Wheeling majority. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1907-192?, 1910-06-23
cant PROSECUTE
J.. S. STEEL TRUST
Wickersham Tells Gonnpers That
It's Not Expedient" to Take
Up Case Against Combine.

Washington MOI This Is the Of
fetal answer to the question, 'sWill At
torney General Wickersham direct the
| powerful batteries of the federal gov
eminent against the United States
Steel Corporation?''
This, negative reply to the wish of
hundreds of thousands oppressed en-
ployes of the steel trust and to fair
minded people everywhere was made
by Wickersham to President Com
pers, Of the American Federation of
Labor, who had presented charges
and a mass of evidence against the
Billion dollar corporation to the Pres
ident of the United States.
/ The Attorney. General gives two
reasons for not using the Depart
ment of Justice in behalf of the steel
workers and the Independent steel
manufacturers and against the most
powerful and exploiting corporation in
the world
In reply to the charges showing
| that the steel trust and it's agents
| have committed a number of assaults
and batteries and acts of oppression
against labor organizers and it's own
employees, Wickersham claims tina.
the federal courts have no jurisdic \
ton over these cases, as they would
constitute offences against the laws os
| the respective states in which they
have taken place.
And in this fashion, the Attorney
General artfully declines to prosecute
| the biggest trust the world has
known, on the charge that it is en-
gagged in a combination to restrain
interstate and foreign trade and com
merce in steel and iron and their
products, and in endeavoring to mon
| opolize the same:
'The Department of Justice does not
| deem it expedient to take any action
| until the Supreme Court of the United
States shall have decided the appeals
now under consideration by it from
the judgments of the Circuit Courts il
the proceedings against the American
Tobacco Company and the Standard
| Oil Company of New Jersey, respec-
lively.
Both of these cases call for such
comprehensive construction and APP
| plication by the court of the provis-
ions of the Sherman act, that it APP
pears to be essential to await their de-
cision before entering upon the con
sideration of the question whether or
not the United States Steel Corpora
| ton and it's subsidiary companies con-
stitute combination in restraint o.
rade, or an attempt to monopolize the
interstate and foreign trade and com.
merce of the United States in products
of iron and steel, within the meaning
of the antitrust act of 1S9O.'-
The statement and evidence against
the steel trust was presented to the
administration by President Gompers
on March %. 1910. The statement al
legged that this monster combination
exists in violation of the Sherman and
Wilson tariff acts, that it has estab.
lished a peonage system in Gary, Ind,
and that it hires thugs and brides of
ficials to commit assaults. on men at
tempting to organize it's overworke1
and underpaid employees.
Immediately after filing charges with
President Taft, President Gompers,
and score of president of interna
tional unions appeared before Governor
Marshall, of Indiana, and lodged a,
complaint against conditions at Gary,
Ind, the "Steel Trust City" Nothing
has yet been heard from Governor
Marshall
President Gompers stated yesterday
that no reply to Wickersham is being
planned at this time,