The Report of Mr. Garfield, Chief of the Bureau of
Cor- porations, on the legal conditions under which Trusts are carried on in the various States, was laid before Congress on Wednesday, and proves to be a document of first-rate import. ante. Mr. Garfield, after reviewing the discrepancies in the Trust laws of the various States, condemns the present system as inviting extreme abuse of State incorporation, and rendering the regulation of Trusts difficult, if not impossible. Under the present industrial conditions—we quote from the summary given in Reuter's report—" secrecy and dishonesty in the promotion of companies, over-capitalisation, unfair discrimina- tion by means of transportation and other rebates, unfair and predatory competition, secrecy of corporate administration, and misleading or dishonest financial statements are generally recognised as the principal evils." Most of the Trusts—here we quote from the Daily Chronicle's report—register them- selves in easy-going States which possess practically no anti-Trust laws, though they do business in other States which would not permit their incorporation. To cope with these evils, Mr. Garfield recommends that the Federal Govern- ment should license all Trusts engaged in inter-State com- merce. If this were done, and licenses were made revocable for violations of the law, he holds that the Government would be able to control and regulate the Trusts in accordance with the best interests of the country.
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