The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1908-10-14
Falls 10 Furnish Correct lnfoE.
nation Asked by Josephus !
Daniels.
.ATyY. eENERAI IS DIP1oMATIo
nGixes Up the Prosecutions Under
Anh.Trust Law.
Records Show That 2s7 TruSts Are
Thriving Under the Republican
Administration = Prosecutions
Slow department of jus.
uoe Answer Awaited.

Chicago, Oct 00SpeciaL) --Jose-
Dhus Daniels, chairman of the pub
licity bureau at Democratic national
headquarters, recently wrote letter
10 Attorlfey General Bonaparte, In
which no asked for information show
hg the character and extent of sults
instituted by the federal government
against the trusts. Mr.. Bonaparte
uade reply in very lengthy letter,
but was careful not to give the infor-
nation requested. Mr.. Daniels has
forwarded second letter to the At
borney General which Is reproduced
herewith.
hon. @. ]. Bonaparte, United States
Attorney General.
MY Dear Slr:-I am In receipt of
pour letter of Oct I'd. On the 30th
day OF September / wrote you and
asked for statement showing how
many of the 287 trusts doing business
IN tho United States had been prose-
huted by the department of justice,
the amount of fines collected, etc In
your answer you do not furnish the
Information desired. The inquiry was
specifically directed to the action
taken with reference to the 287 trusts
nnmed. Instead of furnishing that In
formation, you mix up the prosecu-
lions under the Sherman antitrust
law with the prosecutions of railroads
and individuals under other acts No
question was asked as to proceedings
against railroads or other corpora
lions except the well known and rec
Dgnlzed trusts that are daily, by vio-
lating the law, taking from the mouth
Of labor tho bread 1t has earned" The
public Ia we'll aware that q number
bf railroads have been fined for giving
rebates. That law ought to be en-
forced, even though your department
refused to prosecute the admitted vio-
lattons of the law by q railroad OH.
eial who received an immunity bath
and was given place in the cabinet;
and those two able attorneys, Hon.
Judson Harmon and Hon. Frederick
N. Judson, who had been employed to
prosecute, refused to continue with
your department when It would not
permit them to prosecute the con-
Iessedly guilty secretary OF the navy
as well as tie lesser railroad officials
who had nearly all given rebates.
Having failed to furnish the specific
information requested, and wishing to
have a statement of exactly what has
been done to prevent the extortionB
and to end the existence of the trusts,
{ am forced to ask you, emitting all
prosecutions against railroads and
pther legal corporations, the following
questions:
i. How many of the 2S7 trusts. CIV
ing the names, doing business In the
United States, have been prosecuted
Dy the present administration?
2. How many of these trusts, NAM
ing them separately, have boon fined,
and the separate amounts7
8. After trust has been fined,
what other steps have been taken to
prevent Its continuing Its illegal prac-
ices for which 1t was forced to pay
Tho penalty
these 2ST trusts have been crlminaliy
prosecuted, and how many have been
convicted and the term of imprison-
ment, giving the names of each per
Eon who has been Imprisoned for vio-
htlng tho lawf
In your letter, In which you mix
up the prosecution of railroads and
bther legal corporations with the trusts
which exist IN defiance OF law, you
take occasion to contrast the record
81 the Roosevelt administration with
tho four preceding administrations. In
the pamphlet which you send with
-FOUR letter, 1t appears that Mr.. Har-
Sison prosecuted seven trusts under
the Sherman antitrust law; Mr.. Oleve.
land, nine; Mr.. Mckinley, three, and
the present administration, nineteen
rivil and twenty-five criminal cases.
You include the cases against the beef
and meat trusts where the government
won these important suits Has the
meat trust gone out of business, and
have the people obtained the relief
erom high prices which they had q
right to expect and for which reason
they demanded the prosecution of that
trust7 An examination of the twenty.
Ave cnses you say silave been prose
outed crimlnally shows that in no sin.
gle case has any violation Of tho law
been followed by imprisonment
Do you believe that the men who
operate the trusts to their enrichment
by systematic robbery, enjoyed by i'm
munlty from Imprisonment, will ever
be deferred by the methods 30 far en-
ployed by the department Of Justlcoi
as long ag tho meat trust can pay n
small fine and collect It an hundred
times over tho next day, by putting
up the price OF what 1t sells, when
DO you think that trust will quit
charging prices that put necessary
food out OF the reach OF the poor7 The
spectaclc of few of the predatory
wealth, in convict garb-aS the Law
ontemplated--would do more In ono
week 10 DfenR up tne Trust CIVIL Innn
all the prosecutions lnaugurated.
BY giving the comparison OF the REQ
ord of the Roosevelt administration IN
the matter OF prosecutions as con.
trasted with the records Of Cleveland,
Mckinley and Harrison you invite o
comparison of the records of these nd.
ministrauons as to uustR Carefully
complied statistics show that trusts
were organized in the United States
under the past four administrations as
follows; Under Harrison, %; under
Cleveland Second term @; under Nc
T6inley, 1877; ana under Roosevelt, 100
Inasmuch as there are now 2ST trusts
In America 1t appears that there were
tNyenty-three before Mr.. Harrison be
came president and that 204 have beer
organized since 1888. II the depart
ment of justice has been OBJ dillgent as
the interests OF tho people demand.
would tho number Of trusts have muL
Hplied SO rapidly7 Not only would
the trusta doing business have been
put out OF business, but men would
not have put money into new trusts
if they had believed that the law
against trusts and against persons
guilty OF combining would DO vigorous
~ enforced.
submit that by the test OF punish.
ing hwbreakers and deterring others
from violating the law-the eternal
and true test-the execution OF the
antitrust laws by the federal govern.
ment Is q failure; and that the exist