The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1906-04-27
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Washington Notes

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Washington D. &. April 10, 1905.
Quite the most important move
of the government recently was the
announcement of the Attorney
General this week that Chas. E.
Hughes Of insurance investigation
fame, and Alexander Simpson Jr..
q prominent lawyer of Philadelphia,
had been retained az special counsel
for the government in the cases
about to be instituted against the
coal and oil roads for violation OF
various antitrust laws. It is said
that the Department of Justice
already has in it's possession facts
that warrant criminal prosecution
of number Of the big trunk lines
for violations of the Interstate
Commerce Law, the Sherman Anti
Trust Law and the Elkins ANTI
Rebate Law. The prosecution on is
! to be directed principally against
the 80 called ''hard coal combine"
in the Pennsylvania anthracite
region and the ''soft coal combine
around Pittsburg and southwark.
It is promised that the testimony
will be a revelation as to the
enormous profit that the railroads
have made out of the transportation.
of the coal that they practically and
in many cases actually own.
Some of the facts have been in the
possession of the Departments Of
Justice for some time past and there
are others that have been ELECTED
since the Interstate Commerce.
Com mission has been hearing testi-,
mony in Philadelphia and Balti-
more on the subject of the coal and
oil roads as directed by the T1llman-s
Gillespie resolution. The SO hear
ings are just started and will b.
continued at Washington, Pittsburg
and other points where Che Com
mission thinks there is information
worth getting. The information
will finally be turned over to the
Department of Justice to aid IN the!
prosecution of the cases, but the
President is determined that there
shall be no such 6asco as wound up
the cases of the Beef Packers who
prosecution with the plea Of
having furnished the government
with tho information on which it
to base it's cases. ~
j. There is revival of the third term
talk in the case of President It is I
being said that his recent utterancest
on the subject of an income and an
tax, the special message
to Congress on the failure of the law
in the packers cases and the prepara- I
tons for the coal road prosecutions
are all intended to enhance his
and force the Republican
party to press on him the Presi-
Dental nomination in 1908. What
may develope by 1908 is very hard
to tell. But up to date the Presi-
dent has laughed at all of the third
term talk and put it aside with the
remark that he had made one an
on the subject of a
third term and that he did not in
TEND to make any more. In rela-
ton to the income tax speech, how
ever, there has been a remarkable
displayed on the part of
many people who were not
authorized to speak for the Presi-
dent, in explaining that he did not
mean at all what he said in the now
famous speech. This is not the
that has been gained by
to the White House who
have talked with. the President
He has not forced his ideas on any
one, but to all.inquirers, he showed
that he was calmly convinced that
what he said was all right and that
the country would come to his way
Of thinking, in fact that the country
was already of his way Of thinking,
and that the only change of front
that would be necessary was on the
parto Congress which would see
the necessity Of seriously consider
ing the Legislation that he had
suggested:
~ G,,x&>.e One;kson /