Omaha daily bee., 1906-03-26
EFFEor OF THE IMMUNITY DECISION

EFFECT OF THE IMMUNITY DECISION
The decision Of Judge Humphrey in
the beef packers case has involved the
government i'm a dilemma, the serious
ness Of which may naturally be for the
time exaggerated by the executive Off
Gals. but which has already caused them
to call halt In investigating the meth
DDS Of the new Department of Com
MERGE When that department was ere
ated there were great expectations of
benefit from the inquiry for which it
deliberately provided into the operations
Of great corporations and trusts as re-
CARDS information of sociological inter
est and valuable as a basis for legisla-
ton Therefore the law provided amply
for compelling the officers and agents
Of corporations to testify and give to the
government access to all records and
means of information, and the new de-
partment was no sooner organized than
it began to employ these powers i'm in
vestigating the big packing corporations,
under express requirement of congress
by resolution, although prior to that
time the Department of Justice was
independently preparing to prosecute
criminally officers of the same corpora
tions under the antitrust law.
Obviously, if compliance with the re-
qurements of the Department of Com
merce for information cOnfers immunity
in criminal cases involving the same
subject matter as Judge Humphrey
seems to hold broadly. it will be neces-
sary for the government to proceed
with great caution. Indiscriminate en-
ployment of the powers of that depart
ment would simply be to raise impass-
able barriers across the path OF the
Department of Justice in pursuit of the
very class of offenders whom the public
interest requires to be punished and the
punishment Of whom has been found
exceedingly difficult under the most
favorable circumstances
The effect of the original procedure
OF the Department of Commerce has
proved fatal in the criminal cases
against the packers. to which the De-
partment of Justice devoted so much
energy. but fortunately that procedure
had not been taken with most of the
great trade combinations which are be-
! lieved to have violated the antitrust
law and other laws to prevent restraint
of trade. Some of the Standard Oil
! officials may also escape, but the Sugar,
/ Steel, Tobacco. Lumber and Paper
| trusts and a great number of others are
vet open to attack through indictment
Of their officers and agents for any crimi-
nal acts of which they have been guilty.
! In short. under Judge Humphreys de-
cision it is necessary for both depart
ments to act in harmony with reference
TO immunity The Department of Com.
merce. i'm all its Investigations i'm which
the question of criminal prosecution may
possibly arise, will have to take care not
to sacrifice the interests of the Depart
ment of Justice. The general line OF
inquiry is already fOreshadowed by the
reports from Washington to the effect
that Commissioner Garfield will keep q
record Of the action of his bureau touch
ing corporation witnesses. and these viii
be summoned only by subpoena and
after scrutiny of the effect of immunity
in each case. thus saving the rights OF
the government for criminal prosecution
or securing minimum sacrifice of thes,
rights.
While valuable public information
may thus be delayed or narrowed for q
time, indispensable legal testimony will
be saved. but there seems to be for til,
government no other way out