put ut a a ston to the te iniquities done in the name of business We demand demand demand de de- de- de mand that that big bit business give the people eople a square actuate deal in il return we must insist that when anyone engages in in big bis business business bustness busi bust ness and ani honestly endeavors to do ri right bt he shall himself be given a square deal dea and the first and most elementary kind of square deal leal is is to give e him in in advance ad vance fu full information as to lust JuSt just what he can do and id Ir what he lie cannot legally lealy and properly do Should Shoud Be Ee Supervision Not on only Iv should any huge hue corporation corporation corpora corpora- corpora corpora- corporation tion that has gained its position by unfair un UD- fair methods fair methods and by bv interference with rth the rights of others is by demoralizing and corrupt practices and wrongdoing be broken up b but t it i sho should ld be le made the business of some sonic administrative ive governmental go body bv by constant supervision supervision supervision super super- vision to see that it dol does not come cOllie together to to- gether ethier ether ethera a again ain save lave under such such strict control control as shall insure the community against all al repetition of the te bad conduct conduct conduct con- con duct and it should hould never be permitted thus to assemble its is parts as long lont as those parts are under the control of the original offenders for actual experience has baa shown hown that these thesE men are front from the standpoint of the thc people at large unfit to bo be trusted with wita the power ower implied in the management of a large corpora corpora- tion ton But nothing of importance is is gained bv by breaking up a huge interstate interstate interstate inter inter- state and international industrial organization organization or or- anc which ha bs has not offended otherwise e than br v jt its its' size size into a 1 number number num auto without attempt attempt attempt at at- ber br of small smal concerns any tempt to rela regulate te the way war in which h those concerns as a a whole shall do busi busi- ness noes Nothing is il gained by depriving the American nation naton of good weapons wherewith to fight in the the great great pat field feld of international industrial competition Size tze Not th the Objection To sum Imm up then It I is practically impossible and and if possible it would be ous mischievous and undesirable to try to break up all combinations merely because because be be- cause they are ae large and suc successful and lo to 0 put the bUlins business of the country country back into the middle of the ei eighteenth c cOn cen century n tury condition of intense and unregulated u- u competition between small smal and weak eik business busine s concerns Such an effort effort effort ef ef- ef- ef fort represents not pro progressiveness but butan butan unintelligent ent though doubtless an entirely entirely en en- well wel meaning Moreover More More- Mora over the effort efort to administer a law merely merel by bv lawsuits and court decisions if IC bound to end in signal failure and meanwhile t to be attended with ith delays delas and uncertainties and ond to put a I premium pre nilum upon legal sharp practices Such Sich an effort efort do does not adequately punish lish tb the guilty ui and vet ret works great harm to the tho innocent Moreover over it tt en entirely en en- fails fais to nyc five five the p publicity which is il one of the best products byproducts of th the system of control by br administrative officials of publicity h is is not only good rood in itself but hut furnishes the data for whatever Tt further action may be ba necessary We WI need to formulate and definitely a polity policy which in dealing deal deat jog ing ius with il bi big corporations that bat that behave e beba themselves and which contain contain no 10 menace mence save ave what is necessarily potential poten poten- ta thai in an any corporation which is of great ize ize and very ry well wel managed shall rhal aim not at their destruction but lut at their regulation and supervision so so that the sov government shall shaH control t theta them enl in such fashion I as ample to safeguard afe the interests interest of the whole public uble in including il rl p- p eluding producers consumer anti and Ind wage e workers This control should bouM if jf necessary carT sary a v. v be P pushed jn extreme eases cases to the point of exercising n control over Oer monopoly oly prices icis as a rat rates s on railways a are now controlled d although this i is not a power ower that should be used when it is a possible to avoid void it i. i Law Should Shoud Be Clear and Explicit The law should hould be clear clea unambiguous u. u bus ous c certain so 0 that thiat men may mar find that unwittingly they the have vio to 0 itIn itIn itIn it In short our aim should be bf not to destroy but effectively and in thorough thoroughgoing thoroughgoing going fashion falbon to r and nd control in the public interest interEst the thA great grea instrumentalities mentalities of modern business w which it iti itis i is destructive of th the tho general welfare of the community nit omm to tc and which nevertheless It I i is if necessary sar sarto to that control control general enerA welfare to regulate and ad Competition will wi remain remain as S a yen yen- important nt factor when once wo baTe have delto destroyed the unfair business methods he t-he criminal e interference with wit the of others othen which alone enabled certain cerain swollen combinations to crush out their competitors and and d incidentally the t conservatives es' es will ivill wi do we well to remember re reo re- re member that these unC unfair ir and iniquitous ous otis methods and masters of corporate capital have done more to c cause use popular discontent with the propertied classes than all al the thE orations or the Socialist orators in the country put lut together |