Trusts.—One of the most eminent corporation lawyers, James B. Dill, has defined the trust as "a dominant combination of money, property, business or commercial power, or energy." S. C. T. Todd, solicitor of the Standard Oil company and an acknowledged authority on the modern trust, says: "The term 'trust' in its more confined sense embraces only a peculiar form of business association effected by stockholders of different corporations transferring their stock to trustees. The Standard Oil Trust was formed in this way and originated the name 'trust,' as applied to associations. . . . The term 'trust,' although derived as stated, has (now) obtained a wider signification, and embraces every act, agreement, or combination of persons or capital believed to be done, made or formed with the intent, power or tendency to monopolize business, to restrain or interfere with competitive trade, or to fix, influence or increase the prices of commodities."

This latter definition, though written several years ago, is perhaps the best known definition of the trust. In Kansas the subject of trusts was first brought to the attention of the legislature by Gov. Lyman U. Humphrey in his message of 1889. In this document he made special reference to the combine of the packing-house men, who sought to control the market, whereby all the small butchers would be driven out of business. The legislature at that session took hold of the matter and passed "an act to declare unlawful trusts and combinations in restraint of trade and products, and to provide penalities, therefor." This first law had some loopholes that the trusts were not long in finding out and taking advantage of, and in 1897 another and a more careful law was prepared and passed. A number of suits for the violation of this law were brought by the state, but on account of technicalities of the law, injunctions, etc., no great results were accomplished. In 1909 a bill was introduced and passed by the Kansas legislature to strengthen the anti-trust laws, but no suits have been decided under it by the courts.