Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1903-01-29

community of interests. The fact
that the coal trust exists is notorious,
and its character is universally under
stood. A former Attorney General of
the United States, Richard Olney, on
October II last, in public address at
Boston. said that the members of the
trust are the most unblushing and
persistent of law breakers and he
thus specified:
+" For years they aave deied the
law Of Pennsylvania, which forbids
common carriers engageing in the
business Of mining. For years they
have Disseminated between customers
in the freight charges on their rail-
roads, in violation of the interstate
commerce law. For years they have
unlawfully monopolized interstate COM
merce, in violation Of the Sherman
antitrust law
"Senator Spooner OF Wisconsin,
member of your own party, high in
your confidence, in last Mondays de-
bate on the Jones resolution directing |
the Attorney General to transmit to
the Senate the evidence presented to
him by me proving that d conspiracy
in restraint of interstate trade exists,
said: 4 have been of the opinion that
probably there is such a conspiracy
And he added that If there be such a
conspiracy it Is one that should be
prosecuted as one absolutely wicked in
its character and far reaching in its
deleterious effects. If one
does exist it is very merciless one,
violating the laws of the United States
and most harmful in every way
"You, Mr.. President, can have no
doubt OF the existence of this con-
spiracy, but If there should chance to
remain in your mind any such doubt,
/ suggest that you remove it by per-
sonally examining the evidence which
I placed in possession of your Attorney
General in October. Sir, these men
OF the coal trust, enormously rich and
politically influential as they may be,
are criminals. They swell their great
fortunes daily by deliberate law break
ing. And while your Attorney Gen
eral has remained 80 strangely quies-
cent these opulent and politically in
fuential criminals have adopted an old
trust device for the double purpose OF
further plundering the public and lay
ing the bases for a fraudulent defense
against the evidence now in the hands
of the Attorney General should he be-
gin proceedings against them. A pre-"
tended division between them and the
so-called independent operators has
been arranged. whereby these So
called independents, who are utterly
in the power of the trust, shall seem
to compete with the trust, and so pre-
pare the ground for false contention
that the trust Is not monopoly, but
Legitimate business organization sub
ject to competition. AS the immediate
result of this counterfeit rivalry the
price Of coal has been doubled.
GAS citizen regardful of the public
welfare, Mr.. President, l respectfully
represent to you that the law officer OF
your administration has been, and is,
remiss in his duty in not proceeding
against the coal trust on the evidence
of its unlawful character supplied by
me to him last year. By that failure
in duty he has encouraged the coal
| trust to take advantage of situation
largely of its own creation, not merely
to persist in its customary pillage Of
the people, but to enormously increase
the scale of its extortion. The sub
mission of evidence to your Attorney
General and my appeal to apply the
law to the coal trust having up to this
time resulted in no action on his part,
turn from him to you. In your pub
lie speeches and messages, Mr.. Presi-
dent, you haye often declared your
conviction that the great combinations
OF capital commonly known as trusts
should be subjected to the fullest pub
licity and brought within the regulat-
ing control OF the law, to the end that
the public, while profting by the con-
centration OF capital in business, may
be protected against the incidental evil
effects OF that concentration. | sub
NIT, sir, that there is no other COM
bination of capital In the country more
contemptuous OF law than the coal
trust And I further submit that the
most effective method Of subjecting it
to publicity is to bring it into court to
answer for Its illegal offences. The
/ Attorney Genera of the United States
is your servant. He must obey your
command or give way to successor
who will do 30.
| II appeal to you, therefore, Mr..
President, to command your Attorney