HOW CONGRESS MAY CONTROL TRUSTS 223 



mon law, should determine what is reasonable and what is 

 unreasonable. 



(b) His chief recommendation, however, looks toward 

 extension of the scope of the Sherman anti-trust act. Follow- 

 ing a line of argument parallel with that used by Mr. F. J. 

 Stimson and Prof. E. W. Huffcut, as found in the reports of 

 the United States industrial commission, he expresses the 

 opinion that congress has the power to lay down the condi- 

 tions under which corporations may engage in interstate 

 commerce, and to prescribe penalties for the violation of such 

 conditions. The constitutional power seems to be clear; but 

 he does not state categorically what conditions he would im- 

 pose. The implication in his address, however, from the evils 

 enumerated and from the principles discussed, is that cor- 

 porations doing an interstate business ought to be required 

 (1) "to do business in every state and locality upon precisely 

 the same terms and conditions. There should be no discrim- 

 inations in prices, no preferences in service." (2) They should 

 be subject to "visitorial supervision;" secrecy in the conduct 

 or result of their operations should be prohibited by law. 



These conditions might be enforced only by penalties 

 imposed b}^ the courts after a violation of the act had been 

 proved in a specific case brought by an injured party by a 

 government attorney, as the Sherman anti-trust act is en- 

 forced. This plan would be conservative; it would leave the 

 burden of proof on the prosecutor, and probably would not 

 be generally effective. It would, however, be certain, in 

 course of time, to give us some extremely important decisions 

 and indications for further action. Congress might, however, 

 following the plan of several states in dealing with insurance 

 companies, partly shift the burden by providing that before 

 any corporation engaged in interstate traffic it should procure 

 a permit or license from some authority duly established in 

 the act (a bureau of the new department of commerce, an offi- 

 cer of the treasury, or otherwise). It would then regularly 

 furnish such information regarding its business as the law 

 demanded; it could be regularly inspected to enforce com- 

 pliance with the conditions laid down; and any corporation 

 engaging in interstate commerce without such license would be 



