Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-04-09
A SWEEPING VICTORY.
Attorney General Knox's Efforts for
the People Were answering.

Assistant ATTORNEY General William A.
Dav who had charge of the affair, said at
3 O'Clock this afternoon that the result
of the suit was of the greatest moment to
the government.
He said it was the most Vltai SUIT
brought by the government against any
private or public corporation in the jude
ial history of the country. ,
Late one afternoon in February. 1902,
he said Attorney General Knox publicly
announced that he had given an opinion 10
the President that the Northern Securities
Company, which had secured control OF the
Great Northern and Northern Paclnc ran
ways was an unlawful combination In re-
straint of commerce between the states,
and monopoly, and that he would at once
prepare bill for its dissolution.
Produced Great Alarm.
when the Northern Securities Company
was formed it produced great alarm ana
CONSERVATION among the people OF the
northern Ter of states lying between Lake
Superior and the Pacific ocean.
.'These states were entirely dependent
upon the two roads in question for the
transportation of their crops and products
to market. 1t was regarded as such
menace to their prosperity that the COVER
nors of those states met at Helena, Mont,
to take such steps as were pracucapie 10
prevent the consummation of the proposed
monopoly and they invoked the aid OF the
federal
Prior to that appeal the President had
asked the opinion of the Attorney General
whether the Northern Securities Company
was in violation of any federal law
Pending examination of the facts ana
law, there appeared in some of the news
papers a statement that this merger
scheme was beyond the reach of the red
eral power. Confronted with this opinion
and the fact that the organization OF the
scheme embraced the most powerful imam
cial men in Wall street 1t required cour-
age and fidelity to the public interest
to antagonize it. However, the Attorney
General met the situation, maintaining
that no disguise Of monopoly, whether act
ing behind the mask OF a state charter
or through the conspiracy of frelght
traffic association could successfully NULL
fy the declared policy of the Union. 80,
pursuant to the opinion to the President
the suit was Instituted ana perslstehtly
pressed to a trial.
Knox Was Uncompromising.
1.-The patient and exhaustive labors IN
volved in his uncompromising pursuit OF
this conspiracy to monopolize the trans
continental traffic can only be appreciated
by those whom the Attorney Genreal Sc
lected as his aids In this great work.
THE Judgment of the court in the
Northern Securities case is one of far
reaching consequences and reafhrms the
right of the people to be free from the
slavery of monopoly and establ shes Tor all
time the high purpose, courage and legal
wisdom of Attorney General Knox and his
title to place in the front rank OF Amerl-
can lawyers.
And 1t was due alone to his prescience
that the special tribunal was created to try
this and other like cases of great public
moment. He perceived how closely inter-
woven with the general prosperity were the
abuses of monopoly and combination.
And appreciating the jeopardy to COM
mercial and industrial interests of long de-
l,,re to AVID of day,h
certainties concerning the operation of the
antitrust law he, during the Christmas
holidays, conceived law which requires
not less than three circuit judges, instead
of one, as heretofore, to speedily try such
cases and give them precedence over all
others
"As a result of that law and within two
months of its enactment the country has
the decision of four United States circuit
Judges, three of whom have had many
years of most distinguished service on the
bench and who rank high among the most
eminent judges of our time.
Resolved Into Certainty.
by this decision doubt has been resolved
into certainty and all may know the limits
to which such combinations in restraint of
commerce may go. A monopoly aimed at
the entire transcontinental and trans-Pa-
cihc transportation Is broken, and the COM
bination is resolved into its original ele-
ments, with the decree of the law that they
shall compete.
Cool and deliberate. unerring in judg-
ment indefatigable and relentless when
once enlisted in a cause, the country is to
be congratulated in this epoch OF CONNER
cial and industrial revolution that has at
the head Of its judicial department such a
great constitutional lawyer and such a
faithful and patriotic servant as Attorney
General Knox.
THE Attorney Generals victory in this
great case is not merely legal triumph.
This case has been fought to success that
the people might be saved from paying
tribute to monopoly; that the lines of trans
portatfon for persons and property might
be kept open. and that legitimate compNsA