The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1905-06-29
WASHINGTON.
From our Regular Correspondent.

Washington, d. c., June %, 1906
There can hardly fail to follow
severe criticism of President Roose-
Welt because of his failure to per
NIT the special counsel retained by
the Government to conduct the
prosecution of the rebate case
against the Santa Fe Railroad to
prosecute also Paul Morton who
was a vice preside"t of the road
and had special charge of all freight
arrangements when the rebates
were granted by his subordinates
in hagrant violation of the law.
Messrs Harmon and Judson, who
were retained as such special conn
sci, wrote the Attorney General a
letter on June S, which clearly es-
tablishes the soundness of their
reasoning which is, that if prosecu-
tions of this character are confined
solely to the corporations the gov
ernment can never hope to put an
end to the abuses. They argue
that unquestionably certain
amount of blame must have de.
volved upon Mr.. Morton, for not
preventing, even if he did not in
stigate, such violation by his subor-
dinates. They claim, moreover,
that while they would not accuse
Morton of completely, they would
compel him to come into court and
there prove, if he could, his inno-
cence of the blame which appears
to rest on him. Inferentially they
argue that unless the officials of
large corporations are made to ap'
preciate that they are themselves
liable to prosecution, while they
may refrain from directly instruct
ing that the law be violated. they
will net abstain from commencing
the agent who brings in the largest
amount of business and will not in
quire too closely into the methods
by which he obtained it.
~
The attitude of the President is
chiefly that Mr.. Morton has as
sured him that he was i'll no way
responsible for the rebates and that
he does not for a moment doubt
the word Of his SecretarJ of the
Navy. The President adds how
ever, as if it condoned the present
course of the Department of JUS
tice, that it has not been the Gus
tom of that Department in the past
TO prosecute the officers or cor
poratiou caught violating the law
unless there was some evidence to
show that such officers were direct
ly responsible. The President ig-
nores, Of course, that he is in this
instance merely adding one more
case to establish a pernicious pre-
cedent. The President also main
tains that the fact that Mr.. Nor
ton came willingly before the In
terstate Commerce Commission and
there gave evidence which proved
of the utmost value to the govern
ment in enacting effective laws
against the rebate system, that he
should be shown somewhat more
than ordinary consideration.
Xxx
The President is also certain to
come in for criticism for his course
with regard to the Bowen-L Loomis
affairs. 1t is true that Bowen did
not establish his case against Loom
is and that he unquestionably de-
served dismissal for his course with
regard to his superior officer, the
Assistant Secretary Of State. But
it is equally true that Mr.. Loomis
was shown to have been guilty OF
an indiscretion which an unpreju-
diced Judge must have regarded as
ample to warrant his severance
from the diplomatic service OF the
government. 1t was, according to
Secretary Taft, clearly established
that Secretary Loomis purchased
interests which, had he not been
recalled from Venezuela, he must
have represented before the Vene-
zuelan Government in his capacity
of Minister of the United States.
Secretary Taft does censure this
course on the part of the Secretary,
but if the President had preserved
his usual severe course of dealing
with anything savoring of dishon-
esty on the part of officials of the
government he must have suggest