第86章

Suitswerebroughtagainstthemostpowerfulcorporationsintheland，whichwewereconvincedhadclearlyandbeyondquestionviolatedtheAnti-TrustLaw。Thesesuitswerebroughtwithgreatcare，andonlywherewefeltsosureofourfactsthatwecouldbefairlycertainthattherewasalikelihoodofsuccess。Asamatteroffact，inmostoftheimportantsuitsweweresuccessful。Itwasimperativethatthesesuitsshouldbebrought，andveryrealgoodwasachievedbybringingthem，foritwasonlythesesuitsthatmadethegreatmastersofcorporatecapitalinAmericafullyrealizethattheyweretheservantsandnotthemastersofthepeople，thattheyweresubjecttothelaw，andthattheywouldnotbepermittedtobealawuntothemselves；andthecorporationsagainstwhichweproceededhadsinned，notmerelybybeingbig(whichwedidnotregardasinitselfasin)，butbybeingguiltyofunfairpracticestowardstheircompetitors，andbyprocuringfairadvantagesfromtherailways。ButtheresultingsituationhasmadeitevidentthattheAnti-TrustLawisnotadequatetomeetthesituationthathasgrownupbecauseofmodernbusinessconditionsandtheaccompanyingtremendousincreaseinthebusinessuseofvastquantitiesofcorporatewealth。AsIhavesaid，thiswasalreadyevidenttomymindwhenIwasPresident，andincommunicationstoCongressIrepeatedlystatedthefacts。ButwhenI

madethesecommunicationstherewerestillplentyofpeoplewhodidnotbelievethatwewouldsucceedinthesuitsthathadbeeninstitutedagainsttheStandardOil，theTobacco，andothercorporations，anditwasimpossibletogetthepublicasawholetorealizewhatthesituationwas。Sincerezealotswhobelievedthatallcombinationscouldbedestroyedandtheold-timeconditionsofunregulatedcompetitionrestored，insincerepoliticianswhoknewbetterbutmadebelievethattheythoughtwhatevertheirconstituentswishedthemtothink，craftyreactionarieswhowishedtoseeonthestatute-bookslawswhichtheybelievedunenforceable，andthealmostsolid“WallStreetcrowd“orrepresentativesof“bigbusiness“whoatthattimeopposedwithequalviolencebothwiseandnecessaryandunwiseandimproperregulationofbusiness-allfoughtagainsttheadoptionofasane，effective，andfar-reachingpolicy。

ItisavitallynecessarythingtohavethepersonsincontrolofbigtrustsofthecharacteroftheStandardOilTrustandTobaccoTrusttaughtthattheyareunderthelaw，justasitwasanecessarythingtohavetheSugarTrusttaughtthesamelessonindrasticfashionbyMr。HenryL。StimsonwhenhewasUnitedStatesDistrictAttorneyinthecityofNewYork。Buttoattempttomeetthewholeproblemnotbyadministrativegovernmentalactionbutbyasuccessionoflawsuitsishopelessfromthestandpointofworkingoutapermanentlysatisfactorysolution。Moreover，theresultssoughttobeachievedareachievedonlyinextremelyinsufficientandfragmentarymeasurebybreakingupallbigcorporations，whethertheyhavebehavedwellorill，intoanumberoflittlecorporationswhichitisperfectlycertainwillbelargely，andperhapsaltogether，underthesamecontrol。Suchactionisharshandmischievousifthecorporationisguiltyofnothingexceptitssize；andwhere，asinthecaseoftheStandardOil，andespeciallytheTobacco，trusts，thecorporationhasbeenguiltyofimmoralandanti-socialpractices，thereisneedforfarmoredrasticandthoroughgoingactionthananythathasbeentaken，undertherecentdecreeoftheSupremeCourt。InthecaseoftheTobaccoTrust，forinstance，thesettlementintheCircuitCourt，inwhichtherepresentativesoftheGovernmentseeminclinedtoconcur，practicallyleavesallofthecompaniesstillsubstantiallyunderthecontrolofthetwenty-nineoriginaldefendants。Sucharesultislamentablefromthestandpointofjustice。ThedecisionoftheCircuitCourt，ifallowedtostand，meansthattheTobaccoTrusthasmerelybeenobligedtochangeitsclothes，thatnoneoftherealoffendershavereceivedanyrealpunishment，while，astheNewYorkTimes，apro-trustpaper，says，thetobaccoconcerns，intheirnewclothes，areinpositionsof“easeandluxury。”and“immunefromprosecutionunderthelaw。”

Surely，miscarriageofjusticeisnottoostrongatermtoapplytosucharesultwhenconsideredinconnectionwithwhattheSupremeCourtsaidofthisTrust。ThatgreatCourtinitsdecisionusedlanguagewhich，inspiteofitshabitualandsevereself-restraintinstigmatizingwrong-doing，yetunhesitatinglycondemnstheTobaccoTrustformoralturpitude，sayingthatthecaseshowsan“everpresentmanifestation……ofconsciouswrong-doing“bytheTrust