New-York tribune., 1906-10-01

The American people need TO proceeo'
con bv step without halt and without hurry
tn eliminating. or at least in minimizing' Wnato
ever Of mischief or of evil there is to interstate
commerce in the conduct Of the great corpora
tons.
The President said much more on this. sun
tect and quoted at length from the speech o. d
-ailvav president favoring publicity as opposed
N secrecy n the policy Of the great corpora
,,o,s hut the tone of the President throughout
u,ss so moderate. so conservative, that 'he op-
-oetion press Immediately heralded the lacl
.ha+ he had succumbed 10 corporate lhIluehoe
- .rat the trusts had nothing to fear from
w. Roosevelt administration. II the trusts De-
reved the opposition press they have SINCE Ell
.-ea annie opportunity TO learn that that part
:. tho rress which described President Roose-
ii. &C Iukewarn or as only half in earnest
os itself deceived or at least oecelNeu It's
readers. ...,o J.,
The record Of the Roosevelt administration IN
,rosacutine trusts for violations Of the sherman
a,+t-tr,,st and the Elkns ant-rebate laws mas
never been equalled in the history OF the ha'ioh
end in view OF the lessons which are pells
.suert the corporations probably never VIII DC
again. 60 ,r
-osad and imprisonment inflicted. and the end Is
Co fror, being reached. Some of the greatest
,ovr on tenterhooks as the result OF suits
80 prosecutions instituted by the Department
- 1,stfce and in all parts of the country dis
.s. attorneys and specially retained counsel
ara seeking and acquiring evidence on Which 10
.ose rrosecutions or insure convictions IN cases
already undertaken %
indictments covering between 9,o'' anu ~
0oo counts have been found against the stand
ord oil Company. the minimum penalty IN each
court heing $4,000 and the maximum sZo'VVo'
Eminent counsel has been retained ana Is en-
qaqa5 in prosecuting the Fertilizer Trust. sun
others are engaged, among them the olstih-
grished Republican nominee Tor Governor VI
s. vorl, in prosecuting the Coal Trust. The
prosecution Of the Drug Trust is weH uhoer
NAV as are also those Of the Sugar and Tobacco
trusts and still other prosecutions are contem-
plated.
NEW TRUST PROSECUTIONS.
The Department Of Justice necessarily works
Quietly and unostentatiously and makes no an
,7o~noernert Of its plans until suits actually
instituted. but careful inquiry leads to the de-
cison that the Gunpowder Trust, the Watch
Trust. the Furniture Trust. the Sewer Pipe
Trust the Cement Trust and several others are
hooked for. prosecution as soon as evidence al
~eady acquired can be digested and the cases
prepared.
Nor can il be asserted that these prosecutions
are instituted or pressed for political effect,
merely 10 be nolle pressed when certain politi-
cal crises have passed. The record speaks for
itself Since the President uttered the words
above quoted fines aggregating nearly 100000
have been collected from violators Of one or the
other Of the antitrust laws, and hundreds of
cases a considerable number Of which must re-
suit in fines are still pending.
Here is partial list Of the fines and penalties
recently imposed:
Wells & Price, Kentucky October IS,
1so6), for false billing and weighing SlS'ooo
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railway
rybjisbe5 rates ........9..7.......... 5000
Zorn ct al October ., 1s05), for receiV-
fe55lnts s rgD1'es slO1o ea''. ..-.e 8,O75
Price & wells. kentucky March 13.
1905). for conspiracy in restraint OF
trade, fined s1,025 each; Two defend
ants .-..-....... -'0'O
Thomas & Taggart. Missouri June p.
1860 for. conspiracy 10 obtain rebates,
fined $4,000 and $4,000. respectively.
Thomas sentenced TO six months in
n iaii ''=' '''ii''7i',o - '.'.. 10000
for r@cef,,jna rebate9. 5000
Armour Packing Company, Missouri
fned Tq,i7 -',o' i' i7'...'@ $1,000
Cudahy Parking Company. Missouri
fna5 -5j7 - I'00, io 's,'''. $1,000
% iaoSi for reca,ving rebates. fined 5000
for coDsIrar @ l,;'tiio TO obtain rebates fined $4,000
Chicago Burlington & Quincy Railway
et al (April 20, 1906) for granting and
cbicaeo burlington & Quincy fined 10000
>TiI1aT cd 10000
Pernharo fined Observation-Disclosures. 10000
Atchison TopelSa e santa Fe Railway
June, l906), for granting rebates, fined l5'Voo
In addition to these cases, there also were
number Of instances where suit was brought TO
compel defendants 70 furnish testimony which.
in the first instance they refused TO do, and in
almost every instance the final decision of the
courts has been favorable TO the government.
MAJORITY OF SUITS PENDING.
No statement Of the cases already disposed OF,
however. begins 10 tell the story Of the admins
tration's activity against the law breaking
trusts for the reason that a large majority Of
the suits brought are still pending in the courts.
The following list, showing the more important
cases brought during the Roosevelt admnistra-
ton. and still pending. may convey some idea
Of the thorOughness Of the governments efforts
to enforce the law. These suits are against:
Cincinnati Hamilton & Dayton Railroad Com
pany. temporary injunction granted in NoVem-
be-, 1909: final decision still pending; ,,,-
Southern Pacific Railroad et al; still pending
Mobile & Ohio Railroad Company; still pend
ing
Chicago & Northwestern Railroad, Illinois
Central. Michigan Central. Pennsylvania COM
pany Pittsburg. Cincinnati. Chicago St
Louis Railroad and Lake Shore Michigan
Southern Railroad. to enjoin departure from
published rates: temporary injunction granted
on June . 1903: final decision still pending.
Failhorn et al. Missouri indicted for granting
Rebates on December II. 1909: case pending.
Great Northern Railroad Company. indicted ior
Granting rebates, December ii, lbo: case pend
ing