Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1908-08-08
ATTORNEY GENERAL
is HANDICAPPED BY
ANTITRUST STATUTE
Prosecution of Lumber Com,
bines Unsatisfactory Under
Law Barring Witnesses.

Sioux Falls, s. D.. Aug. at Is alto
gether likely that Attorney General
Clark will ask the next session OF the
South Dakota legislature to pull some
of the fangs of the states antitrust
law. The difficulty with the statute is
that II is too ferocious. 1t frightens
| the game before the prosecuting Of
| ficials have any chance of bagging II.
In the earnestness OF their desire TO
discourage the formation of monopolies
within the state, the legislators appear
to have succeeded too well.
This is a conclusion suggested by the
experience of the attorney generals Of
| fee in trying to carry out the legisla-
ture's Instructions to investigate and
run down any lumber octopuses that
might be found browsing on the pub
lie purse.
The attorney general and his assist
ant. +. w. Dougherty, Of Dell Rapids
have done all they could in trailing al
legged lumber trusts. But the people OF
South Dakota need not expect big
killing when their game bag Is opened
In the next session OF the Legislature.
In the first place the allowance OF $500
would not finance very exhaustive IN
vestigation. And, again, the attorney
generals office found itself continually
tripped up by the antitrust law itself
After defining what shall be consid-
cred an Illegal combination, section
776 OF the penal code provides:
Statute Conflicting.
ANY person or persons who shall
be a party to any such unlaWful COM
bination, agreement OF trust either as
principal, agent. attorney, employe or
otherwise, shall be deemed guilty Of n
felony, and upon conviction Thereon,
shall be punished by "A fine not exceed
ing $1,000. or Imprisonment in the
states prison not exceeding three years,
or both, such fine and imprisonment at
the discretion Of the court"
II will be observed that the law
makes every employe of a trust"
equally guilty with the proprietor.
The statute is so sweeping that II takes
in every one who would have first
hand information about the formation
or working of any monopoly.
Consequently, whenever the attorney
generals office in this investigation
would ask any employe or agent or Of
ficer OF a lumber company any ques-
lion concerning evidence that II vio-
iated this law, answer was promptly
refused on the ground the witness
might be incriminated. At every turn
ihe attorney general was embarrassed
Ny the very law he was seeking to en-
force. Special investigation was made
n Moody ana Day counties, thouBn
She inquiry was really state wide in
scope. A charge was brought In Day
county, but It remains to be seen
whether the evidence obtained by the
state Is regarded as sufficient for
conviction.
The attorney generals Office natu-
:ally Is inclined to take the same lead
as that used by Attorney General
Young, of Minnesota, who claimed to
pave found that price lists. unidenti-
aed by any heading or signature, were
sent to all members Of the Northwest
ern Lumber Mems association and that
one member absolutely refused to in
wade the territory OF another, however
distant he might be.
The defect in the South Dakota anti
trust act Is not such as can be easily
remedied. The difficulty might be
avoided by setting up an immunity
bath, but so far at least II has not been
IN good working order II the law is
10 be modified II must be done care
fully to put in loop hole large enough
for the state to get through and OBJ
tain evidence, but not big enuogh for
the real hackers of unlawful combina'
tions to escape through.