Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-03-21
THE ANTITRUST BILL.
Mr.. Sherman'S Speech in Its Favor in
The Senate Today.
THE PENSION APPROPRIATION BILL
It ELECTS Lively Debate In the House
This Afternoon.
THE SENATE.

Numerous petitions were presented for law
against the employment Of aliens On govern
ment work; some for the free and unlimited
coinage Of silver; one from Nebraska against
the extension of time for the payment of the
Pacific railroad debts to the government, and
one from California for the removal of duty on
jute and jute bagging.
PAIRED ON THE BLAIR BILL.
Mr.. Ransom, referring to yesterdays vote on
the Blair bill, said that there had been some
confusion about it; that he should have been
paired as in favor of the bill and that Mr. Casey,
with whom he was paired, was opposed to the
bill
MEDICAL EXAMINERS FOR THE PENSION BUREAU.
MIR. Plumb, from the committee Of appropri-
ations, reported back the House joint resolu-
tion authorizing the appointment of thirty
medical examiners for the bureau of pensions,
and gave notice that he would ask the Senate
to consider it tomorrow.
Mr.. Cockrell said that the report was by no
means unanimous and gave notice that he
would move to amend the joint resolution by
striking out the clause allowing the exanina-
ton to be within the discretion and under the
direction OF the Secretary of the Interior, leav-
Ing the appointments under the civil service
law to which the republican party stood
solemnly pledged
THE ANTITRUST BILL
On motion of Mr.. Sherman the bill to declare
unlawful trusts and combinations in restraint
| OF trade and production was taken up for con-
sideration
The substitute reported by Mr.. Sherman
from the finance committee on the 18th instant
was read; also an amendment that was offered
by Mr.. Reagan.
MR.. sHERMAN's ARGUMENT.
Mr.. Sherman addressed the Senate He had
not intended to do 80, he said, supposing that
the public feeling on the subject was SO mani
fest as to render debate unnecessary, but the
different views taken by Senators in regard to
the legal question and the very able speech re-
Gently made by Mr.. George in regard to the
details of the bill had led him to the
conclusion that it was his duty Gas having re-
ported the bilD to present, in as logical way
as he could, the legal and practical questions
involved in the bill. In order to secure brevity
and precision of statement he had done what
he did not usually do in the Senate; he had
reduced his remarks to writing and would read
them. He thereupon proceeded to read his
argument from manuscript
UNLAWFUL COMBINATIONS AND INDIVIDUAL
MoNoPoLIsTs.
He declared that the bill did not interfere
with any lawful business. 1t dealt only with
unlawful combinations such combinations as
were unauthoriz ID by any law of any civilized
nation, ancient or modern, and whose
sole object was to control prices and
to establish substantial monopolies
which were injurious to the public
and which should be restrained by the courts
1t was that kind 1f combination which the bill
dealt with. If 1t was entrusted to a
single man then it was kingly pre-
rogative, inconsistent with the Amer
lean form of government II this country
would not endure king in politics it should
not endure king over the production, trans
portation and sale of the necessaries of life.
I N an tShp
not submit to an autocrat in trade He re-
ferred to the decisions of the state courts of
Ohio, Michigan. Illinois and New York in the
cases of the Standard oil company. the Dia-
mond match company and the sugar trust, de-
claring such trusts null and void and against
pubic policy. These references and quota
tons were, he said, to show that in different
states the state courts did declare trusts and
combinations in state unlawful and void
and all that the pending bill proposed was to
deal with those combinations affecting not only
several states but the entire world.
VARIOUS TRUSTS MODELLED on THE SAME PLAN.
All these combinations, he said-the cotton
trust, the whisky trust, the sugar-refning
trust, the copper trust, the salt trust,
and many others-were modelled On
the same plan and involved
the same principle. They we're all combina-
tiOns of corporations and individuals of many
n
control of trustees.
In conclusion he said that the defects of the
bill were its moderation and that its best
eff ect would be to serve notice that combina-
tions in restraint of trade and production
would not be tolerated.
MR.. INGALLS, AMENDMENT.
At the close of Mr.. Sherman's speech Mr..
ingalls, gave notice Of an amendment which he
would offer to the bill The amendment (Which
10 ina mat 1aa1 ,,, ,,f,,,
''optiOns') was read and ordered to be printed.
On motion Of MIR. Sherman it was ordered
that the substitute ordered from the finance
committee shall be treated as the original text
OF the bill, and 80 the amendments proposedby
Senators Reagan and Ingalls, are to be treated
as amendments in the first and second degrees.
MR. VEST ON TRUSTS.
MIR. Vest addressed the Senate. No one, he
said, could exaggerate the Importance Of the
subject or the feeling that existed against
trusts all over the country, but especially in
the agricultural districts. He could have
no controversy with the Senator from Ohio
as to the enormity of the abuses that had
grown up under the system of trusts and
combinations; and he also agreed With
csm OF tine Constitution. But what
was desired was one thing and what could be
accomplished under the autonomy OF the gov
ernment was another thing, and he
uOt, even III lace VI popular
Indignation which would be visited ON any one
that criticised a measure intended to
destroy the evil complained Of vio-
late his oath to support the Constitu-
ton and violate all the habitudes of thought
which had come to him a lawyer educated
and trained In his profession, for Congress to
pass a law that would be thrown out Of the
Supreme Court, under the terrible criticism
that such law would invoke was simply to
subject itself to ridicule and to the confession
that it was powerless to enact laws that
would give the people relief. He went on to
argue against the constitutionality of the
original bill as well as of the substitute, de-
claring his belief that the Supreme Court
would Immediately throw it out Of court
HOUSE.
Immediately after the reading of the journal
the House went into committee Of the whole,
MIR. Burrows Mich in the chair on
THE PENSION APPROPRIATION BILL
Mr.. Cheadle Qnd.) spoke at length in favor
of a service pension Law. He explained the
provisions Of bill authorizing service pen
sion for life to every veteran over fifty years
Of age who served sixty days and was hon.
orably discharged. Under the general law all
invalid pensioners who receive less than $S a
month and all who receive no pension will be