The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-03-09
Ohio's Attorney General and the
Trusts.

The allegation that an attempt had
been made to bride Attorney General
Frank S. Monnett, of Ohio to suspend
the prosecution of the Standard Oil
trust, may or may not be well-found-
ed Ohio has produced many peculiar
public officials, who have been respon-
sible for many singular situations in
business, as we'll as in politics. The
Ohioans have been accused of ham,
stringing one another for private salts
faction for so many years that truth
is not readily discernible through the
thick fog that has shrouded their
operations from the public view
Two things, however, loom up con-
spicuously in the prevailing excitement
over the refusal of the Ohioan to &C
cept the $500, 000-one that there has
been no proceedings against the alleged
bribers, the other that the attorney
general has some views about the
trusts that are interesting He says
of the latter:
My position both personally and as an of
hclal OF the state upon this subject of trusts
can be briefly stated in the language of Lord
Coke in the case of Darcy VS.. Allen:
''First-The price of the commodity will
always be raised by monopoly, for he who
cOnlmOdIry
and will make the price as he pleases.
"Second-The second incident to a monop
ely is that after the monopoly is granted the
commodity is not SO good and merchsn tahIe
as 1t was before; for the patentee having the
sole trade regards only his private benefts
and not the common wealth
Third-lt tends to the impoverishment of
divers artiticers and Others who before tho
monopoly, by the labor Of their hands in
their art or trade, had maintained Themselves
ana their families, and now of necessity will
nd to live
gary s
And again:
NO corporation can begin its existence with
out charter granted to it by the government
either state or federal There is contract
implied when such charter is issued het,oan
the creature-the corporation-and its cre. Ie
the state This contractual relation is at
oEce violated whenever such corporate cres
lure lure uses It's powers to carry out any con-
puoilc policy of the state or nation. or TO
directly or indirectly violate any of the fed
eral or state statutes.
Hence every stats has reserved INTO ,tsa1f
IN the constitution the old common law
writ Of the crown" known to LAWYERS as
quo warranto.' whereby the crown officers
or the attorney general of the United StotaS
or the respective states. either with or With
out the request of the supreme court If The
respective states, may institute quo warranto
fhtcceedinss directly In the highest court of
the state at the expense of the state and
backed Dy the whole arm of the state calling
upon such offending corporate creature to
show cause why its life should NOT he tal,en
from it by revoking It's charter, appointina
trustees and winding UP its existence
Mr. Monnett is of the opinion that The
trust has no place in politics, that no
platform, no resolutions, no campaiens
are necessary to suppress it. All that
Is required IS "the action of the execu-
tive law officers of the United States
and Of the respective states to bring
the matter directly before the courts y
He is further Of the view that there is
no aggression on the part of 'corpora-
lions or abuse Of the rights of the
people that the courts of last resort
cannot and will not remedy. In brief
II is the sworn duty Of the attorney
general of the United States. bv the
operation of the writ OF quo warra nto
TO bring offenders before the court
ana compel them to show cause whv