The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-10-27
MAY ESCAPE BY
 TECHNICALLY
Statue of Limitation Applies In
 Sugar Trust Case
OPINION FAR REACHING
May Hamper Government in Prosecu- ton of Cases Against Corporations for Restraint of Trade-Jus-
 tice Holt's Opinion.

New York, October 26.-Gustav E. Kis-
 sel and Thomas B. Harmed, who were among those indicted along with the American Sugar Refining company for
 criminal conspiracy under the antitrust laws will escape under the provisions of
 the statute of limitations, according to an opinion handed down today by Justice
 Holt of the United States circuit court
 The opinion is a far-reaching one, ac-
 cording to the government attorneys, and
 if upheld is likely to prove serious
 set back to the government in many cases, brought under the law prohibiting conspiracy in restraint of trade. The indictments were brought in con nection with the closing of the Pennsyl- vania Sugar Refining company's indepen-
 dent plant in 1903. Kissell and Harmed pleaded that the plant was closed down
 and the entire transaction for which they were indicted was completed before Janu- ary f. 1903 Therefore, they said the ln-
 dictment, filed more than five years later. was barred under the statute of hmita- tions, which sets a limit of three years for prosecution of "crimes not capital.
 The government attorneys on the other
 hand pleaded that the crime charged
 against Kissel and Harmed was con
 tinuing offense" and that as long as the conspiracy continued and the plant Of the
 Pennsylvania company remained closed
 through the action of the American Sugar
 Refining company, the three~year period of
 the statute of limitations should not begin to run
 Justice Holt's opinion overruling the
 contentious of the government attorneys is in part as folloW6:
 Statutes of limitation are statutes. The interests of the communication and jus tice to persons charged with crime re-
 quire that offenses be promptly prose-
 cuted. Statutes of Limitations should be given a plain and sensible construction. Their effects should not be fritted away by a strained interpretation based on sub stantial and refined reasoning. The gov ernment has waited before bringing this
 prosecution for five years and half after the alleged offense was complete and In my opinion the statute of limitations is a bar to this indictment.
 "The law of conspiracy has been the subject of a great deal of over refined | discussion and the authorities upon the l subject are quite conflicting. Some hold | conspiracy to be an offense complete | when entered into, upon which the statute ! of limitations immediately begins to run 1 Others hold 1t to be continuing offense,
 from which 1t Is argued that the statute
 of limitations neve rbegins to run agains i a conspiracy until 1t has been abandoned
 and whatever result has been accom-
 plshed by 1t annulled.
 i "The governments counsel claims that the defendants having once entered upon | the conspiracy and closed the refinery oi i the Pennsylvania Sugar Refining com.
 pany continued to be in the conspiracy i every day, so long the refinery wal
 closed. It would follow that the only
 way in which the statute of limitations could be started running would be tc 1 rescnd the vote to close the refinery
 have the directors friendly to the Amer 1 ican Sugar company resign and deliver
 back to the original holders the stock | taken as collateral"
 i In conclusion Justice Holt declares that ] the demurrer by the government attor-
 neys to the pleas of Kissel and Harmed ! is overruled, land judgment dismissine
 the indictment as to said defendants may | be entered.''