Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1907-08-21

lore they became quite clear as 10 the
proper way Of achieving the control.
through their representatives IN Con-
sreSS they tried two remedies. which
were to a large degree, at least as In
terpreted by the courts, contradictory.
On the one hand, under the antitrust
| law the effort was made to pronlDlt all
combination, whether it was or was
| not hurtful or beneficial to the public.
On :he other hand, through the inter-
state-commerce law a beginning was
| made in exercising such supervision
and control over combinations as to
prevent their doing anything harmful
to the body polite. The first law.
| the so-called Sherman law, has filled
| useful place. for it bridges over the
| transition period until the American
| people shall definitely make up It's
| mind that it will exercise over the
| great corporations that thorough-golng
and radical control which it is certain
| ultimately to find necessary. me
principle of the Sherman law so far as
| it prohibits combinations winch,
| whether because of their extent or OF
| tEeir character, are harmful TO the
public must always be preserved. Ul-
| tmately. and l hope with reasonable
speed, the National government must
pass laws which. while increasing the
| supervisory and regulatory power OF
| the government, also permits sucH
| useful combinations as are maze WIN
| absolute openness and as the repre-
| SentativeS of the government may
| previously approve. But it will not be
possible to permit such combinations
save as the second stage in Il course
| of proceedings of which the first stage
| must be the exercise of far more COM
tplete control of the national govern
| ment.
| In dealing with those who offend
| against the antitrust and interstate
commerce laws the department OF
| justice has to encounter many and
| great difficulties. Often men who
have been guilty of violating these
laws have really acted in criminal
fashion, and if possible should be pro-
ceeded against criminally; and there
fore it is advisable that there should
be a clause in these laws providing
for such criminal action. and for pun
| ishment by Imprisonment as well as by
| fine. But, as is we'll known, in
| criminal action the law is strictly con-
| Strued in favor of the defendant, and
| in our country, at least, both judge and
jury are far more inclined to consider
his rights than they are the interests
of the general public; while in addi-
ton 1t is always true that mans
general practices may be so bad that
Il civil action will lie when 1t may not
be possible to convict him of any one
| criminal act. There is unfortunately
a certain number of our fellow-coun-
trymcn who seem to accept the view
| that unless q man can be proved
guilty of some particular crime he
shall be counted n good citizen. nc
| matter how infamous the life he has
led, no matter how perniciOus his doc
trines or his practices. This is thf
| view announced from time to tlm'
| with clamorous insistence, now by
group of predatory capitalists, now by
Il group of sinister anarchist leader:
ana agitators, whenever specia
champion Of either class, no mattel
how evil his general life. is acquitted
of some one specific crime. Such
view is wicked whether applied t.
capitalist or labor leader, to rich miti
or poor man. But we have to tax
this feeling into account when we ar
debating whether it is possible to sc
a conviction in a criminal proceeding
against some rich trust magnatf
many of whose actions are severely L
be condemned from the moral am
social standpoint, but no one OF Wh"s
actions seems clearly to eStabllSn "uci
| technical guilt as will ensure con
| viction A. q matter of eXped1ehcs
in enforcing the law against Srca
corporation, we have continually
weigh the arguments pro and con d
to whether a prosecution can success
fully be entered into. and as I" Whc'n
or We can be successful IN CT >.
,cti,n arainst the chief individuals II
tho CORPORATION. and if not whe'"e
wc can at least he successIui III :.
civil action against the corporatloi' ~
o,f Any effective action on the ii
If the government is always 49,
"a as matter of course ny -
wrong-doers by the bene1iciaries VI Wv
wrorg-doers and by their cha'n
and often one of the most effective
| WAYS Of attacking the actioh vi Wv
government is by Directing 70 pracll
cal action upon the ground that i
does not go far enough. One OF inc
/ fayorite devices of those who arr
really striving to prevent the enforce
ment of these laws is to clamcr fo
action Of such severity that it canno
he undertaken because it will be Ger
: tain to fail if tried. An instance o
this is the demand often made TO
; criminal prosecutions where sucl
: prosecutions would be certain to fail
We have found by actual experience
that Il jury which will gladly punish
corporation by fine. for instance. vii
acuuit the individual members Of tina
! corporation if we proceed against then
criminally because of those very thing
y | which the corporation which they di
: rect and control has done. In re
! cent case against the I.icorice Trus
we indicted and tried the two corpora
{ | tions and their respective president?
I | The contracts and other transaction
n Stablishing the guilt of the corpora
tions We're made through. and so far a
they were in writing We're signed by
the two presidents. Yet the jury con
victed the two corporations and &C
: quilted the two men. Both verdict