When Trustbuster Stanley Barnes took over in 1953, he promised to enforce the antitrust laws "absolutely." In 2½ years he wound up 148 old cases, filed 118 new.
Last week, in one 24-hour period, Barnes announced his biggest bag to date: two industrial giants-American Telephone & Telegraph ($17 billion assets) and International Business Machines ($600 million assets)-signed consent decrees to end the suits against them.
The A.T.& T. case, said Barnes, was a major compromise." Seven years ago the Truman Administration charged AT&T (operating 98% of all long-distance phone service, 85% of...