Albuquerque citizen. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1907-1909, 1908-12-18
TO GIVE GOVERNMENT
RIGHT Of APPEAL
IN ALL CASES
Attorney General BondpdTte
Submits Annual Report
TO Congress
To-day.
CITES FAMOUS CASE
Of STANDARD OIL
Department Investigated many
j Cases During the Year and
is Kept Busy Watching
the Big Corpor-
dti0nS.

Washington, ID. c., Dec. 1S.-That
the United States should have the |
right of appeal to the supreme court
of the United States as a matter of
right, whenever a conviction Is re-
versed on appeal by the defendant to
a circuit court of appeals, is the opin- |
ion expressed by Attorney General
Bonaparte in his annual report for the |
fiscal year ending June 80, 1908,
submitted to Congress today. In this
connection he sights the case of the
reversal of the fine of more than s29,-
600 600, in which an application for
the allowance of writ of certiorari
has been made to the supreme court.
He holds that an amendment of the
( present statue would be appropriate
In the case of all criminal proceed
ings but suggests that it would be
especially so in connection with prose-
cutions where the wealth of the de-
fendant usually renders an appeal on
his or its part from any adverse judg-
ment a matter of course. The attor-
ney generals opinion Is that in such
cases there is no question of double
jeopardy as the appeal of the de-
fendant from the original conviction
is recognized W the undoubted weight
of well considered judicial authority
as waiver of his rights in this re-
spect and as in the absence Of some
such provision of law as the attorney
general recommends guilty parties
may escape from sust punishment un-
der the law as finally determined by
the court of last resort.
He declares that the consistent
policy of the department of justice
during the year in enforcing the
statutes intended to protect the inter-
state and foreign commerce of the
country from evils arising through
combinations in restraint of trade
and attempts to create monopoly, as
well as Determinations and other IL
legal practices on the part of common
carriers engaged in such commerce,
, has been careful to investigate all
complaints submitted to 1t, whether
, by public authorities or by RESPONSE
! BILE private citizens. and to authorize
proceedings, whether civil or criminal,
only when this investigation has
. shown the complaints to be serious
and we'll founded. and that success
. might be reasonably expected.
He reports that this policy was at
tended during the year by fair
measure of success in the proceedings
2 authorized and that as a consequence
} Of decisions already obtained or ex-
pected soon the statutes dealing with
, such cases will soon be interpreted
) so authoritatively that those seeking
to comply with the law will be re-
: lieved from all uncertainty as to VIII
= the law really is. He says that serious
? obstacles have been encountered in
enforcing the statutes and that these
Y may be with advantage readily re-
= moved by further legislation.
B, THE United States has had occa-
= sion of late years, and will probably
0 have occasion in future" he declared
I Ito prosecute criminally many cor
Y porations or other artificial persons
h AS such offenders cannot be physically
4 arrested, it is obviously desired thai
] a simple and convenient form of pro.
= cess shall be prescribed by law tC
have the legal effect of sn actual ar
rest and removal to the trial distric
in the case of natural person"
K He reports that many communica-
e tions have been received asking the
e government to take action 10 pro
n cure temporary injunctions against
3 the collection of increased rates OF
d freight by various railroads, claiming
e that such rates, although duly filed
o with the interstate commerce com
: mission, had been adopted in fac
through agreements between compel
. ing railroads in violation of th'
sherman antitrust law. He reports
that, as applications had already beer
C made in a majority of these cases Il
the interstate commerce commission
he deemed 1t Inappropriate to insti-
a tute proceedings looking to the pro
= curement of temporary injunctions
: the principal purpose of which woulC
= be to keep the old rates in fore,
) pending the decision of the interstate
a commerce commission.
Two classes OF cases which have en-
- gagged a large part of the attention
= of the department, the attorney gen
: eral reports have been prosecution
a for peonage and civil and crimina
. proceedings arising out of allege'
frauds and irregularities in the ac
quisition of title by private parties 4
the public lands. "In both cases" h
+ says 81 am happy to report that thu
Is energetic prosecution of offenders ha
l. undoubtedly rendered the crimes les
frequent. and also less profitable.