Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1911-10-31
WILL LAST EIGHTEEN MONTHS
Loser TO Appeal and Supreme Tribunal
viii Decide the lssue-oiI and
Tobacco Rulings Are Not
Criterion.

ment's dissolution suit has been
brought.
On Jan. 2, 1919, the steel corpora.
ton is expected to file it's answer to
the governments sensational charges,
which hardly have been paralleled in
all the antitrust suits brought by tho
department Of Justice.
Several legal maneuvers, of which
the steel corporations lawyers could
avail themselves, may postpone the
date of their answer, for they have
the right to ask the court to give 80
days more grace. thus extending their
time to Feb. 2.
In the meantime, they may demur to
some of the governments allegations
or they may file bill of exceptions.
Either action would automatically de.
lay the actual beginning Of the trial.
The government expects that none Of
the formalities of law will be over
looked by its opponents. II Is pos,
sible. however, that no legal technical;
tiles may be thrown In the way in that
case, the earliest date upon which the
trial can begin is Jan. 2.
Three Judges to Name Master.
The procedure will be for Judges
Gray, tanning and Burlington to ap
point a master to hear testimony. The
master SO appointed will take evidence
in various parts Of the country. It re.
quired year and half to take the
testimony in the Standard OIL case.
The government expects to do as we'll
in the steel case.
When the taking Of testimony is I'm.
ished and both sides have been heard,
the circuit court will decide the ISSUE
Whichever side loses will appeal and
by the operation of the so-called expo
diting act. the case will Jump to the
supreme court. where the fate of the
greatest corporation in the world will
be decided.
Department of Justice officials do not
feel that the supreme court decisions
in the oil and tobacco cases will de-
eide the steel case. Attorney General
Wickersham declared he is convinced
more than ever that each case must
be settled on its own merits and that
the oil and tobacco cases cannot fairly
be called models for solving the trust
question.
The attorney general was asked II
he hoped the steel corporation would
volunteer to readjust its organization
and avert further prosecution of the
suit, as has been done by the Interna-
tional Harvester company, the cleo
trical trust. the Southern Grocers'
trust, and some other combinations.
He indicated that he expected no such
conciliatory movement.
Department of justice officials think
1t will be a fight to the finish. Mr..
Wickersham declined to say II he is
preparing or considering criminal pros
ecution of any of the defendants in
the case.
It was declared that Jacob NJ. Dick
inson, former secretary of war. who
has been engaged as the governments
special counsel. would occupy the
same position In the case against the
steel corporation that Frank B. KEEL.
logg of St. Paul did in the Standard
Oil case.
1t was intimated at the department
Of Justice that the government con.
siders its case practically complete.
Special agents who have worked for
the last two years or more still are
gathering some loose ends, but on the
whole the attorney general feels con-
fldent in going to trial on what evi.
dence has been obtained.
Now that the governments fight to
dissolve the United States Steel cor.
poration has been fairly started, there
will be no slow movement in the bat.
tle
When the bill was filed in United
States court at Trenton asking for the
dissolution of the corporation and its
subsidiaries Attorney General Wick.
ersham also filed "a certificate of pub.
lie importance" This states that the
case is Of utmost importance to the
government and asks that It be heard
by a bench of four justices. Ordinar.
lily it would be heard by only one.
The governments bill charges that
the Federal Steel company. tho Car
negie company of New Jersey. tho
American Steel and Wire company Of
New Jersey. the National Tube COM
pany, the National Steel company.
American Sheet Steel company and
others are illegal trusts In themselves
and combinations TO monopolize trade.
The government asks that all these
companies be dissolved and set back
into the integral units Of which they
were formed, even before the organi-
cation of the United States Steel cor
poration.
Department Of Justice officials ex-
pressed the belief that the two most
vulnerable points in the steel trusts
organization are the Great Northern
ore lease and its ownership of the Ten
nessee Coal and Iron company. Off,
cials of the Steel corporation evident
ly recognize this, but government Off
Gals declared the fact that the cor
poration's directors have voted to abro-
gate the ore lease is of no practical
effect because even 30 the lease will
not terminate until 1915.
Combinations within combinations.
pools within pools, agreements both
written and unwritten, to fix prices
and stifle competition, are alleged in
minntA datsil in the suit of the gov