Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1906-03-13
Decision Against Paper Trust
Is Far Reaching in Its
Application
BEARS HARD ON THE PACKERS
Supreme Court Decides That Officers
of Trusts May Not Avoid Testifyins
in Cases Where Combinations Are
Being Prosecuted Under the Sherman
Anti Trust Law.

Washington, March 13--In an opin-
ION by Justice McKenna, the supreme
court Of the United States Monday aft
ernoon decided the cases against the
witnesses in the paper trust cases
against them. holding that they should
answer the questions propounded to
them In the proceedings against the al
legged trust brought by the government.
The cases originated in Minnesota and
Wisconsin. The Wisconsin cases were
dismissed for want Of jurisdiction,
While In the Minnesota cases the YER
dict OF the court for the district Of Min
nesota was affirmed.
The proceedings In these cases was
an effort on the part of the officers of
the General Paper Company, common
~ known as the Western Paper Trust,
to avoid testifying in the governments
prosecution of that company under the
sherman anti-trust law. The original
action, out of which the cases grew
was Instituted for the district of Min
nesota In December, 1904 but the
transaction involved in the cases, de-
cided yesterday by supreme court, took
place in Milwaukee May 6 last. before
an examiner sent to that city to take
testimony in the proceeding against
the paper trust.
According to this decision the beef
trust and Its officials are not immune
from punishment because Of an exam
ination of the books of the corporation
by Commissioner Garfield. II is of
monumental Importance. Its applica-
ton extends to every corporation whose
books and papers may be examined by
the government. 1t means the investi-
CATION of the Standard OH, steel trust.
and anthracite coal trust, which the
department OF commerce and labor has
been making for the last year, will per-
NIT prosecutions Of corporations and
some of their officials.
1t means also that Investigations into
the relations Of the railroads and the
Standard Oil company and the rail-
roads and the bituminous and anthra-
cite coal mines will not be as innocu-
Gus as the president feared when he
signed the joint resolution authorizing
the investigation. Those companies
must produce the books II the court
orders them to do So and corporations
and their officials can be prosecuted
for any violation of the law that may
be discovered
So far as the beef packers are con-
cerned, 1t is said at the department of
justice that the paper trust decision
had a distinct application to them
",rhe beef packers claim immunity"
it was said, ION the ground the books
of their corporation were examined by
Commissioner Garfield; therefore the
corporation was immune from prosecu-
ton, and the officers of the corporation
were immune because of the examina-
ton Of the books Attorney General
Moody has opposed always that con-
tentiorl, and he is upheld by the SUI
preme court. The decision in the paper
trust case shows conclusively that i'm
rnunity applies only to those officers
of the corporation who have been sub
poenaed and compelled to answer In
such a. case the matter is personal and
the immunity law implies"