The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-10-10
CONGRESS MAY PASS
 ANTITRUST LAWS
May Limit Power of Inferior
 Federal Courts
GENERAL CAREER TALKS
Reports on Work of the Attorneys General in Convention at St. Louis.-Permanent Organ
 ization Perfected.

Montgomery October -(Special.)-At. | torney General A. NJ. Garber, who IS 1 just back from the meeting of attorneys
 general at St. Louis, believes that Con
 gress will' pass d law limiting the pow
 CTS of inferior federal courts to hold up
 state laws by injunction, leaving them
 to final adjudication of the supreme court
 on appeal. He is also very much in fla
 vor of the passage by all the states of antitrust laws of uniform nature He | says:
 "A permanent organization of the at l torneys general was effected at our meet ing in St. Louis on September 30 and
 October 1 under the name of the National 1 Association of the Attorneys General of the United States. This idea originated
 with Attorney General Hadley of Mis-
 souri, who started the movement at a
 conference of eight attorneys general on | August P to perfect an interstate or | ganization for the interchange of evi- dence and q general arrangement where l by the legal departments of the several
 states could better deal with corporations | violating state laws.
 This association begins with a mem | bership of twenty-five or thirty members, representing about twenty states of the | union, and will meet annually. The pur-
 pose of the organization is to afford the
 attorneys general of the different states an opportunity to meet together and dis
 cuss the many important questions aris- 1 ing in their departments and by inter- ri of fo St of CT in the solution of the many difficult problems which are now constantly aris- | ing in the United States
 We remained in session two days and l all of our time was devoted to the dis | cussion of the several great legal and economic questions which are now at | tracting the attention of the public mind.
 l confidently expect good results 10 come from this movement.
 Important Subject.
 Among the important subjects dis cussed at our meeting in St Louis were trusts and antitrust laws and the cap- | talization of public service corporations. | Several of the states. notably Massachu- l setts, have very effective laws on these subjects. It should be a matter of great | concern to the people of Alabama that we
 have practically no antitrust laws Ala l bama has no law regulating either per | sons or corporations from entering into
 a combination, pool or trust in restraint | of trade. We have a law prohibiting the formation of a combination or trust to
 regulate or fix the price of any article
 or commodity to be sold within the state
 for speculation only. 1t Is my judgment ! that the provisions of this law should 1 be enlarged so as to make 1t an offense | for any person or corporation to enter
 into combination 10 control the price l of any article in restraint of trade not
 only for the purpose of speculation, but l also for the purpose of gain or profit.
 Tt will be recalled that the only anti | trust law, prepared by the fertilizer and i cotton seed oil mills committee, which l was submitted to the legislature at the July session, failed to pass. I think the l legislature at the extra session should | further consider this subject. 1t will oe l of interest to know that a committee was appointed at our meeting to draft a uniform antitrust bill to be submitted to the legislatures of the various states.
 This committee will begin at once on the work assigned to 1t.
 Two Live Questions. "The two questions that attracted the liveliest attention at our meeting were
 railroad rate regulation and the conflict between state and federal courts. l par ticipated in the discussion and argument of these questions. A very strong senti- ] ment against interference by the inferior federal courts with actions taken by state officials in carrying out the laws
 enacted by the legislatures of the vari- ous states developed during the discus-
 sion of these matters and this sentiment was general
 "It soon became evident during the discussion that the gradual encroachment of the inferior federal courts in taking Jurisdiction in matters pertaining to in- trastate commerce had aroused more bit- ter and more intense opposition in sev- eral of the western and northern states than the feeling what exists with us in
 Alabama on the subject. There seems to
 be no doubt that just in proportion as
 the provisions of the fourteenth amend
 ment are given increased application the
 eleventh amendment to the federal con sttution, which provides that the judi
 clal power of the United States shall not
 be construed to extend to any suit in
 law or equity commenced or prosecuted
 against one of the states, will be abro- gated and nuifed
 Suits Against the State. "The opinion was strongly asserted by many at our meeting that the United States supreme court will finally adhere