The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1908-07-25
THE JUDGMENT FALLS.

4HC TCuSldi SOulk VI dPPSaiS Hi
reversed the Judgment handed dow
by Judge Lands, in the Alton cases
whereby the Standard Oil Compan.
was assessed in the stupendous aggre
gate Of $2o,000,O00 in fines, and upor
a number OF strong points, well tax
en-, ably presented, and deeply con
sidered and conscientiously applied
by the judges. en- banque. This end
the governments great suit agains
the Standard. Whatever follows mus
come de novo, and upon hypothese:
heretofore unemployed. The assign
ments of error are plain, and yet
essential, and are thereby hardly
susceptible Of reversal on subse'
quent review.
Incidentally, it may be mentioned that
cidentally, it may be mentioned that
John d. Rockefeller has cleaned up
a cool $l5,000000 on the stock mar
ket, on the strength of the later
judgment aside from being relieved
Of the original and tremendous obi
cation. etf.
The American public will not take
kindly to this news. because it has
been trained to suspect and detest
the Standard Oil Company as the
chiefest commercial menace in the
country; and the concessions, even Of
the law, made in its behalf. take on
the color and substance of inspired
discrimination On the part Of the
courts granting them, no matter what
the quality Of justice confirming them
may be. The country rejoiced ex-
ceedingly when it became evident
that the Standard was to be severely
punished for its known and proven
derelictions; and for the hour, it will
resent the reversal of the tremendous
decree. But, sooner, or later, our ma
tional sense of fair play will take its
commanding place in the popular
consideration and the Judgment Of
tbs conrt Of review will Be accepted
as right and just, even if it be in a
purely abstract sense.
1t will be an unhappy day that
sees the national confidence in the
courts destroyed, and we should
guard against the dangerous con-
clusion with all the ardor and faith
that are left us. To nurse this appall-
ing creed of distrust to the point of
unanimous and bitter conviction, is
TO open the gates of revolution and
invite the curse of disintegration; to
give the Republic over to the enemies
OF peace and progress and abandon
the superb destiny Of our people, 1t
is OF insiduous growth, this absorbing
passion Of suspicion wherewith we
are silently tearing down Our own
great institutions about Our ears; we
are not really conscious Of the deadly
expansion of it, day by day, and year
by year; and we shall know the loss and
terror of it only when the realization
comes with annihilating force and
retributive significance We must be
supreme1y patient, supremely loyal
supremely honest, in our reception OF
this concrete expression OF American
law and the Interpretation thereof;
nothing short Of this will carry us
safely and sanely by the crisis it in
vites. 1t is UP to the people to stand
by their own courts and their own
laws.
In a commercial sense, this suit OF
the government against the Standard
and all the issues begotton of it, con-
stitute the hugest example of the law
invoked and applied, ever known in
the nations history, and its reception
by the people at large will be very
significant of the standards that pos
sess and govern US and Of Our sense
of duty along civic lines; we cannot
afford to sacrifice one scintilla of the
faith and duty we owe to the bull
wark Of our national existance, the
courts of the land, nor permit huge
national prejudice to warp us to an
archistic levels by so much as single