Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1908-05-08

The succeeding Congress was Re-
publican Congress, and II enacted the
Sherman antitrust law. LOUD APP
pIause on the Republican sidc.] The
New York World, Democratic news
paper, in an article entitled Facts.
tersely recited in part the history OF
that law. as follows:
TIE antitrust law was framed by a Re-
publican, was passed by a Republican
house, and Republican Senate' was
| The law remained dead letter on the
| statute books during the entire second
term of Grover Cleveland. n Democratic
Through those four years Of Demo-
cratic Administration all appeals and all
efforts of the World to have the law en-
I'open contempt from, n Democratic At
torney General, Richard Olncy, who pre-
tended that the law was unconstitutional.
| and who would do nothing toward pro-
The first effort to enforce the law was
made by Theodore Roosevelt, Republic
can President.
The first Attorney General to vigorous
~ prosecute offenders and to test the
law was a Republican Attorney General,
| Philander c. Knox.
the United States given as hnaiity from
which there is no appeal: upho.ding tie
| law as perfectly constitutional and abso-
lntely n,pregnaJle in every respect as
| the World for twelve years constantly
insisted, was due TO five judges. every
one of whom is a Republican.
The dissenting minority of the court
inclndel every Democratic judge of the
| tribunal. to wit, chief Justice Fuller, of
Illinois: Mr.. Justice White. Of Louisville,
and Mr. Justice PecLham, of New York.
[Renewed applause.l
Mr.. HULL of Iowa. Before the gen
tleman starts on another subject or
pursues this, desire to yield to him
the remaining thirty minutes of my
time. loud applause on the Republi-
can side.1
Mr. Dalzell. Of course I would not
be understood to insinuate that any Of
these justices Of the Supreme Court
were influenced by party consideration,
but their action simply illustrates how
Impossible it is to get rid of early hab-
| its. [I.aughter.l
But it was not Mr.. Cleveland's At
torney-General alone who refused to
believe that there was any efficacy in
the Sherman antitrust law. Mr.. Cleve-
| land himself, in his last message to
Congress, in 1896 said:
Though Congress has attempted % deal
with this matter by legislriion. she laws
passed fer that purpose thus far have
proved ineffective, not because of any
| lack of disposition or attempt to enforce
Them but simply because the laws them
| selves, as Interpreted by the courts, do
not reach the difficulty. If the insuffi-
cicncies of existing. laws can be remed-
! led by further legislation it should be
done. The fact must be recognized, how
ever, that all Federal legislation on this
subject may fall short of its purpose be-
| cause of inherent obstacles. and also
because of the complex character of our
governmental system which. while MAX
ing Federal authority. supreme within
| its sphere. has carefully limited hat
sphere by mctes and bounds that can
not be tranSreSsed.
Now. then, over and against the
opinion of Mr.. Cleveland and his Attor-
ney General 1 want to place what At
torney-General Knox said in his speech
before the Chamber of Commerce in
Pittsburg, on October IA, 1902
If the Sherman Act exhausts the power
can people find themselves hOpelessly i'm
potent, facing a situation frausht with
the most alarming possibilities with
which neither the Federal nor the State
Can il be possible that the people of
the United States. feeling the pressure
though they know the nature of the
| Wrcng and are seeking u remedy, the
Constitution, as it stands. does not per-
nit them to pursue it: that amendment
to that charter is first necessary, that
the power of Congress does not now ex-
| tend over detriments injuring the entire
body of citizens in their most vital con-
| Germs, because these detriments origi-
nate in the States? | do not believe we
| find ourselves SO helpless. When the cur
State lines and cover the country. not
only entering but largely filling the chan
nels of interstate and foreign trade, it
| will not do to say that the evil is be-
You'd the national reach.
| 1t would seem monStrouS to urge that
Congress and the Executive under its
| authority are nowerleSS and must sit
| idly by and see the channels Of inter-
| state commerce made use of to the in
| jury OF the people by moropolistic COM
| bnations.
| Applause on the Republican side.]
| Without stopping to cite in detail the
| numerous cases which, under Rcpubli-
can Administrations, have by their sue
cessful results, demonstrated the virtue
Of Republican legislation against trusts
and monopolies. 1 will satisfy myself
with quoting this summary from the
| report of Attorney General Knox.
| Speaking of these cases, ne says:
| Here, then, are four phases of the at
| tack on the combination in restraint of
trade ana cOinmcfCe-tne railroad 1niunc-
| ton suits, the cOtton-pool cases, and the
Northern Securities case. The first re-
| lates to the monopoly produced by secret
| and preferential rates for railroad trans
portation. the second to railroad traffic
pooling: the third to 4 combination of
| Independent corporations to fix and
maintain eXtortionate prices for meats,
and the fourth to corporation organ
lied to merge into itself the contol of
parallel and competing lines of rail-
| road and to eliminate competition in
their rates of transportation.
Kindred to trust evils are Transport
tations Observation-Disclosures, rebates,
and like devices. To meet these. the
Interstate Commerce Commission was
created more than twenty years ago
by Republican legislation From time
to time it's powers have been increased,
and at the last Congress what was
known as the "railroad-rate bilr' was
passed, empowering the Commission
amongst other things to pass upon the
question of reasonable rates
This record of fidelity to party
pledges on the part of the Republican
party and of efficiency in things ac-