FRIGHTENED CAPITAL.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXV, Issue 16566, 2 June 1914, Page 6

FRIGHTENED CAPITAL.

Most people imagine that capital enjoys a reasonably fair field in the United States, but a cable message \vo publish this morning shows that oven in America tho people who have money to invest are frightened by the Federal business legislation. A week or two ago, speaking of the anti-trust legislation, Senator Lodge declared that there was no greater enemy to prosperous business than fear, and wont on to say that every great undertaking in the country was held in check because tho promoters did not know what move Congress was going to make. The object of the manufacturers’ deputation that interviewed President Wilson is not far to seek. Recently five separate measures designed to restrain the financial monopolists were circulated in Congress and were referred to committees, one to enlargo the scope of tho Interstate Trade Commission and to increase its powers, another to prohibit what are called interlocking directorates, a third to limit tho application of the “ rule of reason ” adopted by the Supreme Courts in recent decisions under the Sherman Anti-trust Law, tho fourth to control big company ownership of a multitude of small businesses professedly separate, and the last to regulate operations in stocks and bonds. Petitions against these measures are said to have poured into Washington from all parts of the country and volumes of evidence were taken by the committees. The most recent American newspapers indicate that the Democrats were not prepared to face tho disapproval of the financial magnates and the big companies throughout the States, and were planning to abandon four of the Bills for this year and to concentrate their efforts on tho Interstate Commission measure. The manufacturers’ deputation was clearly a national movement, in the sense that it represented all tho States, and that its object was to discourage any now anti-trust legislation. Doubtless the capitalists interested believed that four, at least, of tho “five brothers,” as the Bills are termed, would be abandoned, but they wanted to make sure, and :'t will probably be found that the •‘something moderately sober ” mentioned by the President in his reply is simply the Interstate Commission Bill. The Democrats cannot afford to neglect business legislation altogether, but evidently there will be no radical developments in this direction during the present regime.