The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-11-28
GUNS OF ORATORY
 TURNED ON TRUSTS
Believed Courts Are Taking
 Too Many Liberties
BRISTOW ON WAR PATH
Believes People Will Not Tolerate Policy of Reorganizing M0nopo- lies Without Furnishing Them
 for Violations of Law

Washington, November 27.-(SpeciaD.- The guns of oratory in Congress, from both democratic and insurgent sources. are to be turned during the approaching session on the administration of trusts and great combinations by judicial con struction.
 While Wall street is now congratulat- ing itself upon the action of the circuit court which approved the plan of disso- luton of the Tobacco Trust, various ele- ments in Congress already are unlimber- lng their batteries to be turned oh the very policy which brought about this de- cision There are members of Congress, both in the Senate and the House, who feel that the courts are gradually talk ing to themselves too much jurisdiction Iii the interpretation of the antitrust laws and that as consequence the courts are becoming legislative as well as judicial bodies.
 The first mutterings were heard in Congress when the supreme court read the words reasonable" and unreason- able into the Sherman antitrust law through the decisions of the Standard Oil and Tobacco trust cases. There is developing sentiment in the national leg islative body for amendments to the Sherman law that will make it's meaning every loophole through which the courts can order different construction. On the other hand. there is certain school of statesmen who believe that the Sher- man law must remain untouched and that amendments at this time will revive the entire controversy that has ragged about the construction of the law for the past 20 years
 Senator Bristow the Kansas insurgent, IS one member of the Senate who does not approve of the present policy of the department of justice as it relates to great industrial corporations and the trusts. He declares that the policy of the Attorney General in regulating these combines by judicial decrees is utterly indefensible and wrong.
 Senator Bristow pointed out that as result of this policy, which is something new in the government relations to big business concerns that are recognized as violators of the antitrust law are enabled by a change of form, to get in under the shelter of the law in such manner as to make the courts sponsors for them. Senator Bristow does not be- leve that the American people will tol- crate any such policies. If the trusts are guilty of violations of thes law, the Kansas senator and quite number of other legislators believe they should be made to suffer the consequences and should not be permitted to come into court and agree to a decree which mere ly changes the form of their existence, without punishing for past offenses.
 While Senator Bristow is not ready at this time to make definite announce ment as to the legislation he will pro- pose for the regulation of great industrial concerns and big business generally, he has no hesitation in saying that the sub Ject is one of gravest importance to the American people and that the subject of trust regulation is still one of the para
 mount issues of the country. That legis- lation Of carefully considered sort is still needed is the opinion of the senator from the insurgent state of Kansas, and he believes that the coming session of Congress will see the trust question Iushed into the foreground, along with q reduction of the tariff.
 What Senator Bristow says is signifi- cant of more that is to follow along this line during the approaching session. When the progressive republicans held their recent conference in Chicago the regulation of the trusts through the courts came in for considerable attack That the progressives at both ends of the
 capitol will not hesitate this winter to score such means of regulation is as- sured They will be afforded a lever for
 doing so by the final ruling of the cir cult court in the Tobacco Trust dissolu- ton case the independents claiming that the dissolution plan does not measure up to the Sherman law and that in conse- quence the courts have robbed that law of much of its efficiency.
 The Attorney General also is displeased with the reorganization proposed by the trust and made futile efforts to have 1t rejected by the circuit court, which car ried out the mandate of the supreme | court
 Criticism as to what is being done with regard to the great industrial combina- tons of the country points inevitably to the consideration of further plans by 1 Congress for the regulation of the trusts. l It will be strongly urged by some of the | lprogressives. as well as the democrats, that in making laws governing the con | trol of industrial concerns, the legisla- | tive branch of the government should | leave as little as possible to the admin | istrative discretion of the courts, incud- | ing even the highest tribunal in the land. which passes upon the constitutionality