The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-16
POMERENE PLEADS
 FOR PROSECUTION
Demands Criminal Proceed
 ings Against Trusts
SHOULD ENFORCE LAW
Ohio Senator Says Standard Oil and Tobacco Trust Should Be Crimi- nally Prosecuted or Sher-
 man Law Repealed

Washington, June 15.-In a prepared speech Senator Pomerene today called upon the Attorney General to under take criminal prosecution of the off cers of the Standard Oil and Amer ican Tobacco companies under the re- cent decision of the supreme court of the United States In the two cases of the corporations. He did not ask for action on his resolution instructing the Attorney General to begin the suits, giving way to Senator Nelson, who de- sired to speak on Canadian reciprocity, but he will press for vote on it in the immediate future.
 Taking up cudgels on behalf of At | torney General Wickersham, whom MT. | Pomerene had criticised, Senator Ken yon declared the present head of the department of justice had achieved more results in his prosecution of trusts than any of his predecessors. He said Mir Wickersham did not require Instructions from Congress to do his duty.
 Senator Nelson created a diversion when, in applauding MT. Wickersham' work, he declared that the present gov ernor of ohio, Judson Harmon, when attorney general in President Cleve- lands cabinet, had said the sherman antitrust law was a dead letter.
 Both Senators Pomerene and Hitch cock were immediately on their feet to reply.
 That is mere imagination" said the Nebraska senator. MT. Harmon was the first official who first breathed life into the law"
 The Ohio senator declared al the out set that the sherman antitrust law was specific in it's authority to press such a suit against conspirators who restrain trade. He contended that the lawyers doubts of the meaning of the statute were "in proportion to the size of the fee they received from their clients" and that the interpretation of the law by the supreme court Of the United States was clear.
 Enforce Law or Repeal It
 ''Now, with these plain findings of fsct and conclusions by the court that this statute has been violated, he said. at reason can he given by any By orn court official for mol continuing hls teht against them in order to bring them to the bar of justice? What eX- cuse can any lawmaker or any eXecu- tive official give to the people of this country for q failure to enforce this law when they are every day exerting themselves to punish attractions of the law against other transgressors with less money and less influence at their command A decent sense of self-re- spect requires the government either to enforce this law or to repeal It.
 Declaring that if criminal prosecu- ton had been undertaken when the law was first enforced there would have been no such concentration of power as exemplified by either of the two corporations under discussion MT. Pomerene said the ruling of. the su- preme court must be followed up quickly in the most vigorous fashion, ''or the fruits of those victories will be lost to the government and to the people,"
 'Speaking for myself" he said, "l think it is high time that the Ameri- can people should understand whether the stars and stripes are to be the emblem of their power and authority or whether that emblem shall be the oil barrel or the tobacco tag"
 He declared there was precedent for his resolution of instruction to the At tOrney General lnaSHuCn dS lue ldttSi had failed to undertake the criminal litigation, although 1t Is provided for in the antitrust law.
 "The Attorney General Is but crea- ture of the law" he said. Ills office was created by Cogress. He is clothed with such powers and required to per form such duties as Congress sees fit to demand of him. It can add to or 1t can take away from those powers whenever in it's judgment it Is deemed proper. It is not proposed this reso- lution shall have the same force and effect as a statute, but it is proposed to declare to the department of justice in no uncertain terms that Congress which made him and clothed him with power, Is cognizant of the fact that the law has been violated; that the court has so declared; that for 21 years no respect has been paid by any of those defendants to the provisions of the law and that in the judgment of Congress he ought to begin these criminal pro- ceedings and prosecute and the reso- lution instructs him to so do in order that the majesty of the law may be preserved"
 Senator Pomerene closed with an ap- neal for support of the resolution.