The Aberdeen Democrat. (Aberdeen, South Dakota) 1???-1909, 1903-01-16
WASHINGTON NEWS
The Proposition tc Take the Coal Mines
an Administration Measure.
nearst's strcns Appeal to the President

.an9 IN the 6ouSc
on Jan. s, 10y Representative
Jenkins. Chairman of the Judiciary
Committee, came IS 6 surprise to ILL
dictate another change oil program al
the White House. Heretofore Pres
ident Roosevelt has taken pains to
have it announced that there would
be no Administration bills and that
Congress would act on its own iniatiye
or not at all.
1t should be remarked here that
these bills indicate that the president
has abandoned his proposition to
amend the constitution ard also his
great publicity remedy for trusts.
Because Of democratic agitation the
tide against trusts is now running
s strong and the necessity for some
action or show of action, has become
SO imperative, that two antitrust
bills have been launched by the Ad-
ministration with unusal publicity.
These hills, if they should become
law, would neither benefit the people
nor harm the trusts. The most rad
ical proposals in these bills are:
1. To amend the interstate com
'merce law so as to punish alike rail-
roads that give and shippers who, re-
ceive differential freight rates.
2. To amend the Sherman Anti
trust law SO that it will reach corpo-
ration and combinations which pro-
duce wholly in n state but whose
products enter interstate comerce.
There are indications that the big
railroads would be only too willing
to have rate cutting stopped. Their
profits would be greatly increased if
secret rebates were not generally
given to big shippers. Unable to
keep faith with each other. many
of them will welcome the aid of the
government. Hence. if successful
the bill would simply increase freight
rates, to some and would enable the
railroads to collect exorbitant rates.
instead of compelling them to give
reasonable rates to all shippers.
The proposed laws are rendered in.
effective and harmless to the trusts
by the provision that the Attorney
General may file" with the clerk OF
a circuit court a certificate that "in
his opinion the cast is of general i'm.
%portance." Thisproviso is fatal when,
as always happens under a republican
admin istration, the Attorney Gen.
eral is a friend and tool of the rail.
roads and trusts.
There was filed with Attorney Gen.
eral Knox, one year ago, a petition
against the Continental Tobacco
Company, stating facts amounting to
violation of the Sherman antitrust
law. Thefacts were plain and showed
that the officials of this trust were
conspirators and criminals. The At
torney General exercised his preroga-
tive and no criminal or otherproceed-
ings were begun against this trust.
Similar facts in regard to the An
thracite Coal trust were put in the
hands Of the Attorney General. more
than four months ago, by Mr.. w. r.
Hearst. In an open letter to the
President, in the New York American
ofJan. Sth., Mr.. Hearst says:
in the judgment of lawyers whose
professional competency is quite as
u%ndispnted as that of your Attorney
General. those proofs if presented in
court would suffice to dissolve the
coal Trust and subject it's members
to the civil and criminal penalties
provided by law. Continuously since
the submission of those proofs. the
Coal Trust has robbed the people.
exofting famine prices for coal, a
: prime necessity Of industrial and
domestic life, yet no action against
this trust has been taken by your
Acknowledgement for the enforcement
of the laws and the relief of the pub
lie.
"lappeal toyou, therefore. Nh. Pres
ident. to command your Attorney
General to proceed against the Coal
Trust, both civilly and criminally.
on the evidence of its unlawful acts
laid before him by me. or explain to
the people of the United States his
reasons for not doing, so if reasons
suitable for public ayowal he has.
The people of the United States.
President Roosevelt, have a right to
expect action from you against the
trusts ingeneral, and the Coal Trust
in particular. Noconspicuous public
man OF your party has so vehemently
as Yourself expressed a desire to pro-
tect the public from spoliatien at
The hands OF combinations of preda-
tury capital. Aud you have well said
that words are good when backed up
by deeds and only so.n
The bills are fakes and bluffs. They
would not reduce railroad rates: they
leave the power of initiative in the
hands Of the Acknowledgement.