The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1909-04-15

Louis. and others are now IN progress
IN the greatest OF all the busting
actions, that against the STANDARD Oil
company; the taking Of testimony in
four other big suits is being pushed rap.
idly, and the new attorney general and
his assistants who are interested as
special counsel In the various prosecu.
tions against the trusts and against
railroads and corporations charged with
being guilty Of Relating, are consulting
from time TO time relative TO the evi.
dence IN each case and the policy that
the new head Of the department Of JUS
tice proposes To follow out.
Attorney General Wiekersham Is ope.
rating the soft pedal in the matter Of
publicity. He says he can see no reason
why the same methods should not be
adopted for the governments legal ma.
chinery as have been found essential for
the success 81 q large private practice.
This, contrasted with the methods OF
his predecessors, has given rise TO an
impression that the Roosevelt trust poll.
cies are to be sidetraeked. The attorney
general and his chief trust buster, Wade
Ellis, Ohio's former attorney general,
who whipped certain trusts to a stand.
still in the Buckeye state, warmly re.
sent any such imputation. They have
heard IL, for il has been handled bark
and forward in Official, financial ana
newspaper circles for weeks.
In working out his idea that in All
future prosecutions there should be omit
ted "the customary fanfare as he has
expressed Il TO some OF his friends, At
torney General Wickcrsham meets every
inquiry relative to trust matters with
the declaration made the first few DAYS
OF his administration, that the govern
ment win press all suits in court in
which evidence warrants such action and
that II any cases are found IN which the
judgment Of the law office is against
further litigation, he win not hesitate
to have the proceedings abandoned.
lie put his O. X. upon the brief Of the
government in the Standard OH dissolu-
ton suit and he viii keep his eyes upon
the following actions;
The anthracite coal-carrying railroads.
in which testimony in benhalf Of the
government Il now being introduced be.
fore special commissioner appointed
by the circuit court at Philadelphia.
The so-ealled powder trust, in which
the government has just concluded the
introduction of direct testimony. before
a commissioner appointed By the circuit
court AZ Wilmington, Del
The Union Pacific and other Hartman
lines, IN which the introduction OF tes-
tim0ny for the government viii Be re-
sumed at Salt Lake City before the com
missioner appointed by the circuit court
at that place
The attorney general Is not ready to
announce what decision he has reached
concerning the dissolution suit against
the New, York, New Haven & Hartford
railroad company and others II Is still
insisted BY high authority that the /
case viii be abandoned N the near fn. |
ture. The evidence = understood to Be |
far short Of satisfying the new admin.
istration and it would not be surprising
II the case should never reach the circuit /
court at Boston. even ii the taking % /
testimony before a commissioner should /
be completed
1t is no easy task that confronts the 1
new attorney general Entering Office /
at a time Of sharp criticism in financial /
and industrial circles against the meth |
DDS Of his predecessor. surrounded by
legal advisers Of standing, but personally /
unknown to him, and confronted with /
an almost overwhelming array Of inn I
portant prosecutions, be has been fight. 4
ing bis way out Of the deluge 81 evidence
conferences. applications for offices, and 4
departmental routine.
On various court calendars are scores
Of cases other thanghose enumerated,
which must shortly come to trial. The
majority Of them have been brought un-
der the Elkins antirebate law. IN these
the Standard Oil company IS in bad.
There are seven prosecutions against it
il the western district OF New York, one
with $50 counts and another with ia.
There are six cases against ii in the
northern district Of Illinois, The Waters.
Pierce company must fight two suits ID
the eastern district Of Missouri. There
are four suits in the western district Of
New York against the Vacuum OH com
pany, In one of which there are 1888
counts, in another 40, and in another
81.
The New York Central the Taekawan-
ma, and tho Pennsylvania railroads are
lighting prosecutions in the western dis
triet Of New York Other suits are
Two against the Santa Re, in southern
two against the New York,
Chicago 4 st. Louis. in northern Iii
nois; three against tho Southern Pacific
IN southern California, and several cases
against the Southern Pacific in northern
California on counts ranging from s tol
80; one of 81 counts against the st.
Louis, Iron Mountain h Southern Rail-
way company, and the Missouri Pacific
in the eastern district Of Arkansas, and
l number Of suits against corporations
N Virginia, Illinois and California.