The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1910-02-05
TAFT NOT ANXIOUS
FOR ANY SENSATION
He Wants to Protect the In
nocent Bystander and the
"Good Trusts"-He Has a
Fine Legal Army.

President Taft has sought to restrain
the sensationalists from trumpeting his
every move in the world, and thus
producing shaky and feverish condt-
ton among business interests, which
really have no cause for sitting awake
nights. His ingrained conservatism and
his sense of justice have led him to
protect the innocent bystander," or
the good corporation, from an ounce
of worry. But this does not blunt the
salient facts about the coming legal
onslaught, plans for which are al
ready perfected.
The fact is, President Taft has al
ready a mighty trust al by himself
without saying word to the country
about 1.-THE Law Trust His cabinet
of rare legal talent is almost unparal-
leled in the history of the nation. 1t
is about to clear the decks and get in
to action. When that is done, the bad,
greedy, cormorant Octopus had better
draw in its tentacles and humbly beg
for mercy. Otherwise things are not
likely to go well with it.
Phiiander c. Knox.
We have, for instance, the keen.
hard-brained Philander Chase Knox,
premier of the cabinet board. who has
the Northern Securities scalp dang
ling at his belt, and who was one of
the best prosecuting attorney-generals
that the nation ever had. Also the
equally keen, hard-brained George
Woodward, Attorney-Generan, whose
mind is as swift as a panther's. and
who came into the cabinet because
he was ambitious to leave q record of
honorable public service. He sees his
opportunity in subjugating all unrully,
defiant, lawless. predatory corpora
tions, and is absolutely confident in his
own ability to accomplish the said sub
jugation.
In the board of strategy there are
also Jacob McGavock Dickinson, Sec
rotary of War: Charles Nagel, Secre-
tary of Commerce and Labor; Wade
Ellis, Assistant to the Attorney-Gener-
tt; and Frank B. Kellogg, all Of whom
stand in the front rank of the bar.
Played Shrewd Game.
In selecting the Beef Trust as their
f.rst victim, the board Of strategy has
ayed a shrewd and level-headed
me. In the first place. the evidence
-ainst the giant monopoly is said
10 clinch the governments case beyond
reasonable doubt. In the second place,
President Taft is confident the Su-
preme Court in the Standard Oil and
Tobacco Trust cases, will uphold the
decisions of the lower courts. In the
third place. no more popular object
Packing company, under which name
the Armour-Swift combination does
business, could have ben chosen.
The suit to dissilve the Beef Trust
will be significant in many ways. It
will be the citerion by which the value
of future prosecuting under the Sher-
man Antitrust law will be judged. 1t
has a direct bearing on the question
which is now agitating the country
which threatens to become a political
issue and to make or break the Taft
administration. 1t will expose the pro-
cesses by which artificially high prices
are maintained and the restraint of
trade accomplished. 1t will leither do
that or exempt the corporation from ali
blame for the present meat prices. No
one really belives that the Beef Trust
is as guiltless of such sinister manipu-
lation as it pretends to- be.
May Hit Retailers.
The present retail price of beef is so
high that the meat boycott threatens
to become a national movement. 1t
has already proved its power to knock
down prices. But it is obvious that the
boycott will hit a possibly innocent
party-the retailer-hardest and practi-
cally leave the real offender-the pack
ers' trust-unscathed. 1t has been sug-
gested that it is the farmer that creates
high meat prices and who derives the
benefit from them. An illustration
from the Baltimore market, humor
proves exactly the contrary.
The price of first quality beef cattle
in that city is from to AZ pound,
and medium quality to 81 cents a
pound. This was the price the farmer
received for his cattle. Out of it he had
to pay freight. commission, an dper-
maps Otner charges. leaving MIN d very
small profit upon the cattle he has fat
ened upon corn worth 60 to 20 cents
a bushel A beef loses about % per
cent. in butchering, therefore the price
paid by the butcher for first-class beef
cattle would be about 5 cents and
little upward. and for medium about
1910 pound. The retail market re-
ports show that the price charged the
consumer for roasts is Is to 20 cents
a pound. and for steaks IS to . cents.
What Lowest Price Is.
The lowest price at which any is sold
is 8 cents: soup meat. 1t is estimated
that what is called the fifth quarter
that is, the hide aud tallow-pays the
cost of butchering. Dressed hogs are
quoted by the farmer at g. to 10 cents