Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1907-09-25

Alton railroad company TOT the
transportation in interstate commerce
of certain property of the Standard
Oil company. Since this direction
was given have received a com
from the attorney gener-
al of the United States, the substance /
of which is that prior to the indict-
ment of the Standard Oil company,
the then United States district att
storney made an arrangement with the |
officials Of the Chicago & Alton road
under which arrangement the rail
road company was sot to be proceed
ell against, provided it should assist
the prosection,. is good faith, with
evidence and with witnesses Is the
matter thes pending. In view Of this
it is the conviction of the attorney
general that good faith requires the
department of justice to do what
it can to make good the district att
itorney's assurance, and, as you gem
tlemen will readily perceive, this pre-
sents a very grave question, because
it is of the utmost Importance that
no offender. should undeserVedly es-
cape punishment for crime on any
such plea, as well as that even the
meanest criminal may not truthful
1y charge the government Of the Unit
ed States with bad faith. Ia a5
what this arrangement was the
court does not know, but the court
assumes it possibly may have pro-
videl that the Chicago & Alton COM COM
pany should anticipate those who act
and speak for it from all obligations
to deceive and mislead the jury on
the trial lately closed. If this be
true, whatever officer of the, depart
ment of justice is charged with the
task of determining what shall be
the departments attitude must have
submitted to his careful considera-
ton the transcript of the testimony
of these railway agents, in order that
he may intelligently decide whether
under the district attorneys arrange
ment and the railroad company's per
Torrance the Chicago & Alton rail-
road is entitled to immunity. sr:e
Whether the grand jury acts in
the matter will depend entirely upon
what conclusion this official may
reach as to what the most perfect
good faith requires the government
of the United States tn do.
s'As you are aware, the suggestion
of the judge has been complied with
by this department and the whole
subject very carefully considered.
More especially the department has
examined those parts of the trans
| cript of evidence in the record of the
| trial of the United States VS.. The
Standard Oil Company of Indiana
called to my attention by you and
referred to in the judges remarks
The facts which appeared to the de,
partment~ to be material in this con.
neetion are as follows:
/ Gin June and July, 1906, criminal
proceedings against the Standard Oh
company were authorized by the de
partment for receiving rebates from
! several railroads in what is known
as the Chicago district 1t was con-
sidered important that indictments in
these cases should be found before
| the expiration of the sixty days al
lowed by the joint resolution ap.
! proved June 80, 1906, suspending the
operation of the act generally known
as the sHeilbourn Act and tubs keep
ing in force the prior statute. against
which the alleged offenses had beer
4 committed. This period would ex
pire on August %, and it was there
i fore deemed essential that the indlct
i ments in question should be return,
ed not later than August 81 1t was
j also desired by the department thai
/ as many as possible of the offences
/ believed to have been committed
! should form the basis of counts in
/ the several indictments found, sc
i that in the event of conviction the
! penalties imposed might be sufficient
4 ly severe to serve as a sdetriment te
/. similar breaches of the law in the
i future, even on the part OF de
4 PENDANT of great wealth. Under these
. circumstances the then United State:
attorney for the northern district OF
/ Illinois reported to the department
4 that 1t would be impracticable to pro
cure evidence justifying the indict
Ement of the defendant named, OF
i more than a comparatively small
number of counts within the time
4 above specified, unless, In case of the
! Chicago & Alton, he had the coop
Grafton Of the railroad company IL
The procurement of proof. and tha1
i this cooperation could be obtained
only through a promise of immunity
4 from proSecut ion In connection witt