24 THE AMES FORESTER 



be pointed out that most fields of the lumber business were 

 fairly well organized before the Government began its anti- 

 monopoly campaign, and that therefore there has been no 

 great occasion for the formation of new organizations since ; 

 nevertheless, bearing all the evidence in mind, we can scarcely 

 escape the conclusion that the number of such monopolistic 

 organizations is now less than it would have been but for the 

 hostile attitude of the Government. The abandonment of the 

 proposed North Carolina Pine merger is a case in point. 



Finally then, as to the effectiveness of Government efforts 

 to break up lumber combinations, *the most definite conclusion 

 that the information at hand will justify, is that, while the 

 lumber industry is still strongly organized, part of it perhaps 

 entirely beyond the reach of anti-trust prosecution, neverthe- 

 less the Government has accomplished something, has even 

 achieved some notable success. Some students of the question 

 may feel that with further experience, with improvement in the 

 anti-trust laws and in the machinery for their enforcement, 

 with the elimination of various unfair practices, with increas- 

 ing publicity of corporate affairs, and with the development of 

 supplementary legislation, such as for instance, Federal incor- 

 poration laws, the Government will be able to handle the lum- 

 ber situation successfully, without departing from its present 

 policy. Other students of the question will view the situation 

 more pessimistically, will feel that it is impossible to break up 

 combinations in this way, that as fast as the Government de- 

 vises new methods of attack, the lumber organizations will in- 

 vent new means of evasion, and that in the end, the Govern- 

 ment will be driven to direct regulation of prices. 



The possible advantages of combination in the lumber indus- 

 try have been indicated above, and certainly they must be given 

 due consideration. Whether these advantages are so great, 

 however, and whether their preservation is a matter of much 

 importance as to justify the Government in abandoning its 

 present policy, to embark upon a wholly untried scheme of 

 price regulation, is quite another question. 



The idea of price regulation by means of a commission seems 

 attractive in many ways. 3 It has a directness, a finality, an 



3 Van Hise, Concentration and Control, 238-242. 



