The Washington herald., 1908-05-23

no suit or petition would be fled and
that the newspapers should be so in
formed. II was found, however, that the
early editions of some of the evening pa
pers had already published the announce
ment
In the meantime the discussion be-
tween the President and The Attorney
General proceeded TO the point where Mr..
Bonaparte is reported TO have offered his
resignation from the Cabinet as an al
tentative 70 the fling OF the suit against
the New Haven road. Further details
Of the discussion are lacking. except that
few minutes later the newspaper cor
respondents received another telephone
message from the Department of JUS
tice, saying that the order 10 'kill'' Mr.
Bonaparte's announcement was recalled,
as il had been decided at the White
House 10 proceed with the filing Of the
petition.
Steamboat Lines Not Included.
The petition does not include the steam
boat lines owned or controlled by the
New Haven road. and generally regarded
as a part OF the New Haven system. The
reason for this is interesting More than
year ago Charles S. Mellen, president
of the road. and Timothy E. Byrnes. vice
president. came to Washington for the
purpose Of apprising President Roose-
welt Of their intention to perfect their
steamboat holdings on Long Island
Sound. They wanted TO know if the
plans they had on foot would subject
them to prosecution by the Federal gov
eTnment.
The President summoned Herbert Knox
Smith, commissioner of corporations
under the Department Of Commerce and
Labor, but he did not consult with Of
flcials of the Department Of Justice a
confab ensued at the White House be-
tween the President. Commissioner Smith,
and Messrs. Mellen and Byrnes. and the
upshot Of the matter was that the Presi-
dent told the railroad officers to "go
ahead" assuring them that no legal ac-
ton would be taken In the premises.
This agreement has since been a nat
ter Of great embarrassment TO the De
partment Of Justice. for some Of the Of
ficials believe that the case against the
New Haven system would be much
stronger If the steamboat holdings could
be made a feature of the prosecution
The old agreement between the Presi-
dent and Mr.. Mellen Is regarded as
morally binding. however. although per-
haps if does not constitute an immunity
recognizable by the courts.
The validity OF the present legal action
against the New Haven road will be serf-
Ously questioned by lawyers probably.
if the attitude Of some Of the lawyers
in the Department of Justice forms any
indication. II Is held by some that there
is no natural competition between rail-
roads and trolley lines, and that there
fore the purchase of parallel lines of
electric road by a steam railroad cannot be
regarded as destructive OF competition
Moreover, the trolley lines controlled by
the New Haven system are generally not
interstate roads.
The belief is in washington that the
President had intended that no more i'm
portant antitrust suits should be filed be-
fore the Chicago convention. and perhaps
not until afte the Presidential election
next fail. There has recently been much
less activity in this direction than there
was a few months ago. and II has been
freely predicted that no more actions
under the antitrust laws would be begun
at present.