Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1910-03-03
ATTORNEY GENERAL BYERS RE-
PLIES TO ATTACKS MADE BY
DEMOCRATIC POLITICIAN.
LEGISLATOR HAD CHANCE
TO LEGISLATE AND DID NOT
Miler's Attack on Attorney General
Anent Anti Trust Laws Brings Forth
Reply That Puts obstreperous
Waverly Man on the Run-7yers
Scores Him for His Inconsistency.
snenial 10 rimes-Renuhlican.

Special to Times Republican.
Des Moines, March 3.-Attorney
General Byers has replied to the
Charley Miller attack upon him anent
the antitrust laws, and in a manner
to silence the mirth of the democratic
and standpat organs completely. Byers
saw the letter in the democratic paper
at his home town and wrote his letter
10 the editor of the Harlan Tribune.
He had ignored it before because of
its evident lack of good faith. AS to
Miller he says:
He is the same man who went as a
delegate from Iowa to the rump "a te
convention held in Chicago, prior to
the enactment of the Hepburn amend
nent 10 the interstate commerce act,
for the purpose of defeating the Roose-
welt railroad rate policy; the same man
who so wantonly and cruelty attacked
the old soldiers and their friends who
were interested in the dedication of the
soldiers monuments on southern bat
tlefelds, and who less than a year ago
slandered the whole medical profession
Of the state just because he had had
trouble al home with one of its mem
bers.
The attorney general then gives the
full text of his letter TO county attor--
neys July 10 last in which he called
especial attention TO the Iowa laws
which prohibit every form of COM
bination and unfair discrimination for
the purpose of destroying competition"
and stated to them that '!tle legisla
ture has placed the responsibility of
enforcing these laws jointly upon coun-
~ attorneys and the attorney gener-
| al
! Mr. Byers states that shortly after
wards the matter was taken up by him
in person with several county attor-
neys and a the moment the Miller let
| ter was being written three grand jur-
1 les were at work upon it. and:
! In addition to this and long prior
to the converting of the last general
assembly we had canvassed the entire
state thru the county attorneys for
evidence of the operation of Illegal
combinations against the Standard Oil
| Company one of which cases is still
pending in the district court awaiting
decision in the other in the supreme
court.
Preparation was also made months
ago to commence action against one
of the so-called trusts which was do
Il ing business in this state if the out
come OF a similar case which was be-
ing prosecuted in an adjoining state
warranted it. The author of the open
letter knew all about this early last
winter
"On Jan. 81 this year, eleven days
before the date of this open letter, ]
called upon every county attorney in
the state for report not only as to
/ saloons. gambling and bawdy houses
but as to what if anything was being
done by them in the way of trust
prosecution. This letter was given wide
publicity in the press of the state and
of the waverlv Democrat saw it.
Miller Had His Chance.
Substantially every one of the nine
ty-nine county. attorneys in the state
including the county attorney of the
county in which the Waverly Democrat
is published, have sent in their reports
and with but three or four exceptions
report no trust or combinations in re-
straint of trade doing business in their
counties. In three or four of the cities
Of the state the county attorneys re-
port that investigations are being made
but that it is difficult to secure the
necessary evidence TO justify prosecu-
ton The present county attorney OF
Polk county reports two different grand
jury investigations.
"All these facts were open to the
gentleman who INDUCES in open letter:
if he had cared to make inquiry abou-
them.
The truth is that the difficulty witt
our existing trust statutes is that M
provision whatever is made by which
the prosecutor can secure the neces-
sary evidence for conviction. All par
ties to the illegal combination being
equally guilty there is no way to com
pei the giving of testimony. That wa!
the difficulty with the old law and it i:
the difficulty with the Kull law passed
by the thirty-third general assembly.
THE editor of the Waverly Dernocra
was advised of this fatal defect durins
the session of the thirty-third genera
assembly, and if he had been as care.
full about stating the whole truth in hi
letter as he was in being coarsely and
brutally funny. he would have inform
ed the public that the trust bill he in
troduced was written in the attorne.
. generals office, and that in it was /:
complete and perfect definition of tn,
trust and compin and a section pro-
. viding q method by which the prosecu
tor would compel officers and member
of such concerns to give testimony
neither of which provisions were in
Guided in the so-called Kull bill.
Notwithstanding these defects,
any one anywhere will furnish this de
oartment with legal evidence of the ex
istence Of a trust or combine, or tel
US where we can find 1t we will promis
prompt prosecution, and we offer on
record along other lines as guarante
that the promise will be kept.
During the session of the last gen
eral assembly no member of that bod
had better opportunity to know jus
| how busy we were in our department
than this ready letter writer, and n
man was shown greater courtesy an
extended more privileges than was hi
! His conduct, under the circumstance
warrants the suspicion that his objec
ton is not due so much to our lack Q
energy along the trust line as it is
our activities in other lines.
1.-The reports of the county attorney
so far received indicate that the Sun
day saloon, the ali-night saloon, tn
open gambling house and the red ligh
district have been banished from tn
~