Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1908-10-06
DATA ON TRUST WAR.
Bonaparte Replies to Request
for Figures Made by Demo
cratic Officials
SOME RECORDS
Attorney General Shows Greatest suo-
cess in Prosecutions Was Under Ad-
ministration Of President Roosevelt
Tells of Suits Brought - Trusts Not
All Criminal.
uNEARrHs SOME RECORDS


Washington, Oct. 6.-Facts regard
ing trust prosecutions instituted by the
department OF justice during the pres
ent administration and previous ones
are set forth in detail In a letter by
Attorney General Bonaparte, Just made
public The letter Is an reply to one
from Josephus Daniels, chairman of the
democratic press committee at Chi
cago asking details regarding pro-
ceedings begun, the results obtained
and the status OF pending cases.
The reply gives a summary OF the
cases prosecuted substantially as fur
nished In report made public two
days ago, a copy of which the attorney
general forwarded to Mr.. Daniels The
attorney general says that his depart
Iment has prosecuted all cases under
the Sherman trust or interstate
to its attention from responsible
sources, where the facts disclosed war
ranteu such action.
Tells Of Suits Brought.
The attorney generals letter to the
democratic campaign official says:
II am duly In receipt OF your letter
of Sept. 80, in which you ask me to
furnish "a statement of those trusts
that have been prosecuted by the de-
! 80 n,,I tJ,a ~
fines collected, together with state
ment of the present standing OF the
litigation against those trusts that
have been prosecuted
II take pleasure in sending you here
with a report Just published, showing
the cases instituted under the Sher-
man anti trust law and the several
acts to regulate Interstate commerce.
There have been instituted during
the administration of President Roose-
Welt 22s proceedings. civil and Grim
inal. under these statutes. OF these
seventy-three have been concluded sue
cessfully, forty have been concluded
,insuccessfully and lis are now pend
ing. The various fines imposed in
criminal cases amount in the aggre-
ate to $1,260,325.
"Under previous republican admins
trations there were instituted under
these laws seventy-four civil and
criminal proceedings, of which thir-
teen were concluded successfully, sixty
were concluded ,msuccessfully and one
is yet pending. The amount of fines
imposed in these proceedings was S.
sol.
Under Democratic Rule.
"Under previous democratic admin
! istrations there were Instituted un-
der these laws fifty proceedings, civil
and criminal, of which fourteen were
concluded unsuccessfully, and one is
now pending. The fines imposed in
these proceedings amounted lin the
aggregate to $1O,6O0.
II could not inform you how many
corporations in the aggregate have
been defendants in these cases without
an inquiry which would be ATTENDED
with considerable delay. The number
is undoubtedly quite large. since In
most of the civil proceedings there
have been numerous defendants of this
character. For example, in the suit in
equity against the Standard Oil COM
pany Of New Jersey and others there
are some seventy corporations, as we'll
as a number of individuals, among the
defendants.
at is, of course, needless for me to
say that the mere fact that "a corpora
ton or association Is called "a trust
by John Moody in his manual does not
prove, or even tend to prove, that the
organization in question or its MEM
bers have been guilty of any violation
of federal law: neither is such guilt
suggested by the fact that such or
ganization may do "a large and appar-
emily profitable business
Trusts Not All Criminal.
"The criminal provisions of the
statute generally known as the Sher-
man ANTITRUST law apply only to those
who enter into contracts, combinations
or conspiracies in restraint of trade,
and, altl,o the statute provides that
such contract, combination or con-
spiracy shall be none the less criminal
because it takes the form of a trust,
this does not, of course, make trusts,
of themselves. criminal.
"Since have been attorney general
this department has prosecuted, either
ciyilly or crilninally, all cases of al
legged misconduct under the statutes
above mentioned which have been
brought to its attention from a respon-
silole source and in which the results
of a careful inquiry by competent and
impartial officers disclosed the eXts-
tence of such facts and Of such OBJ
tainable legal evidence to prove them
as afforded a reasonable hope of sue
cess in such prosecution. The policy OF
the department will be the same dur
ing the remainder Of my term of Of