New-York tribune., 1902-12-20
H0AR ANTITRUST BILL,
4 SURPRISE TO CONGRESS-.
Much Speculation about the Massa-
clusetts Senator'S S Measure.
TBY TELEGRAPH TO THE TR1BUyE.l

Washington, Dec. 19.-Interest in Senator
Hoars antitrust bills. which at present exists
only in notice given in the Senate of the meas
ure, is divided between conjecture as to how
far the known and inferred conclusions of At
torney General Knox, who has been engaged in
the study Of the entire trust problem for many
months viii be embodied in the bill and wonder
at the sudden move the part of the venerable
Senator from Massachusetts. In many circles
Il is believed that the burden of Senator Hoar's
bill viii be the work of the Attorney General,
and that the Senator and his colleagues on the
Judiciary Committee viii be more occupied with
the effort 10 make the Attorney Generals rec
concentrations conform to the requirements
needed to pass the Senate than in drawing the
measure itself. Moreover. Senator Hoar himself
has declared that he has no intention of framing
the new bill until he has consulted carefully
with the Attorney General and secured his opin-
ion Of the necessity of amending the Sherman
act.
II is possible, therefore. that the Attorney
General may fit to experiment with the
rresent law. employing the S500O00 Congress
NAV appropriate for this purpose. But if any
legislation is desired, Senator Hoar has given
notice of his bill. That this bill does not yet
exist is generally known here. In fact. the ap-
parently precipitate announcement of Senator
Hoar that he had such a bin took the Senate
by surprise. Now that this has subsided, at
tempt is being made to discover the reason for
this hurried action. But Senator Hoar has de-
MED himself to everybody. and is presumably
already launched in the work of drafting the
bill. There is a tendency in certain quarters to
regard this initial antitrust bill as an admin
istration measure This seems somewhat
warranted, President Roosevelt avoided the
subject of legislation pretty thoroughly in his
Message, leaving that entirely TO Congress.
However, Mr. Knox has the Presidents entire
confidence and il may be assumed that any
measure which is drawn TO suit the wishes and
TO conform to the judgment of the Attorney
General will presumably attract more than the
passing interest of the President But that it
should fall to the lot Of the Senator from Mas
sachusetts to present this measure is not at all
surprising, his long service on the Judiciary
Committee is regarded as giving him the neces-
a measure. The President has already con-
suited Senator Hoar several times, presumably
about this measure. and Attorney
General Knox has conferred with him. 1t
is supposed that in the recess the Senator will
work on the yet unwritten BILL and have it
ready for printing in The Congressional Rec
ord" when Congress reconvenes if the Attorney
General favors legislation.
One practical effect of this new bill is to take
the wind out Of the sails of the endless number
Of other antitrust bills in various stages of
preparation. The announcement of Senator
Hoars bill brought untold CONSERVATION to
various authors of trust measures who recog-
nized that OF the first bills in the field. ii
had secured the most prominent position, and
likely to overshadow all others. Perhaps
this was in the minds Of those who desired to
head off an avalanche of undigeSted bills, and
save the brief period of the short session for the
consideration Of q measure fathered by so con-
servative and eminent a member as Senator
Hoar, and embodying the conclusions Of the At
torney General. This is believed to have been
Of the reasons which actuated Mr.. Hoar in
putting in the notice of his bill ahead Of time
and without preliminary notice to his colleagues
AS to the nature and effect of his bill Senator
Hoar preserves silence. The few brief hints he
throws are vague, and offer suggestion
beyoT7.' fact mentioned above, but in the
.raminE Of the measure the Attorney General is
o he frequently consulted The sole leading
,ointer disclosed is that wherever the present
sw fails to give the Attorney General sufficient
nthoriIy il should be reinforced. But even this
he Senator qualities by declaring that the At
orney General may believe the existing law
Adequate. and that the best course is to await
khe further exposition Of the Jurisprudence or
the subject by the Supreme Court