Mr. Taft's Federal incorporation measure for dealing with Trusts was
introduced in Congress on Monday. The Washington correspondent of the Times says that it enables corporations to take out a Federal charter, by which they would submit themselves to the Bureau of Corporations and to various strict regulations. They would be subject to the Sherman Law, and though authorised to acquire property, they would be debarred from acquiring the stock of other corporations. It is hoped that they would thus be prevented from manipulating stock on a grand scale in the manner of the late Mr. Harriman, while a normal corporate control would still be possible. The measure is obviously the most radical attempt which has been made since the Sherman Act to bring Trusts under Federal control. No doubt the forces which have so long fought under the banner of State Rights will he mobilised once more, and centralisation will be denounced. In one sense the Trusts might gain something by this legal unification; but we suspect that there will be a long conflict before any such measure as Mr. Taft proposes can become law.
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