The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1908-01-03
Graft and Rebate Cases
Fill the Court Calendars.

= OfoH anu NSuatc NdScS
\ Fill the Court Calendars.
The great chase started In 1906 with
the Roosevelt challenge TO the Stand
ard Oil company and 10 all law defy
Ing trusts has gathered impetus In
1907, when the whole pack of state
and federal law oftiesss has been in
/ full cry after the game The year will
long be remembered FOR the vicious
bite which the oil trust got from one
federal Judge namely, the 9,2i0, 0ol
fine. imposed AUG. 3 by Judge Lands
at Chicago as the maximum penalty
for accepting a large. number of re-
bates from the Alton. But this was
only one of large number Of criminal
! prosecutions laid against the Rockefel-
Ter aggregation. Indictments contain
ing thousands of counts were brought
in Ohio, Missouri, Texas, Tennessee,
Minnesota, Kew York and elsewhere
! until the total maximum of fines possi-
I bly, exceeded the probable fncome of
| the trusts. The principal action of the
government for the dissolution of the
Standard Oil Company of New Jersey,
| which was begun at St Louis NOV. 10,
1906, still remains to be fought out, bur
! In his examination of witnesses at New
! York In September Governments Coun-
sci kellogg virtually pilloried the oil
trust before the people by compelling
+, Its officials to reveal the various proc
esses through which it has monop-
oliZed the oil industry. Missouri and
! Texas finally barred all Standard con-
Germs.
/ Other actions against so called trusts
were numerous, and rebate fines were
imposed in several cases.
/ The following are the supreme court
decisions of general interest: Dismissal
Of the Kansas petition against diver
sion of Colorado river by the state of
Colorado, involving the principle that
+ congress cannot limit the action of
courts after creating them; the eight
hour federal workday law sustained:
rate fixing section OF the federal law
sustained.
Along with the building Of new
San Francisco there has been a
cleansing of its official and political
rottenness. First. under pressure of Gu
mulative evidence. came the flight and
confession of Abraham Ruef. manager
Of the corrupt city machine. In May.
. His confession duplicating Mayor
Schmitz in the acceptance Of brides
made possible the verdict OF guilty
rendered by jury against the mayor
MAY ID and his sentence JULY 8 to
five years Imprisonment. 1t also made
possible the indictments against sew
eral millionaire bride givers aud the
conviction of one of them. Glass. who
! received p five year sentence
Pennsylvania saw the work of the
capitol investigators bear fruit.
Gradually District Attorney Jerome
Of New York has got insurance evil
dence before the grand jury. and in
dictments have begun to issue against
officials, one of whom. Walter r. Gil.
lette. former vice president of the Mu-
tual, was convicted of perjury and
sentenced to six months.
When In July Judge Pritchard Is
sued his federal order against the exc.
cution of the North Carolina rate law,
cials of the Southern convicted In state
! court of having sold tickets for more
than the legal rate, Governor Glenn
arose in his might to back up the state
court. Finally the Southern gave in
for the sake of peace and, made q spe-
cial agreement with Glenn, Finlay re-
vising his petition so as to let the
cases take their course rapidly to the
supreme court for final test of the law.
Much the same situation existed in
Alabama, where Governor Conner was
equally resolute when the law was OPP
posed with injunetions granted by Fed
eral Judge Jones on one pretext or an
other. The Minnesota rate law also
was held up by Federal Judge Loeb
/, ren's injunction In September. The
Pennsylvania railroad, after raising
Communication rates when the two cent
law went into effect SEPT. /, began a
test case through the state courts.
1t Is not within the purpose of this
history to recount the long list OF
crimes and criminal trials OF the year
which were chiefly of interest in the
localities where they occurred. But
the murder conspiracy charges brought
by the state of Idaho against the ofi-
Gals of, the Western Federation OF
Miners In connection with the death
OF former Governor Steunenberg was
an event of national, even internation-
al. Importance. Secretary Haywood. as
the strong man OF the federation, was
the first to be placed on trial MAY s
after the whole country had been stir
red up by the preliminary efforts OF
organized labor and the Socialist pa
pers to raise funds for his defense and
to get their view of the matter before
the public-namely, that the whole
case was conspiracy OF the mine
owners to crush the federation. The
publication OF the Roosevelt letter
CHASING the accused men along with
Hartman as undesirable citizens"
had famed the controversy into In
tense heat. The result was seen to de-
pend mainly on the ability OF the state
TO corroborate the Orchard confession.
Here opinions differed. but In the end
the jury voted NO after considering a
vast amount of testimony on both
sides and hearing the lengthy pleas OF
Darrow and Richardson for the de-