The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1910-04-26
UWasbinoton

President Taft declares that here
after, whether speaking to friend or
foe, whenever he makes joke he
will preface his remark with the dec
laration that it is a joke.
b1r. Taft's This is all apropos of his
Joke. jocular remark, made at
the Psi Epsilon dinner,
that first term was enough for him
that, judging from the trouble and
worry Of getting through the first
year of his administration, the con-
temptation of twenty-five terms, or
more than one, was more than he
could stand. There are times when
Mr.. Taft's humor is as effective in
print as when it is uttered, but there
are other times when, robbed of his
smile and intonation, the cold types
fail completely to convey the humor
he injects into his remarks, and there
are some of his friends who are dis
posed to congratulate him on his de-
termination to preface all future hui
morous assertions with the unmistak-
able declaration, This is a joke" de-
spite the fact that such a preface
might occasionally seem to reflect on
the intelligence of his auditors.
Lawyers who attended the lectures
of the late Justice Brewer at George
Washington University recall GU
rious coincidence in connection with
the rehearlng Of the Stand
Justice ard Oil and the Tobacco
Brewers Trust cases. AS long ago
Prophecy. as 1891 Justice Brewer,
lecturing on THE Consti-
tuition" outlined the trust problem
now pending in the Supreme Court.
Among other examples he cited the
suppositious case of butcher who
refused to purchase his supplies from
the large packers, but insisted on
buying from local producers, and of
the destruction of his trade by the big
packers through the fundamentally
of a local shop, established for the
sole purpose of destroying the dealer,
which was accomplished by means of
"cut prices "That, gentlemen"
said the Justice, lis very grave prob
lem, but 1t is one which will have to
be met. / do not attempt to Indicate
how the problem will be solved. That
is for you to decide in the fulness of
time, and some of you will have to
solve it--but will not 1t will come
after my time" And Justice Brewer
died when this very problem lay on
his desk awaiting decision.
X X X
Representative Hill, of Connecticut,
chairman of the Committee on Expen-
ditures in the Treasury Department,
returned to Washington, D. c., and
announced his purpose
Would Probe Immediately to call on
Sugar Trust. the President to inquire
if there still exists any
reason why Congress should not I'M
dertake an investigation of the Sugar
Trust. Congress has been anxious to
Investigate the affairs of this combin-
alton ever since the customs frauds
were unearthed in New York, but has
refrained from so doing because of
the assertion Of the President that
such an inquiry would be inimical to
the efforts of the Department Of JUS
tice to bring the culprits to justice.
Mr.. Hill purposes, il the President in
forms him that such objections no
longer exist, to report the Fitzgerald
resolution, which in effect formally
asks the President whether an investi-
cation by Congress would be expe-
dent. There is some reason to be-
lieve that the President will still ad-
wise against such an investigation by
Congress. While the customs frauds
have been probed, it is generally be-
lieved that the Attorney General has
secured valuable evidence on which to
conduct a prosecution for violation of
the Sherman antitrust law, in which
case he would doubtless deprecate an
investigation which might result in
immunity for some of those con
cerned.
That President Taft has profited by
the experience gained in his efforts to
determine what iS whisky is shown
by the fact that, after considering
with the members of his
To Test Cabinet the status of cleo
Bleached trically bleached -four I'M
Flour. der the pure food law, he
issued instructions to the
Secretary of Agriculture and the At
torney-General to take such steps as
may be necessary to enforce the law,
which, being interpreted, means that
this problem will be referred to the
courts by a test case. The South
western millers maintain that bleached
flour cannot be regarded as adulter-
ated, as it is merely subjected to an
electrical treatment, which renders 1t
white, like that made from the hard
wheat of the Northwest, and that this
in no way detracts from it's flavor or
food value. The Northwestern mill
ers, on the other hand, maintain that
bleached -four is adulterated and
should, at least, be so labelled.
X X X
Representative Bennett has intro
duced a bill which he maintains is
important to the welfare of the small
er tobacco manufacturers. His
measure would permit to-
Smaller bacco manufacturers to send
Tobacco out samples of cigarettes
Samples. and cigars consisting OF two
instead of five pieces, as is
now required by law. Mr.. Bennett
urges that while the large manufac-
turer can easily afford to send out
samples consisting of five cigars or
cigarettes, that requirement is Sc
rious hardship to the little fellows
whom he would benefit by his bill.