Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1910-04-14
MORE Insurgency
SENATOR La Toilette uses
PLAIN LANGUAGE in SENATE.
Attorney General WiCkerSham Is Ar
raiqned tor DiSmiSSing Merger
Suit Against the Boston 4 r1a...c
Railroad, Instituted by ROOSe-
welt.

WASHINGTON, d. c., April 12.-
Incidental to the consideration OF
the administration railroad bill the
merger of the Boston & Maine rail-
road with the New York, New Haven
& Hartford railroad, through the
Massachusetts holding law was dis
cussed at length in the senate today.
The principal speech attacking the
consolidation in unstinted language
was made by Senator Latollettee and
consumed the larger part of the days
session.
Mr.. LaFOllette presented this
transaction in great detail to illus
trate the possible effect of the enact
ment into law of the merger provis-
ion of the pending railroad bill. He
traced the consolidation from the be-
ginning, but gave especial attention
to the Massachusetts legislation un-
der which the merger was made ef-
fective. 1t was practically charged
by the senator that this enactment
had been cOnSummated at the direc-
tiOn of President Mellen of the New
Haven, who represented the Morgan
Rockefeller interests. He quoted from
a member of the Massachusetts legis-
lature that Governor Draper had re-
spOnded to an ultimatum from the
New Haven interests. He undertook
to show the federal merger suit insti-
tuted during the Roosevelt adminis-
tration had been dismissed at the die
tation of Attorney General Wicker
sham under the Taft administration
| for the inadequate reason that the
Massachusetts Legislature had passed
the holding bill under which the con-
solidation was effected.
1t was towards the close of his
speech that Mr.. LaFollette made his
sharpest reference to Mr.. Wicker
sham. He had practically conclud-
ed his exposition of the New England
measure and was devoting himself to
condemnation of the pending bill
when, rising to his tiptoes, he eX-
claimed: rs this the wise legisla-
tiOn embodying no sudden impulse,
but matured views expressed in par
ty council which the attorney gener-
al in his recent speech at Chicago
said is pressed for enactment?' Is
it for legislation such as this the at
torney general commands all who
would not be read out of the repub-
lican party to get in line?''
Mr.. LaFollette asserted that at the
DClcSl vi llc NcW I1dNtu COlIlDduy,
the Massachusetts legislation had un-
dertaken to repeal a federal law and
| license an act congress had declared
to be a crime against the people.
And" he said, the attorney gen.
eral, the highest law officer of the
federal government, is sworn to pre-
serve, protect and defend the consti-
tuition and enforce the law of con-
gress gives his official approval of
this legislative compact between the
New Haven company and the Massa-
chusetts legislature to nulify the law
of congress and declares it expressly
authorizes what congress has ex-
pressly forbidden.
''If the federal antitrust law can
be repealed by a state legislature
if the department of justice at Wash
ington will hold conferences with
and lend countenance to the agents
of law-breaking corporations while
they are engaged in lobbying through
state legislatures a pretended sane
tion of their violation of the crimin-
al statutes of the federal govern
ment and then by official edict make
such statutes a shield and cover un-
der which the criminal corporation
may go unwhipped of justice-if the
door of the federal court may thus
be closed in the face of a wronged
and outraged public by the attorney
general of the United States, then
the law becomes a black art and JUS
tice mere juggler's pawn.
Instead of dismissing the govern
ment suit for the insufficient rea-
sons assigned the law officers of the
federal government under the new
administration, If prompted by a
high purpose to serve the public,
would have sought every legitimate
means to strengthen and make in
vincible the government case for