| Show prohibiting TRUSTS EDITOR THE for the information of myself and others will you please answer through tin 1 of your newsy paper the following question ie it within ahn power of the congress of the united states to enact a law abolishing and prohibiting the formation of trust it seems to the writer that if the plans of these gigantic monsters of aggregated capitalists could be circumvented by statutory enactment of prohibition laws it would reflect everlasting honor upon the frani erand the supporter of so wise a bill in alic interests of the of inhabitants of our country very respectfully W bountiful utah feb tharo is a great deal of doubt ag to the power ol 01 congress to prohibit the formation of a trust first what is a trust an organization or a body of men organized for the purpose of regulating the quantity and price of any product now it that Is the correct definition of a trust and congress was to prohibit a trust it would partnership of all kind as business house to a certain extent 1 party to regulating the price and city of the product in which it deala it a law was to prohibit a trust it would slop a roan from buying up all alie corn in the united states but it would also stop a man from buying up all the in alio county and another man all the blooma inthe city the question alien would be if there are only wo will say four grocery stores in a town and they shall decide each for himself thai they will not sell their goods unless they can make 35 per cent profit and there aie no other stores in town and the buyer must buy his goods from one of aliese stores would you call each of these elorea a trust they do just exactly on a small scale what the large concerns do hence they are what we might call small trusts the railroad companies form pools only another name for trusts yet without the t or pools the railroads would undoubtedly lose money have two corporations the right to stipulate between themselves that they will anrce not to lose any money yes you that is fair then if you grant them that right will grant them the right to agree to make a fair profit on the money invested yes you say wo will grant them alio right to make a fair profit but not any more then there ia the point where congress should and we believe could interfere abo constitution we think would not warrant congress in prohibiting trusts but we believe congress has power to reg ulato the management of trusts wo believe congress can eay bow much a trust might charge aa a profit on the goods it eells many elates have passed laws that rail roads shall charge only one two and three centi per mile the court liaa bield this to bo legal therefore a law regulating the price or profits of trusts could be passed by congress or any state in the union the court has held that a trust was guilty ot conspiracy when it tried to bill off some concern that would not join the trust hence we believe laws could be passed that would trusts harmless if not actually prohibiting them |
