Omaha daily bee., 1906-06-26
REGULATING Immunity BATHS"
Congress- strRiHhtena the TNnEle
Caused by Previous Laws.

New 1Ork Tribune.
Congress has wisely undertaken at this
session to regulate the conditions under
which witnesses in proceedings intended ~
enforce the antitrust and interstate COM
merce laws may enjoy the luxury Of an
Immunity bath" Not a little complain;
was made At tho wholesale distribution ~
bath tickets resulting from an instruction
given by Judge J. o. Humphrey OF the
southern district Of Illinois in the beef
packers case. His Interpretation Of the
immunity provisions Of the acts Of Feb
ruary II, 1899; February H. 1908. and Feb
ruary 10, 1903, has been criticised by the
president the attorney general and by
members Of both branches Of congress. II
has also been dissented from by other
United states judges. owing to the tech
nicalities Of our procedure. the verdict re-
turned against the government at Chicago
could not be carried to a higher court for
review and elucidation and to bring order
out Of this confusion congress has under
taken to declare more explicitly who arc
and who are not TO be entitled to the
cleansing processes Of the immunity
douche
AS a first step the embarrassing liuta-
ton on the governments right Of appeal
has been removed and Il may now claim
the privilege allowed to it's opponents in
court OF carrying a case decided against It
to a higher tribunal. Hereafter a ruling
like Judge Humphreys will not have %
be accepted 1nal. The senate and house
have also passed bills defining and narrow
ing the immunity grants Of the three laws
referred to. BY Judge Humphreys inter
probation immunity seemed to extend auto
matically TO all persons who contributed
pressure to help the government make out
a case. No distinction could be drawn.
either between natural persons and cor
porate bodies, and the government was put
in the position Of having absolved from
prosecution an army of possible defend
ants whom II had no intention OF treating
as witnesses in the narrow sense. The
senate bill drafted by Senator Knox
adopted the distinction between natural per-
sons and corporations which the supreme
court of the United States has recently
emphasized, and excluded corporate bodies
as such from all immunity privileges. A
corporation. being n creature OF law and
organized for public purposes, can have no
just claim TO protection against the gov
eminent when that protection is invoked
to cover misdeeds. The house bill pre-
serves this distinction, and insofar the
proposed legislation is a distinct advance
toward the suppression of corporation
abuses.
The house has gone a little further than
| tho senate, perhaps, in discrediting the
theory OF automatic operation. for It limits
immunity strictly to two classes OF natural
persons the witness on the part of the
| government who testihes on oath and the
! witness who, in obedience TO a subpoena
produces relevant evidence Testimony
/ given formally and without legal service
will not entitle the giver to legal absolu-
! ton. The differences between the two
/ houses will be easily adjusted in confer
ence, for 1t is the policy of both to estab.
fish clear and definite standard, so that
the government will know when II con-
fers immunity and the people who give
| testimony or produce written evidence will
know when they are entitled to immunity
| Assurance of this sort cannot but be as
welcome to the witness as 1t will be to the
governments investigating and prosecuting
agents.