The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1909-06-18
NEW Plan PROPOSED.

Since the American Sugar Refining
company compromised the suit of the
Pennsylvania Sugar Refining company,
agreeing to pay s., OO0, O0O in cash and
cancel the loan of s1.25O.OOO through
which it secured control of the Penn
syivania concern, a new plan to crush
trusts has been preached. The results
following the efforts of the government
in this direction have not been happy,
even when the prosecution was con-
Quoted with vigor. which did not always
happen. One of the young senators in
congress, said to possess great legal
ability, has pointed out that the action
Of the Pennsylvania company and its
result points the way to the most effec-
tive handling OF the trust problem yet
shown in this country. He says:
we should have such a system of
laws that men who have been dam
aged by a trust or one of those big
corporations could be certain of securing
adequate reparatiOn in court The pro-
cedpre should be made swift and certain.
IN my judgment that would work out
the solution of the trust question. If
ever trust or a big corporation, by any
OF the thousand unfair and oppressive
methods which they know how to en-
plOy, put man out of business he would
have chance Of obtaining redress
There would always he a motive for
such a man to bring an action, whereas
now there is never any motive for the
government to undertake the task. The
department of justice offers little reward
in the way of honor or glory, and none
= n a . n mo n
to make a record ia that kind Of work
The result is that If we get an attorney
general who is DESTROYS of making a rec
ord one or two cases satisfies him, and
after that things are permitted to run
along in the humdrum routine fashion to
the end Of his term. In order to have
the government act adequately IL re-
quires constant pounding, and even then
the result is usually far from satisfac-
tory.
Just think what would happen to the
sugar trust and the Standard oil COM
pany and the beef trust and such con-
Germs If they were called upon constantly
70 face 1ur1eS in such suits but the gen
eral procedure is so complicated and there
are so many opportunities to delay the
actions and to increase the expense that
ordinarily the damaged individual cannot
afford to fight.
IF the system of procedure were sim
plified and the way were made easy, then
every man who had been made the vic
tim Of the greed and oppression of these
trade conspiracies would have his remedy
and there would be an end to the present
trust methods"
Many suits have been brought in
times past against the Standard Oil
and other offensive monopo-
les by men who had been financially
rushed, but the law was invariably
found inadequate to reach them. IF
he statutes were to be amended in ac-
eordance with the views of the senator
above mentioned perhaps an effectual
curb might be applied. 1t is worth
trying at any rate.
Regarding the sugar trust, it is called
20 mind that an effort was made TO in
luce President Roosevelt to order its
and that Attorney General
3onaparte was unable to secure evil
fence. Now. after having been fined
wo or three million dollars for stealing
rom the government by means of I'M
the trust makes practical
acknowledgement of its being an Illegal
in restraint of trade by
with the Pennsylvania
This was evidently one of
he good" trusts Of the Roosevelt re-
yime.
It is said that the department of jus
ice has at last taken the trail of the
American Sugar Refining company and
hat prosecution will follow the dis
overy Of tthe necessary evidence to 1
onvict, which should not be difficult in
lew of the recent compromise. The
aw firm Of which Attorney General |
is a member having re- !
emily defended this particular trust, |
the situation somewhat.