Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-01-04
RECENT CRITICISM
ATTORNEY GENERALS ANSWER
TO SANTE FE'S PRESIDENT.

Attorney General Bonaparte has submit
ted to President Roosevelt a statement in
answer to the recent criticisms by Presi-
dent Ripley of the Santa Fe road as to re-
bate proceedings by the government. The
statement is designed to be a complete
answer to the criticisms of President Rip
ley. 1t Is, in part, as follows:
Sir: In compliance with your instruc-
tons. I submit the following report as to
the recent prosecution and conviction of
the Atchison. Topeka and Santa Fe Rail-
way Company. for violation of the stat
utes forbidding and making penal discrim-
nation by common carriers engaged in in
terstate commerce, and as to the circular
letter recently and widely published, head
ed THE Santa Fe Rebate Case" and
signed by Z. P. Ripley, president Of the
above mentioned corporation.
Accused by Former Employe.
From the foregoing statement of the
facts IN this case it appears that the
defendant corporation was accused by one
of its former employees, whose enmity
1t had incurred by causing his prosecu-
ton for criminal offense, of committing
a long series of violations of the inter-
state commerce law; that it's course, while
these charges were under investigation.
wis dlsingenuous, obstructive and sug-
gestive of conscious guilt: that it was
indicted by the grand jury for seventy
six such violations upon evidence obtained
from its own records, although. accord
Ing to its statement and the testimony
or Its oh1cers, large part of the records
which might have shown many further
violations of law had been burned, the
circumstances under which the destruc-
tion or these records was asserted being,
to say the least, very suspicious; that
when it was brought to trial, it professed
as compromises of claims by the ship
pers for losses, an explanation incon-
sistent with the entries in it's own books,
and which it failed to sustain by corrobo-
rating proof readily obtainable from
friendly witnesses: that some OF the evil
dence 1t offered was, indeed, held legally
inadmissible by the court, but this proof
was, in fact, produced, and in passing
sentence the court, in substance, pro-
nounced such evidence unworthy Of credit;
that it was convicted by the jury on
every count of the indictment, and it's
violations Of the law were declared by
the court to have been Intentionally
and systematically made finally, that
it's penalty was fixed by the court at
only one-fourth of the maximum $4,000
careful consideration of all the attendant
circumstances and with a view to pre-
venting such Intentional and systematic
disregard of the law of the future.
Unfounded and Unjustifable.
sit has been the consistent policy of the
department to discourage and, SO far as
possible, prevent newspaper controversies
between its subordinates and those whose
enmity they might incur through the
faithful discharge of their public duties,
and its course in this instance has been
In accordance with this policy But feel
it my duty in closing this report to say
that the charges made by the officers and
counsel of this corporation against the
United States attorney Oscar Lawler of
California; in connection with the matters
in the present report appear to have
been unfounded and unjustifiable, and the
comments and suggestions contained in
Mr.. Ripleys letter regarding the judge
who tried and sentenced his corporation
constitute unwarrantable reflections upon
a judicial officer respecting the discharge
of his duties as such which are wholly
ndefensible, both in form and substance,
and deserve the condemnation of all citi-
zens solicitious to protect the dignity and
independence of our courts