The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1910-01-27
NO LEN|ENCY To Be
SHOWN To BAD TRUSTS
Unlawful Combinations In Restraint
of Trade Must Cease.

WASHINGTON, Jan. "a. - President
Taft, it is authoritively known, has
planned an extensive onslaught on bad
trusts for an early date. Through At
torney General Wickersham and Wade
Ellis, assistant attorney general and
trust expert of the Department of JUS
tice, he has practically got the machin-
cry in motion for his campaign. All he
is waiting for is the decisions of the
United State Supreme Court in the
Standard Oil and American Tobacco
trust cases. He is confident these de-
cisions will give the government wide
powers of proceeding against trusts
that are destroying competition and fix
ing prices ruinous to smaller and indie
pendent concerns.
The antitrust campaign will, it is
now believed, include the gigantic steel
trust, which trust will experience for
the first time the heavy hand of the
! government. The President, to the
/ few people he has talked with on the
the subject, will not specify definitely
| that the steel trust is to be investigated
and probably proceeded against. He
avoided any definite answer as to this
particular combination, but he is known
to feel that it might be just as well for
the government to be fully acquainted
with the processes of this gigantic com
bination.
! Recently the American Federation of
Labor filed specific charges against the
trust, claiming it to be violating, in
the most fragrant manner, the Sherman
antitrust laws. This complaint was
forwarded to the Department of Justice
in the usual way, and has been given
no unusual attention. The steel trust
has escaped proceedings in the courts
up to this time, the Department of JUS
tice under former administrations hav-
ing some doubts as to whether it would
be wise to tackle the combination If
President Taft's confidence as to the
decisions of the Supreme Court is cor
rect there is little doubt that the big
combination will be among the first to
be tackled.
President Taft promised the people
of the country, in his campaign
speeches that he would enforce the
Sherman antitrust law. The Republi-
can national convention made the same
promises. The President does not con-
slider it necessary to get up on the
housetops every morning and declare
his intention to carry out his campaign
pledges. He proposes to act and let
the talking go.
The President is greatly pleased with
the effectiveness of the government or
ganizatlon for the handling of the
trusts. He is more than gratified with
the activity and earnestness of Attor-
ney General Wickersham and the steady
and untiring investigation of Mr.. Ellis.
He proposes to strengthen the trust
bureau of the Department of Justice by
the addition of the best talent availa-
bic, when he proceeds with his cam
paIgn of taking into the courts those
concerns that appear to be more or less
inclined to view the laws of the govern
ment as inapplcable to some combina-
tions. The Department of Justice has
a large sum of money available for this
purpose and the President proposes to
ask the appropriation committee of the
House to keep the supply well up.
1t is evident from the informatiC n
available today that some of the trusts
that have been heretofore ranked among
the good" ones must make it pretty
plain that they are in that class. They
will have to show the administration
that they are all right. The steel trust
has always put forth the claim that any
attack upon it would seriously endan-
ger great enterprises and lessen conf
dence generally. President Taft feels
that no combination is too big to escape
thorough investigation, and so soon as
he gives the word the searchlght will
be thrown on big and little and the
courts invoked, if determined neces-
sary. That they will be invoked in a
number of instances is now the plan.
/ Tt ere is no possible chance, from IN
side information, that the suit against
the Union and Southern Pacific merger
will be dropped by the administration.
Out of courtesy to the officials of those
roads the administration has permitted
the filing of a memorandum setting
forth the contention of the officials
that the government has no case and
should drop it's efforts. The President
is so far inclined to the opinion that the
best place to test the question of good
or bad case is in the courts.