The Washington herald., 1910-01-02

authors or the proposed Dtii. oSo SteNo-
ment OF Henry B. Martin page ZOO. Mr.. |
Low stated that he did not draw the
provisions of the bill they were
drawn by Mr.. Stetson. attorney for the
steel trust, and Mr.. Morawetz. and other
members Of large corporations. It was
further stated by Prof, jerks.
that 1t was not only drawn IN that way,
but that il had the approval of Mr.. Gary
OF the steel trust In the House hearing
OF April 4. 1908 page 81. Chairman Little
field asked Mr.. Low, Who are the men
who actually drew it?' Answer: We
conferred with Mr.. Gary, of the United
States Steel Corporation He is in
Washington. and / think ne came here
on purpose for this hearing. The law
yers actually engaged in the, drafting
OF the bin were Mr.. Francis Lynde
Stetson. and Mr.. Victor Morawetz, Prof.
jerks, of the federation, Mr.. Herbert
Knox Smith, OF the Bureau OF Corpora
tons
ION January &C. 1909, Senator Nelson,
OF Minnesota made the report of the
committee ono s4S, Goth Cong, I'd sss-
sion) This report destroyed the bin
for the session But the Foraker bin
was again introduced in the 6lst Congress
by Representative Charles G. Washburn
Of Massachusetts.
Taft Has Able Advisers.
A washington paper is then quoted. as
follows:
MEN WHO FACE BIG PROBLEMS.
Tn such men as Wickersham, the At
torney General, and his youthful though
able Assistants. Bowers and Ellis; Dickin-
son, the Secretary OF War; Knox, the
Secretary OF State; MacVeagh, the secre-
tary OF the Treasury and Nagel, the
! Secretary Of Commerce and Labor. Taft
has a combination Of men well adapted
by experience to work out what to-day
IS the greatest problem OF his administra-
ton.
Much Of the time OF the President and
his Cabinet officers during the summer
and fail will be devoted to the construc-
ton Of this plan for the proper control OF
corporations. and Mr.. Taft viii explain
| Il in his message to Congress next De
| cember. Embraced in the plan
also viii be the effacement Of the anti
Quated features Of the Sherman antitrust
law, for concededly modern business con-
dltions require modification Of the pro-
visions Of that statute
"The foregoing programme originated in
one administration, defeated by Senator
Nelson's report, but intended for COM
lpletIon under the next administration. has
come to grief. When we look for utter
l ances Of President Taft in his message OF
December 7 concerning the Sherman anti
trust law. like that or his predecessor.
saying that Congress cannot afford TO
leave It on the statute books In It's pres
ent shape, we find only ten-line para
graph, headed Antitrust and Interstate
/ Commerce Laws which says that the de-
Ivelopments call for q discussion and
some suggestions as to amendments
which he prefers 10 embody in a special
message!
No Unreasonable Crimes"
There seems to be no doubt that there
has been sufficient discussion By the
President and his advisers to lead them
to reach a decision not to attempt TO
provide for the creation Of a class or
reasonable crimes which may be prose-
cuted, but not in the end punished if the
judge concludes at the close Of the trial
that on the whole the crimes are rea-
sonable ones TO be committed! Il is IN
derstood that the President after due
consideration fully agrees with Senator
Nelson's report the elaborated PROPOSE
ton of which. concisely given, is that
stated by Mr., Justice Brewer and Sen
ator Nelson. as follows:
Mr.. Justice Brewer says:
In order to constitute a crime, the act
must be one as to which the party is
able TO know in advance whether IL is
criminal OF not. The criminality OF an
act cannot depend upon whether a jury
may think It reasonable or unreason-
able (52 Fed. 917.)
Senator Nelson says:
"A court or jury In Ohio might find a
given agreement or combination reason
able. while a court or jury in Wisconsin
might find the same agreement or COM
bination unreasonable TO amend the
antitrust act as suggested In the bill
would be 10 entirely emasculate il. and
for all practical purposes render it nuga-
tory as a remedial statute Tt prac-
ucally covers the field OF Federal juris-
diction and is in every respect q model
law To destroy or undermine 1;
would be a calamity
Persons interested in the question
should send for Senator Nelson's re-
port, No. S4s. OF January &c, 1903"
Urges Unity of Action.
Under the caption OF "A test for re-
formers" Senator Chandler quotes a let.
ter OF Senator Root, saying the people
capable OF uniting Is the race which rules
He then says:
Let us reformers apply this test Il
ourselves. II we want TO get ten thing:
and find that we can now get only nine
let US sincerely and earnestly work FOL
, the nine and keep pressing on for the
ten. Do not on any pretense help defea
the nine because we cannot now get thu
ten. Let US be practical men In a gool
sense. In this life it seldom happens thai
complicated events result exactly in tn,
y way and to the same extent favOrably
that we wish them TO. Wonders ar,
worked in a mysterious way.
"SinCe Republican reform began witt
the opening Of this century, great things
= have happened which never dared hop,
to see in my lifetime. Let US go forwarC
comparatively to achieve greater. results
= My own views are more radical on mos
: measures OF reform than those OF an,
: other reformers.
But I recognize the necessity for co