Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-10-03
PROSECUTIONS OF THE TRUSTS
ATTORNEY GENERALS REPLY
TO CHAIRMAN DANIELS.
Action Taken by the Department in
All Cases Where There Was
Reasonable Hope for Success.

Attorney General Bonaparte has made
public his reply to a letter from Josephus
Daniels. chairman Of the democratic press
committee at Chicago. asking for facts
connected with trust prosecutions by the
Department of Justice. including the
present standing of litigation against the
trusts. The reply gives a summary OF
the cases prosecuted substantially as fur
nished in a report made public two days
ago. copy of which the Attorney Cen
eral forwards to Mr.. Daniels. The At
torney General says that his department
has prose cuted all cases under the Sher-
man antitrust or interstate commerce
laws that have been brought to its atten-
ton from responsible sources where the
facts disclosed warranted such action.
Antitrust Prosecutions.
The Attorney Generals letter says:
There have been. Instituted during the
administration of.Pfesident Roosevelt, 22S
these statutes. OF these seventy-three
have been concluded successfully. forty
have been concluded unsuccessfully and
lis are now pending. The various fines
imposed in criminal cases amount. In the
aggregate. to $3.50, 32S. Under previous
republican administrations there were In
stituted under these laws seventy-four
thirteen were concluded successfully,
sixty were Concluded unsuccessfully and
one is yet pending. The amount o. fines
imposed in these proceedings was $S.jOl
Under previous democratic admins
trations there were instituted under these
laws fifty proceedings, civil and criminal.
of which fourteen were concluded sue
cessfully thirty-ive were concluded uQ-
successfully. and one Is now pending. The
fines imposed in these proceedings
could not inform you how many corpora
tons in the aggregate have been de-
PENDANTS in these cases without an in
quiry. which would be attended with
doubtedly quite large. since In most OF
the civil proceedings there lave been
numerous defendants of this character.
For example. In the suit In equity against
the Standard Oil Company OF New Jer-
sey and others there are some seventy
corporations, as we'll as number Of in
dividuals, among the defendants.
Not All Trusts Criminal
ut is. of course. needless for me to say
that the mere fact that a corpol alton or
association is called trust by Mr.. John
Moody in his manual does not prove. or
even tend to prove. that the organlza-
ton In question or Its members have been
guilty of any violation of federal law;
neither is such guilt suggested by the
fact that such organization may do
large and apparently profitable business.
The criminal provisions of the statute
generally known as the Sherman anti
trust law apply only to those who enter
into contracts. combinations or conspira-
cfes in restraint of trade. and. although
the statute provides that such contract.
combination or conspiracy shall be none
the less criminal because it takes the
form of a trust. this does not. of course,
make trusts of themselves criminal
Policy Of the Department.
"Since I have been Attorney General
this department has prosecuted. either
civilly or criminally, all cases of alleged
misconduct under the statutes above men,
toned which have been brought to its
attention from a responsible source and
in which the results of a careful inquiry
by competent and impartial officers dis
closed the existence of such facts and of
such obtainable legal evidence to prove
them as afforded a reasonable hope of
success in such prosecution. The policy
of the department will be the same during
the remainder Of my term in Office"