LAD #27: Clayton Anti-Trust Act

Summary: The Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890 was ineffective, necessitating the Clayton Anti-Trust Act of 1914. One of the cornerstones of this Act was the assertion that businesses could not charge customers different prices for the same product. This served to limit the monopolistic practices, especially by Rockefeller with the railroads, of charging different customers different prices. It was made clear, though, that this Act would not limit a business's ability to selectively choose customers. Like Rockefeller had done with his shipping rebates and subsequent burdening of competitors, the Act disallowed companies to shift prices and eliminate the weak as easily as before. The last stipulation of the Clayton Act was the outlawing of restrictive mechanisms such as "pyramid business", in order to promote free trade and prevent the lessening of competition.