Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1899-03-25

fingers in the peoples faces and gone
ahead as usual with the game Of plum
der.
But they have even gone further
than promise They have really enact
ed an emasculated antitrust law, the
Sherman law, which every trust in the
land knew was not meant to be en-
forced and could not be enforced if the
effort were made. This, which has all
along been plain enough to intelligent
people, has been made still palmer by
Mr.. McKinley's attorney general,
Griggs, the New Jersey trust lawyer.
Mr.. Griggs has been alarmed at the pop
ular clamor against trusts and in order
to reassure the trusts and furnish ex-
cuse in advance for his inaction and
apathy concerning his duty, which is to
sues this unsought manifesto in pri-
vate letter intended for public con-
sumption:
The g. erman Trust Act does not give to
the Fe eral Courts jurisdiction over any
combination constituting a restraint and
monopoly of trade unless such trade is
what is known as Interstate and inter-
national trade and commerce.
A combination or trust for the purpose
OF maintaining monopoly in the manu-
the scope of the Sherman act ard cannot
be suppressed by the Federal Courts.
All the companies to which you refer
is, monopolies in MANUFACTURED and are
not within the Jurisdiction of the Federal
Courts.
This is entirely matter OF State control,
and unless the functions of interstate
commerce are interfered with / would be
superoff.cious to attempt crusade
against affairs with which have no bus
ness.
Griggs Was a trust lawyer before Mr..
Mckinley elevated him to be Attorney
General of the United States. His
standing with the trusts was establish
ed or he would not have been given that
important Office. Hence, he stands by
the trusts, giving it as his deliberate
official opinion that there is no federal
law that can be operated against them,
that trusts "are amenable to the laws
of the respective States, IF AMEN
ABLE TO ANY LAW" that under the
Constitution Congress can pass no eff
fective law against trusts!
1t will be difficult for the next Re-
publican national convention to make
its usual solemn promise to proceed
against the trusts if the people will
only re-elect the Trust Apostle, in face
of these positive statements of that
Trust Apostles attorney general, the
highest law officer in the land, that the
people, the courts, the government,
even Congress, itself, are absolutely
powerless against these combinations
trade!
Still, we have no doubt the usual
promises and pledges will be made just
the same
AS for Mr.. Griggs's statement that
there is no legal power that can be
brought against the trusts under our
Constitution, it is well calculated to
boom trust stocks in Wall street. But
as to whether it is true or not, or
whether there exists any law against
the combinations in restraint of honest
and legitimate trade, the people will
never know until we have an attorney
general who will endeaver honestly to
enforce the statutes we now have, in
stead of devoting his efforts and abili-
ties to finding loopholes in them for
the trusts. In short, law or no law,
the trusts are never likely to be brought
to book until we have an Attorney Gen
eral of the United States who will act
as a public prosecutor and not as
trust attorney merely masqurading as
such.