The Negro world., 1900-03-10
now TO REACH THE TRUSTS
Monopoile. rrotec,ed from rro.esu-
ton by tho President and At
torney General.


II frequently happens that man
who is hunting for something will
overlook the desired article when Il ID
under his very nose. This In true of
most of the delegates to the anti
trust conference who are looking for
a method Of curhing the trusts. Near
" every delegate has a plan of his
own~=more or less complicated and
impraetieable-but ID has remained for
Mr., Frank s, Monnctt. Iatn attorney
general Of Ohio. and Mr. Williams, Of
Massachusetts,, 60 point ont the obyi-
GUS remedy for trust aggression.
Mcssrs, Mnnnett aud Williams suggest
no new legislation, no constitutional
amendments. no commissions or other
quasi-executiye bodies 20 deal with
the matter. They point out that the
remedy already exists. The only me-
ccssity Ii to utilize IT,.
That iu to say. Mr., Monnett declares
that the sherman law, if.enfbrced. viii
reach the trusts, Mr. Williams adds
the eorollary statement that the peo.
pie can have the sherman law enforced
by elccting officers who will enforce IL.
Neither statement can successfully be
eontroyerted. The trusts now flourish
unchecked not because there Ii no law
which win reach them. but because the
laws already on the statute books are
not enforced by the president Of the
United States and his attorney gem
eraL Those officers nnllify the sher-
man law They would nullify any
similar leRislation that might he en-
acted. The fault IL not with the law,
but with the officers who refuse TO
enforce it-who beg The question by
declaring that Il eHnf be enforced.
The president. through his attorney
general, has paraly3ad the energies OF
every United States district attorney
In the country. Among those officers
are no doubt mnny men like Mr.. s. II.
Bcthea~ active, ambitious and desir.
Gus of enforcing the federal statutes.
But no matter how energetic they may
be they dare not attempt 60 nttnelG The
trusts by means of the Sherman law,
because Mr.. Griggu, us,rping the func.
tiohs of the United atea supreme
court, has repeatedly declared that the
Sherman law does not apply To the
trusts and that IL In, therefore. use.
less 10 proceed under Its provislons.
No district attorney will risk the dIe-
pleasure Of his superior officer by In.
stltutlng sherman law prosecutions in
the face OF such deiveranee. The
trusts are protected from prosecution
by the president aud the attorney gen.
cral. The obvious remedy Ii 10 elect
president who Will enforce the laws
instead Of nuIlifying them.
The administration can make no de-
Tense for Its attitude. IL stands be-
tween the trusts and the law. Even
II II be conceded that the Sherman
law might be held invalid by the courts
what excuse can the administration
make for denying those tribunals the
opportunity of passing upon ~? The
presidents position is that OF states
attorney who should turn oil the mur.
dererH out OF the county jail and an
swer public protests by the declaration
that the statute against murder
couldn't be enforced and that he
wasn't going 10 try 10 enforce IL. IL
is n nnlliiication Of the law OF the
land and an invasion OF tho right Of
the judiciary To construe the statutes,
Nothing else can be made of II. The
president aud his party protect the
trusts. Nay, they punish republican
officers who prosecute the trusts. as
Mr.. Monnctt himself can testify. hav-
Ing been denied n denomination by Mr.
Hanna because he dared 10 institute
and maintain n prosecution against
the Standard Oil combination con.
trary 10 the wishes aud instructions
OF the republican iloss Of Ohio.
II the people Of this country wish
10 get rid of the trusts they must fret
get rid OF Hanna, Mckinley and GriRgs.
who are owned, body. boots and
brceches, by the trusts. With presl.
dent In the white house who will en-
force the laws the trust question will
quickly be settlcd,--ChicnRo Chronicle.