THE SHERMAN ANTI-TRUST LAW Federation of Labor to the Sherman anti trust law is manifest when it is remembered that in their petition to intervene in the Danbury hat case they declared that a decision in favor of the plaintiff "would seriously obstruct and hinder" it "in carry ing out the purposes for which it was organ ized" and that its constitution "makes special provision for the prosecution of boycotts." Mr. Gompers has stated its effect in the quotation, "You might as well take from me my life as take from me the means whereby I live," and in their annual convention at Pittsburg in 1908 they de scribed the boycotts as follows : "The committee on boycotts made the following report and recommendations, which was adopted by the convention: 'We must recognize the fact that a boycott means war, and to successfully carry on a war we must adopt the tactics that history has shown are most successful in war. The greatest master of war said that war was the trade of a barbarian, and that the secret of success was to concentrate all your forces upon one point of the enemy, the weakest if possible. In view of these facts the committee recom mends that the State Federations and central bodies lay aside minor grievances and concentrate their efforts and energies upon the least number of unfair parties or places in their jurisdiction. One would be preferable." This is certainly a frank and explicit statement of the spirit that animates this organization, and I am not prepared to say that it does not fitly characterize the boycott as "the trade of a barbarian." This Hepburn amendment is said to have two great objects: first, it requires all corpo rations or individuals who seek to get the benefit of its provisions to register them selves with the Bureau of Corporations, and in the case of corporations to file such information concerning the organization of such corporation, its financial condition, its contracts, and its corporate proceedings as may be prescribed by general regulations
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from time to time to be made by the Presi dent pursuant to this act, the purpose being to procure from the corporations avail ing themselves of the provision of the act information which would give to the public the measure of publicity which is under stood to be desirable in connection with their operation and control, not only for the purpose of informing the Congress as to the needs of future legislation, but for the purpose of giving to the public such information as would so far as may be protect them in connection with the oper ations of, and their investments in, organi zations of that character. Second, corporations thus registering themselves for the purpose of getting the benefit of the provisions of this act were to have conferred upon them privileges that do not now exist under the law. It was proposed to engraft upon this statute, without reference to the question as to whether the qualification would relate to contracts in restraint of 'trade at com mon law, or combinations and conspiracies, the element of reasonableness or unreason ableness, and a most ingenious scheme was devised for the purpose of putting into operation or making an application of these qualifying terms. It is provided by the specific terms of the proposed amendment that these contracts and agreements would be subject to the determination of the Commissioner; that the Commissioner, if of the opinion, after an examination, that the contract or com bination was in unreasonable restraint of trade, should so order, stating in his order his reasons therefor; and it was further provided, if the Commissioner made no such order within thirty days from the date of the filing of the contract or agreement, that after the expiration of t! at time such contracts and agreements would be come valid by the simple lapse of time and should be held to be prima f -tic reason able. So that it would be incumbent upon the government, in a prosecution of the
