THAT STANDARD OIL DECISION
The decision of the supreme court in
the Standard Oil case does not mean -anything
worth while to the people of this
country. The court holds that the com
pany is a monopoly in restraint of trade.
That everybody knew. The court declares
that the conporation must be dissolved
inside of six months. That is a joke. The
corporation will dissolve, of course and
immediately reorganize. Then it will
continue the same old game of grab, may
be under a different name, but with the
same captains of finance in control and
manipulating things in the same old way.
The court holds that "corporations
whose contracts are not reasonably re
strictive of competition" are not affected
by the decision. No pointer, however, is
given as to what is "unreasonably restric
tive of competition." The court itself
gives the Standard Oil company a hint as
to how it may evade the Sherman anti
trust law. Let the Standard Oil com
pany dissolve and return to the former
plan of a lot of corporations, each con
trolled by men who are controlled by the
Standard Oil octopus. Then, "if the vari
ous pipe lines, owned by different cor
porations, determined, in the public in
terest, so to combine as to make a con
tinuous pipe line. SUCH AGREEMENT
OK COMBINATION WOULD NOT BE
REPUGNANT TO THE ACT." The
quotation is from the court's decision.
The Standard- Oil company may now
proceed to purge itself by reorganization,
after which it may proceed about its busi
ness as before. Instead of being a great
victory for the people, the court's deci
sion in effect makes a rope of sand out
of the Sherman anti-trust law. It gives,
to all intents and purposes, judicial sanc
tion to the claim that there are "good
trusts" and "bad trusts," but fails to en
lighten us as to which are good and which
are bad. It says the Standard Oil com
pany has been guilty of violating the Slier
man anti-trust law, but it inflicts no pun
ishment. The only violations of the Sher
man anti-trust law that are punished by
line or sentence to imprisonment are
i t hose committed by men who organize f o
the protection of their lives and indus
trial welfare. Violations in the interest
of the dollar are passed over with orders
not to do it again.
Any popular rejoicing that has been
done over the decision of the court in this
case has been premature. The decision
has merely given the administration a
further excuse for pressing for the fed
eral incorporation law about the most
dangerous menace to popular rights and
state control of state internal affairs ever
fronting the people.
SANBORN'S KNOCK-OUT DECISION
If the decision of Federal Judge San
born in the railway rate cases stands, it
will mean that the states will be deprived
of even ..the privilege of controlling rates
within their own borders. Judge San
lorn holds that state legislation affecting
rates are reflected in interstate rates,
thus affecting commerce between the
states, and consequently violating the
provisions of the federal constitution. Of
course a state ma3r not attempt to regu
late interstate rates, and if in attempting
to regulate races within the state
races, the end of regulation by state
railway commisisons is in sight. It is
all delightfully simple, and delightfully
pleasing to the railroad corporations.
Just as soon as the supreme court sus
tains the Sanborn decision our state
urilway commissioners will become mere
ly a species of sub-limated clerk. All
they will have to do will be to make
changes requested by the railroads,
-quubs 8uir)9S pui? spiSiaij Suijissi?D
bles about station facilities. The rail
roads spent millions in lobbying against
the laws creating state railway commis
sions and giving the commissioners
power to perform some real service
for the people. With a stroke of
hi pen Judge Sanborn has done for the
railroads what any army of lobbyists
failed to accomplish. Just as the people
were priding themselves that they had
subdued the railroad corporations and
made them the servants and not the mas
ters of the public, along comes a federal
judge appointed for life and responsible
to nobody, not even God, and upsets the
reform work of a generation.
It may be that in the future the people
will wake up to the menace of a federal
judiciary appointed for life, responsible
to no authority and wielding powers not
dreamed of by the framers of the consti
tution and the founders of the republic,
and not even dared by czar or emperor.
DELIGHTING THE PEOPLE
The "Lincoln Boosters' " special train
is carrying joy into the interior. There
are many good entertainers aboard the
train, and at every stop of sufficient
length the populace is given a treat. One
of the delightfully entertainining fea
tures provided by the "Boosters" is the
music of the Fairbury band. The band
men are always ready, and are always
giving the people the best they have in
their repetory. This means that no bet
ter band music has been heard by the
people living in the territory covered by
the special train, for the Fairbury band
has no equal among the bands in the
west. With splendid band music, several
male quartetes, more than one elocution
ist of merit and pretty souvenirs galore,
the people within reaching distance of
the "Booster Special" . are having the
treat of-their lives.
PRINTING
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