The sun., 1908-06-28
SaRRMAN LAW INBFFECYIVE
fikES TOO LONG TO REACH A
FINAL DETERMINATION.

Atr. Purdy Says It Amounts Practically TO a
Denial OF the Purposes the suits Are
instituted to Secure-standard OH Case
sSay Consume at Least five Years.
n wAsHrN9roN. June 2e.-The case against
fne Standard Oil Company instituted at St.
4ouis by the Federal Government under
The Sherman antitrust law will consume
at least five years In litigation. according
" the best opinion in the Department OF
Justice. and viii cost the Government more
than si50.000. The case against the Ameri-
cap Tobacco Company and other corpora
aoas forming what is commonly called
the Tobacco Trust has progressed faster
and all the testimony Ia now In the hands
F the court. These two cases are re-
garded by the Attorney General an Of the
grsatest importance in blazing the way
Tor future proseou tions Of great corpora
tlons by the Federal Government. -
& These prosecutions were cited Ivy an
omcer of the Department Of Justice this
morning In general discussion OF the out
look for antitrust litigation. No new
Cases are looked for In the near future;
and H. ID denied. Of course. that the esigen-
cisa OF tho political campaign have any
thing 10 do with the matter.
s. The speech which was delivered in Min
ueapolis two weeks ago by Milton d. Purdy,
assistant to the Attorney General. TO which
little publicity was given at the time has
becn printed in pamphlet form and is re-
garded by the Department, and presurna-
bly, by the President as voicinR some OF
the views Of the Adm inistration regarding
the Sherman law and the need OF amending
that statute. It is admitted by the Ad,
ministration that the task OF dissolving
q great industrial trust and restoring its
several units to state OF competition Is
q task for Hercules and that under pres
ent conditions the Job is almost a dishearter-
ing one to tackle. In his Minneapolis speech
MIR. Purdy said:
In practical operation the Sherman law
defers action, until the various corporate
,anits which are thus bound together and en-
barked In common business enterprise
have become SO changed In form and interest
as to render IL well nigh impossible for them
70 return to those competitive conditions
In which they were before the combination
was effected. This litigation has almost
demonstrated that legal proceedings under
the Sherman law are Of such stupendous
character. often requiring three or four years
Tor their final determination. as to amount
10 a practical denial Of the very purposes
which the suits were instituted to secure
~ FTesluent hOOseVeiGa 9 great desire that
sh6 Sherman act be amended grows out Of
the discouragingly meagre results which
the Administration. despite all the official
noise that has been made, has accomplished
under that statute. Only two or three
suits Of tho first magnitude have been won
in both administra tons Of President Roose-
volt under the Sherman law, and no action
against one of the largest OF the Industrial
combinations has been fought to successful
issue by the Roosevelt A administration.
It is expected that at least two years
more will elapse before the suit against
the Standard Oil Company Is decided by
the highest court. although the investiga.
tons preliminary to the suit were begun
more than four years ago. Even when
the suit is won-if 1t 10 WON'T Is felt, in the
language Of Mr.. Purdy. that the various
corporate interests forming the Standard
will "render 1t we'll nigh impossible for them
to retufn to those competitive conditions
in which they were before the combination
was effected"