Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1903-02-02
Roosevelt's Ideas Were Clearly
Set Out in the Two Knox
Bills
HE SITUATION is OUTLINED
While President Would Prefer to See
Knox Bills Become Law, Some of the
Provisions Embodied in the Nelson
and Other Bills Arc Fairly Salts
factory and Would Be Accepted.

and conflicting measures looking to the
regulation of trusts are pending in both
houses that the situation is likely to be
obscured. and in order to obtain in
formation of the desires of the presi-
dent. who has been forced in order to
have anything accomplished to take the
lead In this matter. the New York
Herald today sought and obtained an
authoritative exposition of the attitude of
the administration. says Washington
dispatch to the Herald. The statement
OF the administrations attitude follows:
The situation is about as follows:
After the attorney general had given
the judiciary committee OF the senate
and house the information for which
they asked. at the request of the chair
man of the house Judiciary committee
he put certain of his suggestions into
the form OF two bil,s which are now
known as the Knox bills. One of these
bills forbids the giving or ticking of
railroad rebates or the departing from
published rates by n carrier thru any
device whatever. and clothes the courts
with civil and criminal jurisdiction over
the subject, both to restrain such prac-
tees and to punish them.
The other bill provides for publicity
require reports from corporations en-
gagged in interstate commerce. to inves-
tigate their organization and business
methods and to compel testimony. At
the time these bills we're drafted 1T was
not certain that the department of COM
merce would be provided for at this ses-
sion.
The bill to create department OF
commerce has passed both houses and
is now in conference, and what is
known as the Nelson amendment to
that bill provides for bureau of corr
porations in that department, with 8
comnfi ssioner in charge upon whom 1t
IS proposed to confer substantially the
same power Of investigation and In
quiry to secure publicity which the
Knox bill imposes upon the special
commission and which the present in
terstate commerce commission already
exercises relative to railroads.
thinks that in reference to the particu-
lar steps to be taken as well as to the
language used. the Knox bills are pref
cradle to other pending measures.
the Nelson amendment is
accepted as satisfactorily carrying out
the purpose Of securing information and
providing an agency &c this end.
"The Elkins bill in the senate and
certain sections OF the Littlefield bill
in the house are directed against the
offering or accepting of rebates sub
stantially upon the lines suggested by
Mr.. Knox in the first section of his
bill and cover the ground on that point.
.'The third measure suggested by the
attorney general is the bill to expidlteS
the hearing and determination of cases
under the Sherman law. This bill Is
intended to enable the attorney general
to secure the original hearing by full
bench Of the circuit Judges in suits
brought by the United States under the
antitrust law, whenever the attorney
general shall certify to the court that
questions OF great public Importance
are involved.
"The bill provides for an appeal di-
rectly to the supreme court of the
United States in pending and future
cases. Instead of pursuing the ordin-
airy delays of trial, before one judge
only, and an appeal to an intermed-
late court OF appeals, and thence to the
supreme court, a speedy trial in cases
Of such Importance to the entire coun-
try before not less than three judges
with direct appeal to the supreme
court, is public necessity.
.Ir is the belief of the administra-
ton that the features of the pending
legislation which are above indicated,
ought to pass and will pass at the
current session of congress, thru the
adoption Of one or more of the pend
ing ,ne;a s,lyas"