The Washington herald., 1906-12-16
JOKER In RATE LAW?
Doubt as to Why Section 10
Was Inserted.
MAY AFFORD IMMUNITY BATH
If Contention of standard Oil Com
pany I'm Chicago Case Is Upheld,
VioIntOrs Of Commerce Acts Must
FaiI-TO Push Appeal Bill.

! Administration OHlClalS are intensely m
! terested in the contention of the Standard
Oil Company's counsel that that concern
/ Is immune from punishment for viola
/ tion of the Elklns act and the interstate
| commerce act prior to August 2S OF the
/ present year. The plea made by the de-
/ fendant company in the case brought
against It in Chicago leads TO the belief
that the rate law enacted by the last
session OF Congress either contains
Joker" or was so carelessly framed as
to prevent the prosecution Of numerous
powerful corporations.
1 The Joker" If there Is one, is TO be
/ found in section 10 of the rate law. which
provides that all laws and parts OF laws
/ in conflict with the provisions Of this
act are hereby repealed; but the amend
ments herein provided for shall not affect
/ causes now pending in courts of the
/ United States, but such cases shall be
| prosecuted to a conclusion in the man
/ ner heretofore provided by law"
/ John II. Miller, attorney for the Stand
ara oil Company is the man who is re-
sponsible for the claim that this pro-
vision Of the law with which Congress
wrestled so long and arduously during
| the last session operates as an immu-
/ Mtg bath The claim is based on the pc
/ culiar circumstances attending the desig-
nation Of a date for the statute TO be-
come effective. The rate bin was finally
/ passed on June % the next to the last
/ day Of the last session. 1t was found
/ to be impracticable 10 put It into effect
/ at once, 50 on the following day. June 30,
/ Just before the session closed, a joint
! resolution was rushed through providing
/ that the act Of the preceding day should
not go into effect until August 2S-in
other words, not until after a lapse Of
sixty days.
Repealed for Twenty-fOur Hours.
The contention of the Standard Oil
/ Company is that during the twenty-four
hours intervening between the final pass
age Of the bin and the adoption Of the
resolution delaying the date on which it
was to become effective, the old Elkins
law was repealed, and that all acts which
il declared to be violations Of the law,
which had not then reached the stage Of
! causes pending in courts Of the United
/ States were necessarily wiped out. The
/ adoption of the joint resolution resusCi-
| taJed the Elkins law for d period Of two
months, it is argued, but any at
/ tempt TO prosecute under il concerns
( which had not actually been brought into
1 court would make II retroactive. In short.
/ the contention Of the Standard counsel
is that by reason Of the manner In which
the new rate law was made applicable.
immunity was granted all concerns or
%.
old law prior TO August % provided that
the cases against such concerns had not
already been brought before the courts.
The law officers Of the government do
not -concede that the point made by the
| Standards counsel Is well taken They
/ express the opinion that the court az Chi
| cago will not permit all the numerous in
dictments now pending 10 be done away
with as a result Of such a technical
/ showing, but viii c5nstrue the act broad
". In other quarters it IS suggested
that the circumstances Of the suit having
been initiated under criminal statutes
/ Will have q tendency to prevent such an
Interpretation, and that as a result the
| Standard OH Company and many other
alleged violators Of the law Will be able
to escape over the technical bridge they
are attempting 10 build.
NoN eFnmentS One Hope
Section 13 of the Revised Statutes is be
ing depended on by the government Off
cials to confound the oil trust That sec
tion provides that the repeating OF any
statute shall not effect a release from pen
alties or liabilities incurred under such
statute. unless the repeating act shall so
expressly provide. This is the sole hope
Of the government, and if it does not
prove effective, the prosecution Of the oil
trust and many others must, apparently,
fail a dozen or more big actions already
instituted will be affected by the holding
Of the Chicago court in the oil company
case. Among other defendants are the
Western Transit Company the American
Sugar Refining Company of New York,
the New York Central and Hudson River
Railway Company. the Delaware, Lack
awanna and Western Railway Company
: c GOOdlOe, Edgar Earl. and Edwin Earl,
lof the American Sugar Refining Company
and the Northern Steamship Company
Attorney Miller insists that the words
causes now pending in the courts spe-
officially indicate just what cases Congress
desired prosecuted to their logical con-
clusiOn. and what should be allowed to
lapse. Because Of this alleged specific
designation, he contends that the pro-
visions OF section 13 of the Revised
Statutes cannot be made to apply in the
action against the oil trust
Nobody seems 20 know who is response
bic for the paragraph which, according
to Miller, gives so many alleged violators
Of the law an immunity bath. Tt seems
to have been the understanding of the
Senate that section 10 was put in merely
to simplify the methods OF prosecution
Whether or not its author realized the eff
; feet it might have is a question which
may never be answered.
VIII Push Appeal Bill.
One of the results Of the embarrassing
attitude in which the government finds
itself will be a vigorous effort TO have
Congress, during the few days it will be
In session before adjournment for the hol
idays, enact into law the bill giving tht
government the right TO appeal in crimi
nal cases. This bill has passed the House
Kenesaw Mountain Landis brother OF
the two Landises in the House, is the
Chicago judge upon whose decision of the
, point made by Attorney Miller so much
rests.