Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-09-19
President at Detroit Denies
That Supreme Court In
depreciation Weakens the
Anti Trust Law.
rs OPPOSED TO
ANY AMENDMENT
Taft Challenges Bryan and
Other Critics to Cite in
What Particular Decision
Weakens That Law.

| Detroit. Mich. Sept. 1S. President
Taft at luncheon with the board of
commerce here today. made the first
OF what may be termed the political
speeches of his six weeks tour Of the
country" He took up the trusts" and
clearly outlined his views concerning
them. He defended with vigor the de-
cisions of the United States supreme
court In the Standard Oil and To-
bacco trust cases ,and there was dis
tinct campaign note in Mr.. Taft's
challenge to his ancient political
enemy, William jennings Bryan, to
point out what particular contract or
restraint of trade he would condemn
which would not be condemned within
the definition of the statutes as laid
down by Mr.. Chief Justice White.
| Mr.. Taft added rather significantly
that persons who do not understand
the decisions and really have no under
standing of the law, have had great
deal to say about them. 1t was not fair
to the court, he declared, to say that
it had read the word reasonable" into
the antitrust statute. II am entirely
opposed to an amendment Of the anti
trust law" said the president. 1T Ia
now valuable government issset
and instrument, Tested and brought
into beneficial use by twenty years
OF litigation and construction by the
highest court, why should we imperil
it's usefulness by experiments"
Decries Political Agitation.
The outcry for amendments, follow
Ing the supreme courts decisions, the
president said, had resulted In pro-
! posals prepared without a real under
standing Of the law and he added that
while this agitation might serve the
purpose of promoting Unreasonable"
and unreasoning discomfort, it cer-
tainly out not to be considered SER
iously.
Mr.. Taft referred to the fact that
Immediately after the trust decisions
were handed down by the supreme
court. Senator LaFollette spread on
the public records quotation from
one of the presidents messages as be-
ing at variance with the rule of rea-
sons, laid down by the court. The
president asserted that his views as
expressed In his message, were in ex-
act accordance with the decisions.
Tells Editors He VIII "stlck."
After his arrival the president had
breakfast with fifty newspaper edi.
tors TO them he said:
"T am starting on q long trip, gentle
men, and ask your prayers both for
my mental and physical we'll being.
This trip, may say, was not entered
into with malice aforethought. Some
times when contemplate 1t hold my
breath. But being in, am going
through with It,"
The Presidents Speech.
The text Of the presidents speech is
as follows:
My Fellow Citizens: propose to
take up the question which has oc-
cupied the attention of the American
people for now twenty years, that OF
Industrial combinations known az
trusts" During the last year we
have had two great decisions by the
supreme court of the United States.
They are epoch making. and the pub
lie has not yet come to realize the
effect that those decisions are certain
to have. 1t is not that the construc-
tion which the court has put upon the
act Is different from that which most
members Of the profession, and most
subordinate courts, and indeed the
supreme court itself. had before in
dicated as the proper construction OF
the statue; but It Is that It is now An
ally settled. by two fully considered
decisions In respect to two of tho
largest and most powerful Of these
combinations, what their illegality
consists in, and how they are to be
treated, In view OF the finding that
they are illegal and do violate the pro-
visions Of the so-called antitrust or
Sherman act.
Persons who do not understand the
effect Of these decisions and really do
not understand the law have great
deal to say which is intended to lead
the public to the belief that In some
way or other the supreme court has
emasculated the statute and prevented
its operation against Objectionable and
injurious trade combinations and con-
spiracies. Nothing is further from
the truth.
Expects Court to Construe Law.
When the statute was passed in
1890 the expressions used in 1t to de-
fine It's object and what it was pro-
posed therein to denounce as unlawful
NNNp{;praJ IN Doro