The Democrat-sentinel. [volume] (Logan, Ohio) 1906-1935, 1908-10-08
FRIENDLY TO
THE TRUSTS
Taft Failed to Move Against
Them While a Judge
Ex. Attorney General
Monnett Exposes His
Record.

torney General of Ohio, who has
fought Standard Oil with yigoi
and earnestness not surpassed by
any individual in the nation, is
going to take the stump for Bryan
and Kern. Although Republican
for years and elected to the office
of Attorney General in Ohio by the
party of the Republican candidate
for the Presidency, Mr. Monnet.
will support Bryan aud Kern in
this campaign. The inveterate foe
of Standard Oil called at Demo-
cratic headquarters To arrange
speaking dates in the states of the
middle west, where he will make a
vigorous campaign for the Demo
cratic national ticket from now un-
til the date of election.
While in Chicago, Mr.. Monnett
scored Judge Taft for his failure
to proceed against criminal trusts.
He based this conclusion on the
public record of the Republican
candidate for the Presidency.
Mr.. Monnett said: "What we
want In the White House is a
prosecutor and not Judge. Mr..
Taft is honest and has judicial
temperaments, but no initiative.
He let the trust weeds grow in his
own front yard while he was a
Judge in Cincinnati. In my opin.
ion he would do nothing to destroy
the trusts If elected President For
twelve years he was a judge of the
Federal courts in Ohio, where the
mother of all trusts was growing
up, corrupting the state courts
and the Legislature, and he did
nothing to prevent it, although as
judge instructing grand juries he
had more direct power than he
would have as President. For fif-
te0n years he has been socially in
innate with the men that ran
trusts; has wined and dined with
them.
SIN this respect he has not been
different from other federal judges,
whom they overwhelm with social
attentions = private cars, yacht
trips, hunting trips, dinners, etc.
Some judges, like Judge Grosscup,
have to ask for them; others get
them without. While Mr.. Taft
was at the club, the trust weeds
grew up in his front yard. He
did nothing to cut them down, and
his record gives me good ground
for predicting that he would do
nothing as President.
Mr.. MOnnett stated that while
on the bench Mr.. Taft always had
at his command at least two feder-
al grand juries and that it was his
sworn duty to prosecute every
crime of which he was cOgnizant.
In such capacity. Mr.. Monnett
said, he had more power to down
trusts than President Roosevelt
had at the White House. He
charged him, however, with hav-
ing dissolved the Addison steel
pipe trust and then with having
permitted it's reorganization un-
der the name of the u. ). Cast
Iron Pipe Co., and finally it's
merger into the steel trust. "This
steel trust was formed under his
very nose out of the wreck of the
Addison Company" said MIR. Mon
nett, yet he never lifted finger
Mr.. Monnett then declared there
was law enough in the land but
the trouble was nobody was en-
forcing it. Taking the present
Standard Oil case as an example,
he said that Federal Injunction
could be secured in sixty days
against the operation of the trust,
and that Federal indictments of
its owners could be secured any
day by presenting the evidence
before u grand jury.
1t wouldn't take any more effort
than ii does to run down a man
who makes lead nlckels or the
freckle-faced boy who knocks the
stuifIng out Of the mail box, he
said. "Why don't they indict
under the evidence already taken
in st. Loms? The weakness is in
the executive department. Roose-
yelt does not draw the rein taut
and will not da an unfil fha M rk 10