Lower coast gazette., 1909-05-22
- Rnforcinq The Laws of The Country.

pros;dor+ Roosevelt deserves commentator for his Inaugural
Of the prosecution against the various trusts OF ue country
and while some of his opponents may think that ne was making d
Grand stand play and was not sufficiently serious in his prosecu-
t;ons a. evidenced bv the way they dragged their weary length
along. still the prosecutions have been i~naugurated ana What re-
suits have been realized are very satisfactory so lar as they ."
U. s. Attorney General Wickersham, the chief law officer OF tne
present administration, at the dinner given IN MS honor IN
New York some weeks ago, seems to be hesltanng somewhat s ="
his course, or the course of the administration in the future IN
these prosecutions. He indicates that the methods which were
necessary to waken the business community to a recoghuoh o i ue
existence and vitality of the antitrust laws are no longer essental.
The business community has awakened and they now Know tnat
the antitrust laws are in existence and Mr.. Wickersham indicates
that in order to impress the merits or dement's of the situation
upon the business world at large it was necessary 10 maugurate
these proceedings, but in making that assertion ne seems TO mol
cate that he thinks that the prosecutions that have already oeen
inaugurated was sufficient to hold the various offenders AGAINST the
law in terrorem, as it were, and prevent any further oftenses on
their part. In fact, he went SO far as to have said that some suits
we're instituted and some prosecutions begun without sunaclent
Consideration and without adequate cause. He says, further, that
when such considerations were found to exist the present admins
trration will not hesitate to withdraw suits or dismiss prosecutions
though such action must not be taken as any evidence OF an lnten~
ton to abandon the vigorous and impartial enforcement OF the
law.
! Secretary Wickersham seems to be hedging on rather danger
Gus ground here. If we recall the facts correctly, some members aat
Of the Hurpentine Trust have been sentenced to imprisonment
within the last few weeks and certainly illegal combinations are
prevailing 50 generally over the country that the OLD tashloneo
competition that was considered the life of trade and wherein the
fttest would be the one to survive, the less fit going to the wall
has been condemned as a destructive and ~inexpedient method. II
fact, he indicates that the law as rendered by the judges OF tn
Court Of Appeals in New York in the tobacco case, is too drastic
and he thinks that congress may 50 amend the act as to excep
from its provisions the ordinary agreements which are the NEcEs
sARY RESULT OF HEALTHY BUSINESS G%oNnrfioNs, while still aztec
lively prohibiting the creation Of those far reaching monopoies
which are believed to be incompatible with the wholesome wetar
and progress Of the republic. In these words Secretary Wicker
sham aiyes away the whole case. He seemingly reiterates VIVA
Roosevelt said some years ago; that there were good trusts an
had trusts and that the bad ones should be eliminated. Who Q
earth is to distinguish between these bene6cient trusts and mahf
nant trusts the Lord only knows. Shall it be Secretary wicker
.ham. who now seems to have cold feet as to his future prosec'
lions under the law? So far as we know, practically every tu
in the United States utizes the boycott insofar as it is PRACTICAL
without doing itself more harm than any seeming advantage
might gain by such boycott The boycottis a blow in the bac
the weapon Of the assassin and not q square, stand up, open ngn
The hacking house trust, for year insisted on the butchers in Il
various towns taking their products and failing to secure them
castomers, they would start an opposhioe house nearby and az \