The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1902-10-16

TN HIS SPEECH before the Pittsburg
chamber of commerce last Tuesday
on trusts and their relation to in
terstate commerce. Attorney General
Knox made the following frank state
ment of what the administration has
already done to enforce the existing
laws against trusts
In the early part of this year. it came
to the knowledge of the president that
great railroad systems In the Middle
West upon which every section of the
country is dependent for the movement
Of brcadstuffs. had entered into unla wful
agreements to transport the shipments or
a few favored grain buyers nj rates much
below the tariff charges imposed upon
smaller dealers and the general pubic
This injustice prevailed to such an extent
and for so long "A time that most OF the
smaller shippers had been driven from
the. field and the business formerly en-
Joyed by them absorbed by limited
number of persons who received secret
and preferential rates In a word, there
wa. practically only one buyer on cach
railwa.' system and the Illegal advart-
ages he secured from the carrier gave
him monopoly of the grain trade on the
lrc with which his secret comnact was
na,1,
In the earlier period of this discriminate
producer obtained Il price for his grain
slightly in excess of its market value at
the place of shipment: but that result fol-
,pr'cd only during the short time that the
ron-taN ored dealer continued in business.
When he was forced to the wall. as 10
soon was. the only buyer whom the pc
dnrcr could reach was the party who had
hargained with the carrier for an unlaw-
full rate. Thus competition in the grain
business was destroyed and the price ac-
tually realized by the farmer was fire.
1uently less than the proper market
value. A favored mddieman. by "onni-
vance with the railroad. monopolized the
grain products of a large area of courl
try. and virtually fixed the price both to
the producer and the consumer 1t was
an odious condition. Nor does this de-
scribe the full measure OF wrOn2doing. 1t
reached the centers of trade and affected
related industries with more or less dis
aster In Kansas city. for example. it
was asserted that local dealers had been
excluded from participation in the grain
trade: that their elevators for the stor-
age and trans-shipmcnt of grain built ut
great expense for the demands Of an i'm
portant market had been deprived Of
business: and that large numbers OF
laborers had lost employment aud re-
mained in idleness solely because of the
diversion of business from it's natural
channels as the result of this forbidden
monopoly in the purchase and tranSpor-
tation of grain. The board of trade OF
that city presented complaint to the
Interstate Commerce commission, and
that body conducted an investigation.
which disclosed. with convincing particu-
larity and detail. the facVs already sum
married. That they are true in substance
and effect Is not seriously disputed in amy
quarter This commission also. about the
same time held another investigation.
nd tod tn hn n
that the six largest meat-packins con-
Germs. popularity known as the Beef
Trust" were in Il combination with each
other and with many great railway lines,
whereby they secured large secret con-
cessions i'm rates for the transportation
of their products which enabled them 10
practically monopolze the fresh and
cured meat industry of the United states.
Uncle Sam Acts.
Acting upon this information which
disclosed definite and provable facts. bills
for injunctioDs We're Immediately filed
against the principal railroads implicated.
20 restrain them from giving preference
to any shipper in the rates or facilities
of transportation. In March last. there
were instituted by the government. in the
United States circuit court at Chicago,
sin suits IN equity against OFFENDING rail-
road companies: and. simultaneously,
eight additional suits We're begun against
other railroads at Kansas City In each
instance. temporary injunctions We're
granted, which are still in force restrain
ing the defendant railroads from paying
any rebates or granting amy preferences
whatever to any shipper, 50 that all per-
sons should stand on an even footing in
respect of transportation over the en-
Joined roads.
1t was not practicable. of course, nor
desirable, to bring Injunction suits
against all the railroads i'm the United
States. but it was believed in thus pro-
ceeding against fourteen of the most in
fuental lines. and having the interlocu-
tory decree of two very eminent Federal
Judges to the effect that the facts alleged
in the bills entitled the government to the
powerful remedy of Injunction, that the