7 COMMERCE COURT PRESIDENT'S PLAN THE MORXIXG OREGONIAN, SATURDAY, JANUARY 8, 1910. L5 Taft Would Give Power of Initi ation to Interstate Commission. TWO KINDS OF TRUSTS SEEN Federal Incorporation Suggested' as Method of Voluntary Reform. Wishes Not to Molest Those yn Do No Wrong. WASHINGTON. Jan. 7. Resident Taft'a promised message on the suh 1 jects of rate regulation and the con trol of the so-called "trusts" was transmitted to Congress today. It f o lows closely the line of the Pres ident's speeches in the past. It sug gests the creation of a Court of Com merce, with power to review the acta of the Interstate Commerce Commis sion, with some changes in the power and jurisdiction of the commission it self, and the enactment of a Federal Incorporation act, as a means for per mitting those combinations which ex ist legitimately to continue to do busi ness and to reap the benefits of com bination conducted along lawful lines. Would Protect Innocents. A note In the message is the Pres ident's desire to discriminate between the concerns that violate the law and those which have combined for the lawful purpose of reducing costs by economies of producion and otherwise. There is further expression of un willingness to disturb existing condi tions in such a manner as to result in injury to innocent stockholders or employes. The President refers at least twice to this feature. He speaks of the "potent means of exercising control" of one railroad company by another through the ownership of stock, a con dition that, he says, has grown up un der legislative power conferred by the H laws of many states, and he Bays that "to attempt now suddenly to reverse that policy, so far as it affects the ownership of stock heretofore so ac quired, would be to inflict a grievous ; injury, not only upon the corporation j afTected, but upon a large body of the i Investment holding- public." Some "Trusts Lawful. Again, comments upon the difference between the classes of combinations of capital which have as their purpose the control of .production and- the elimination of competition, wltb. the view of advanc ing prices ultimately, and those which olm to gain advantages through economies of management and manufacture. The second class, he say, has become "as essential In modern progress as the change from the hand, tool to the machine." Federal Incorporation Is suggested as a means of so controlling these combina tions as that the good and the bad. may be distinguished and- kept separate. Pro vision against the "watering" of stock is suggested, and the creation of "holding companies' is provided against. Pooling to Be Regulated. The President is not opposed to all forms of pooling of rates. He would per mit pooling in some instances under the regulation of the Interstate Commerce Commission. The message opens with a review of the report of the Interstate Commerce Com mission with reference to litigation pend ing to nullify Hs orders. Few orders of consequence have been permitted to go unchallenged and the report for 1909 shows that of 16 cases referred to a year pre viously only one had been decided in the Supreme Court. It U of supreme impor tance that decisions of the complicated questions involved shall be as sfpeedy as possible and that uniformity of decision be secured, to bring about an effective, scientific and systematic enforcement of the law. The message then says: For this purpose I recommend the estab lishment o? & court of the United States composed of five Judges desig natei for such purpose from among- the Circuit Court Judges of the United States, to be known as the United States Court of. Commerce, which court shall be clothed with exclusive orig inal jurisdiction ovr the following classes of cases: rl) All case for the enforcement, other wiso than by adjudication and collection of a forfeiture or penalty or by infliction of criminal punishment, or an order of the In terstate Commerce Commission other than for the payment of money. 2 All cases brought to enjoin, set aside, annul or suspend any order or requirement of the interstate Commerce Commission. 3) All such cass as under section 3 of the act of February ll. 190a, known as the "Elkins Act," are authorized to be main tained In a Circuit Court of the United States. 4 All such mandamus proceedings as, under the provisions of section 20 or section 2;t of the interstate commerce law, are au thorized to be maintained in a Circuit Court of the United States. Injunction Right limited. The Court of Commerce should be em powered in Its discretion to restrain or sus pend the operation of an order of the In terstate Commerce Commission under the review pending the final hearing and de termination of proceeding, but no such re straining: order should be made except upon notice and after hearing unless in cases where lrrreparable damage would other wipe ensue to the petitioner. Under the existing law the Interstate Commerce Commission itself Initiates and defends litigation in the courts for the en forcement, or in the defense, of its orders and decrees, and for this purpose it employs at tora-eys w ho, while subject to the control of the Attorney-General, act upon the initia tive and under the Instructions of the com m Iks ton. This blending of administrative, legislative and judicial functions tends. In my opinion, to Impair the efficiency of the commission by clothing It with partisan characteristic and robbing it of the im partial judicial attitude it would occupy in passing upon Questions submitted to It, In my opinion, all litigation affecting; the Government should he under the direct con trol of the Department of Justice, and f therefore recommend that all questions af fecting orders and decrees of the Interstate Commerce Commission be brought before or against the United States eo nomine, and be placed in charge of an assistant Attorney-General acting under the direction of the Attomtiy-aeneraL The Republican platform declaration on the subject of pooling agreements is re viewed, and the message says : In view of the complete control over rate making and other practices of interstate carriers, established by the acts of Congress, and as recommended in this communication, I see no reason why agreements between carriers, subject to the act. specifying the classification of freight and the rates, fares Iand charges for transportation of passen gers and freight which they may agree to establish, should not be persnitted, provided copies of such, agreements be promptly Sled with the commission, but subject to all the provisions of the Interstate commerce act and subject to the rlht of any parties to such agreement to cancel it as to all or any of the agreed rates, fares, charges or class ifications by the 60 days notice In writing to the other parties and to the commission. Rate Must Be Quoted. Reference is made to complaints by shippers that they have insufficient op portunity to ascertain legal freight rates. Tho message suggests the requirement that a carrier be compelled to quote in writing the rate applicable, subject to a penalty -of. say $250. for omission or re fusal to quote the proper rate. Power to initiate an investigation should be vested In the Commission, the message says, and it continues: I see no reason why the Commis sion should not be- authorised to act on its own initiative, as well as upon the complaint of an Individual, investigating the fairness of any existing rate or practice; and I rec ommend the amendment of a law to so pro vide; and also that the commission' shall be fully empowered beyond any question to pass upon the classifications of commodities for purposes of fixing- rates. In like fanner as it may now do with respect to the maximum rate applicable to any transportation. Under the existing; law the commission may not in vestigate an increase in rates until after it shall have become effective; and although one or more carriers may file with the com mission proposed Increase In rates or change In classifications, to become effective at the expiration of 30 days from such fil ing;, no proceedings can be taken to Inves tigate the reasonableness of such proposed change until after it becomes operative. On the other hand. If the commission shall make an order finding; that an existing; rate is excessive and directing- It to be reduced, the carrier affected may, by proceedings in the courts, stay the operation of such order of reduction for months and even years. Power to Initiate Given. The President discusses the suggestion that the Commission be clothed with 'ratemaking powers," a suggestion which he eays has been rejected, and in reply to the suggestion that shippers are able by appeal to the courts to obtain a remedy declares that it may be doubted how effective this remedy is. experience having shown that "many, perhaps most, shippers" do not go into court, but add the excessive loss to the price of their goods, so that "the public, in effect, has paid the bills." The message goes on: I therefore recommend that the Interstate Commerce Commission be empowered, when ever any proposed increase of rates Is filed at onoe, either on complaint or of Its own notion, to enter upon an Investigation into the reasonableness of such change, and that It be further empowered. In ite discretion, to postpone the effective date of aur-h proposed increase for a period not exceeding; 60 davs beyond the date when such rate would take effect. If, within this- time, it shall deter mine that such Increase le unreasonable. It may then, by Its order, either forbid the Increase at all or fix the maximum beyond which it shall not be made. If, on the other hand at the expiration of this time, the Com mission shall not have completed Its Investi gation, then the rate shall take effect precise ly as It would under the existing law. and the Commission may continue Its Invest ig ac tion with such results as rmist be realized under the law as it now stands. Mr. Taft knows of no reason why shippers should not be permitted to designate the routes their shipments shall take subject to reasonable regula tion. . Investment to Be Protected. Not to inflict hardship upon the investment-holding public, he would pro vide that the provision that no com pany subject to the Interstate Com merce law shall acquire interest in competing lines be coupled with a pro viso that it shall not operate to prevent a company owning at the date of pas sage of the act not less than 50 per cent of the stock from acquiring the remainder. This provision is suggest ed to secure to minority stockholders the best market for their stock. Enactment of a law requiring that stock or bond issues shall represent full value received Is advised. The amendment of the law so as to permit Injured employes to obtain service upon companies through their station agents is urged. The President thus opens his discussion of the "trust" question:' There has been a marked tendency In business in this country for 40 years last past toward combination of capital and plant. In manufacture, sale and transporta tion. The moving; causes have been sev eral. First. It has rendered possible great econ omy; second, by a union of former com petitors It has reduced the probability of excessive competition; and. third. If the combination has been extensive enoug-h, and certain methods In the treatment of com petitors and customers have been adopted, the combiners have secured a monopoly and complete control of prices or rates. s -v. The Increase in the capital of a business for the purpose of reducing the cost of pro duction and effecting; economy in the man agement has become as essential In mod ern progress as the change from the hand tool to the machine. When, therefore, we come to construe the object of Congress in adopting- the so-called "Sherman anti trust a of in 1890, whereby In the first sec tion every contract combination. In the form of a trust or otherwise, or conspiracy in re straint of interstate or foreign trade or commerce, is condemned as unlawful and made subject to indictment and restraint by injunction; and whereby. In the second section, every monopoly, or attempt to monopolizes and every combination or con spiracy with other persons to monopolize, any part of Interstate trade or commerce. Is denounced as illegal and made subject to similar punishment or restraint, we must Infer that the evil aimed at was not the mere bigness of the enterprise, but It was the aggregation of capital and plants with the express or Implied intent to restrain Interstate or foreign commerce, or to monop olize it In whole .or in part. Monopoly destroys competition utterly, and the restraint of the full and free operation of competition has a tendency to restrain commerce and trade. A combination of persons, formerly engaged in trade as part nerships or corporations, or otherwise, of course eliminates the competition that ex isted between them, but the incidental end ing; of that competition is not to be re garded necessarily as a direct restraint of trade, unless of such an embracing; character that the Intention and effort to restrain trade are apparent from the circumstances, or are exipressly declared to be the object or the commission. A mere Incidental re straint of trade and competition Is not with in the Inhibition of the act, but it Is where the combination or conspiracy or- contract is inevitably and directly a substantial re straint of competition, and so a restraint of trade, that the statute is violated. Sherman Law Tested. Mr. Taft says he wishes to distinguish between the good and bad and to make the distinction "as emphatic as possible." The result of the sugar trust case, he says, "was not happy," because the aver ments did not include that of a direct and intended restraint of trade. Follow ing that decision, however, have come oases involving constructions of the anti trust statute in many phases, showing that it has wide application. From this he concludes: The value of a statute which Is rendered more and more certain in. its meaning; by a series of decisions of the Supreme Court furnishes a strong reason for leaving; tho act as it is, to accomplish its useful purpose, even though If It were being; newly enacted, useful suggestions as to change of phrase might be made. The purpose of the Administration to continue the investigation of all sus pected industrial companies is avowed, and it is declared that though the work is heavy, it "is not beyond the power of the repartment of Justice, provided sufr fldent funds are provided. But such an investigation and possible prosecution, the President eays, must necessarily tend "to disturb the confidence of the business community, to. dry up the new flowing sources of capital and produce a halt in our present prosperity among the inno cent many for the faults of the guilty few." He continues: The question which I wish In this message to bring; clearly to the consideration and discussion of Congress is whether. In order to avoid such a possible business dan ger, something cannot be done by which these business combinations may be offered a means, without great financial disturbance, of changing- the character, organization and extent of their business into one within the lines of the law, under Federal control and supervision, securing; compliance with the anti-trust statute. Many people conducting great businesses have cherished a hope and a belief that in some way or other a line may be drawn between) " good trusts and SUITS $50 Suits, $40.00 $45 Suits, $37.50 $40 Suits, $32.50 $35 Suits, $27.50 $30 Suits, $25.00 $25 Suits. $22.50 ' ' VVW'Tn'rW if , , i " i - V ; f .iy4: t v f i J C. H. LANE REMEMBER If your clothes don't suit you when finished we will refund your nioney YOUR APPI IS YOUR CA 5ARAN TAL CE WHY HERE is a money value to you in smart, well-fitting clothes. In any walk of life your success will be greater if you dress well Clothes may not always "make the man," but just the same the smartly dressed, tailored individual you meet on the street makes you want to get out of sight if you are wearing a "hand-me-down." do you wear "hand-me-downs" when it will cost you no more to have a suit of clothes made to your own measure by reputable tailors who will guarantee their work? As we look back and review the experiences of the past year, we cannot help but feel that the firm business policy" that we have always maintained has been appreciated by the public, and in no small degree been responsible for our success. If we gave you good goods, careful, intelligent attention and low prices last year, you may be absolutely certain that we shall do as well or better this year. We are after the man who has ambition and pride enough to get out of the hand-me-down class. Does that mean vou? Mr. Lane and Mr. Johnson of the Oxford Tailors have a reputa tion in Portland for integrity and ability which positively guarantees any statement herein made. OVERCOATS $50 Coats, $40.00 $45 Coats, $37.00 $40 Coats, $32.50 $35 Coats, $27.50 $30 Coats, $25.00 $25 Coats, $22.50 f , t i ; j v'? V 1ST- C. E, JOHNSON LANE HNSON OXFORD TAILORS Seventh and Alder Streets REMEMBER If your clothes don't suit you when finished we will refund your money "bad trusts," and that it la possible by amendment to the anti-trust law to make a distinction under which good combinations may be permitted to organize, suppress com petition, control price and do it all legally if only they do not abuse the power by tak ing too great a profit out of the business. Distinction Not Feasible. Now, the public, and especially the busi ness public, ought to rid themselves of the idea that such a distinction Is practicable, or can be introduced into the statute. Cer tainly, under tlie present anti-trust law, no distinction exists. It has been proposed, however, that the word "reasonable" should be made a part of the statute, and then it should be left to the court to say what is a reasonable restraint of trade, what is reasonable suppression of competition, what Is a reasonable monopoly. I venture to think that this is to put into the hands of the court a power impossible to exercise on any consistent principle which will insure uni formity of decision essential to just judg ment. It is desired not to forg-ef that the law now makes unlawful certain busi ness methods which before its pass age were regarded as evidences of busi ness sagacity. In dealing with these men the President wishes to facilitate a voluntary change in their method of doing business, insisting through all that attempts to suppress competition, control prices and create monopoly must be ended. He proceeds: I, therefore, recommend the enactment by Congress of a general law providing for the formation of corporations to engage in trade and commerce among the states and with foreign nations. Such a law should provide for the Issue of stock of such corporations to an amount equal only to the cash paid in on the stock; and if the stock be Issued for property, then at a fair valuation ascer tained, under approval and supervision of Kederal authority, after a full and com plete disclosure of all the facts pertaining to the value of such property, and it should require such corporations to file full and complete reports of their operations with the Department of Commerce and Labor at regular intervals- Corporations under this act should be prohibited from acquiring and holding stock in other corporations (except for special reasons upon approval by the proper Federal authorities), thus avoiding the creation, under National auspices, of the holding company whicn has been such an effective agency In the creation of the great trusts and monopolies. If the prohibition of the Anti-Trust act against combinations In restraint of trado is to be effectively enforced, it is essential that the National Government shall pro vide for the creation of National corpora tions to carry on a legitimate business throughout tho United States. The con flicting laws of the different states of the ITnion, with respect to foreign corpora tions, make ' It difficult, if not Impossible, for one corporation to comply with their requirements so as to carry on a business In a number of different states. It should be said that the measure contemplated does not repeal the Sherman Anti-Trust law, and Is not to be framed so as to permit the doing of the wrongs which It Is the pur pose of that law to prevent, but only to foster a continuance and advance of the highest Industrial efficiency without permit tin? industrial abuses. If Nre would maintain our present business supremacy, w should give to in dustrial concerns an opportunity to reor ganize and to concentrate their legitimate capital in a Federal corporation, and to carry on their large business within the lines of the law. Federal Act Practicable. Second There are those who doubt the constitutionality of such Federal Incorpora tion. The regulation of interstate and fer elgn commerce is certainly conferred in the fullest measure upon Congress, and if Con gress shall insist that It may provide and authorise certain agencies to carry on that commerce. It would seem to be within its powers. The power of incorporation has been exercised by Congress and uphold by the Supreme Court in this regard. The third objection, that the worst of fenders will not accept Federal Incorpora tion, is easily answered. The decrees of In junction recently adopted In prosecutions under the Anti-Trust law are so thorough and sweeping that the corporations affected by them have but three alternatives before them : First They must resolve themselves into the component parts In the different states, with a consequent loss to themselves of capital and effective organization, and to the country of centrated energy and enter prise; or. Second -In defiance of law and under some secret trust, they must attempt to continue their business in violation of the Federal statute, and thus incur the penalties of contempt and bring on an inevitable criminal prosecution of the individuals named in -the decree and their associates; or. . Third They must, reorganise and accept In good faith the Federal charter I suggest. A Federal compulsory lloense law, urged as a substitute for a Federal corporation law. is ' unnecessary except to reach that kind of corporation which, by virtue of the con siderations already advanced, will take ad vantage voluntarily of any corporation law, while the other state corporations doing an interstate business do not need the super vision or the regulation of a Fedoral license, and would only be unnecessarily burdened thereby. HAWAII TO USE FILIPINOS Laborers on Isle to Take Places on Sugar Plantations. ' HONOLULU, Jan. 7. A party of 861 Filipino laborers, secured by two agents sent to the Philippines by the Hawaiian Board of Immigration, ar rived here Thursday on the liner Si beria, and will be set to work on the sugar plantations without delays Owing to the fact that many of the immigrants from the ' last party of Portuguese brought to Hawaii have not remained plantation laborers, this part of the immigration experiment is con sidered unsuccessful and no more Port ugese will be imported. Efforts to in duce European immigration will be abandoned until the Filipinos have been given a trial. W. B. Babbitt, formerly Superintend ent of Public Instruction, has been dele gated by the Immigration Board to go to Porto Rico for the purpose of secur ing natives of that place for use on Hawaiian plantations. FRANCE IS WORSE Report of Minister of. Justice Shows More Crime. ' LARGER CITIES AFFECTED If troubled with Indigestion, consti pation, no appetite or feel bilious, grlve Chamberlain's Stomach and Liver Tab lets a trial and you will be pleased with tne result. These tablets invigor ate the stomach and liver and strength en the digestion. Sold by all dealers. Morgan & Robb, 250 Stark street, can sell your real estate for you. Premeditated Murders Doubled in 1908 and Deaths From Assault Increase 4 0 Per Cent Court Procedure to Be Changed. PARIS, Jan. 7. Special.) Coupled with the recent sensational railway murders and almost daily attacks by criminals in the streets and suburbs of Paris, the yearly report of the Minister of Justice, M. Barthou, give Frenchmen reason for feeling uneasy. Accoraing to tne oinciai report, in tne last year the number of premeditated murders nearly doubled and deaths from assault Increased 40 per cent. The great est increase is in the large cities of Paris, Bordeaux and Marseilles, while along the Riveria and in the country districts the conditions are unchanged. In explanation of the amount of crime, sociologists point to the growing abuse of alcohol in France and poor educational facilities in crowded districts. The re cent atrocious murder of Mme. Gouin by MAN WHOSE REPORT ON GREAT 'iNCREASE IN CRIMINAL AGGRESSIONS IN FRANCE ALARMS HE WHOLE NATION. 1 i r - " i i M. BARTHOU, MINISTER OF JUSTICE. two French soldiers excites much alarm. Newspapers refer to the fact that the army contains 11,000 conscripts convicted of police offenses. M. Bartho-j. just before the publication of his official report, had come into prominence through the changes he ad vocated in the trial courto of France. This step wm brought about largely through the comments offered liberally by the newspapers of the United States and England on the procedure at the Steinheil trial. Because of the methods in vogue, the presiding judge is made to appear in the role of prosecutor. This right of inter rogator is to be taken from the presi dent of the court, and the task of exam ining the accused and the witnesses will be confined to the public prosecutor and counsel for the defense. FRANCE SCANS KNOX NOTE Extension of Jurisdiction of Inter national Prize Court Approved. PARIS, Jan. 7. France is still con sidering Secretary Knox' circular note to the powers proposing an extension of the Jurisdiction of the international prize court authorized in 1907 by The Hague Peace Conference so as to cover general arbitral questions. France has supported steadily every proposition destined to promote inter national arbitration, and Mm. Burgois and Renault and Baron D'Estournelles de Constant, the French members of the permanent Hague tribunal, to whom the note has been referred for their opinion, are expected to report favorably on the proposition. An exchange with the British Cab inet, which has not yet reached an agreement, is also probable before a formal answer is given the ' United States. The question may become compli cated by the reservation which it ap pears "Washington made in the 'first part of its circular in reference to the ratification of the International prize court convention. Washington objects to' giving the international prize court appellate jurisdiction over decisions of the American prize court. INDIAN VILLAGE WRECKED I'lood Sweeps Home of Supais, but Inhabitants All Escape. FLAGSTAFF, Ariz., Jan. 7. A report reached here today that the entire In dian village of the Supais, located in Cataract Canyon, has been destroyed by a wall of water 20 feet high that swept down the canyon early Sunday morning. Several Indians are missing and are supposed to have been carried down in the flood. About three hun dred Indians escaped to high' ground. It is supposed that stockmen's dams and tanks above were washed out dur ing the heavy rains, letting the flood down the canyon. Cataract Canyon is a large canyon leading into the Grand Canyon about 50 miles west of Grand Canyon Sta tion. WASHINGTON. Jan. 7. Reports of t!i destruction of the village of the Supais received by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs today-do not indicate Toss of life. It is reported that nearly all the Indian school property has been swept away. MINING MAN FOUND DEAD 11 Wealthy Ienverlte Murdered or Frozen to Deatn. CENTRAL CITY, Colo., Jan. 7. The body of Thomas Irvtn, a wealthy mining- man of Denver, was found near here in a clump of bushes today. It is not known whether he was mur dered or frozen to death. India and Ceylon supply seven-eightha of the world's tea. ELGIN MINUTCS ERE'S a -"- modern ten dency to com bine business and sociability. Punctual ity so becomes at once a duty and a courtesy it's best backed by anj "IP! 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