The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1911-09-12
emf 0RCE It, BUT
DON'T AMEND Il
American Antitrust League
Urges That Sherman Law
Be Let Alone
HAS HOPE IN TAFT,
BLAMES ROOSEVELT
Declares Any Amendments.
of Any Kind, Would be
Welcomed by Trust :.
Attorneys

WASHINGTON. Sept. 1i.--UndeI
the caption Don't Amend the ANTI
Trust Law. Enforce It," the American
antitrust league is sending out from
headquarters here, under direction OK
Henry Il. Martin. national secretry,
statement to members and trade bodies
throughout the country. Col. Theodor0
Roosevelt is condemned for non-en-
forcement of the law in this statement
and President Taft Is being weighed
with apprehension.
There are two unanswerable rea-
sons why the antitrust law should be
enforced and not amended, says the
statement.
First, is that the law has never been
thoroughly and fully enforced. Espec-
tally the criminal sections of 1t. Neith-
err has the power to summarily punish
for contempt Of court been used, when
certain trusts have been enjoined by
the supreme court, and have violated
the injunction. as is VIGOROUSLY the
case in the matter of the Injunction
against the Joint Traffic Association.
the Northern Securities Company, the
Trans Missouri Association, and others.
Some Progress Made.
Attorney General Wickershar1 anu
President TAFT seem 10 be disposed to
more effectively enforce the law than
hAt tile blS LdihiAlS dtiti i4LAit A%thtSs
Mr.. Roosevelt, and his variagated as
sortment Of attorneys general. II re-
mains TO be seen, however, whether
Attorney General Wickersham Will err
ticiently use his power TO compel ohe-
dience to the decisions of the court.
on the part Of the tobacco trust ana
Standard Oil. Solicitor General Leh-
mann is doing better than any of his
predecessors. He has been In office
ab,x ard I'm. h14f a
he has secured the Indictment nnaer
the criminal section of the act Of some
eighty Todd members Of the steel ana
copper wire trusts, including high off,
Gals OF the steel trust and among
others a son-in- law of ]. +. Morgan.
About half Of these men have plead.
ed guilty, some of them have been re-
leased on It thousand dollar and
eighteen hundred dollar fine. but upon
Vigorous protest OF one OF the anti
trust lawyer Mr. Albert n. Walker.
Of New York tee jud4e was compelled
10 raise the fine to s45, 900. 1t Is the
intention of ~, Antitrust league to
see n: t + possible iri-on $, 'tn.s
can be inflicted or some of The others
OF the eighty indicted wire trust mag
mates.
There is not a trust lawyer or
trust magnate in the country who
would not throw up his hat with JOY.
to see any kind of amendment to the
antitrust law adopted, whether 1t is
the kind of amendment they want or
not, because no matter whether 1t -
exactly the kind of amendment they
favor or not, they know that its
adoption would reopen the question
for endless litigation.
1T is matter of public record
that for several years past the men
v-H haNa ha9n active de-
manding and proposing amendments
to the antitrust law have been the
steel trust directors and their close
political friends.
Rooseselt's Recommendation.
In March. 1908. only a few weeks
after his friendly act in allowing
the steel trust TO absorb its chief COM
petitor, the r. G. Il L. President
Roosevelt in special message to
Congress March %. 1908, said: 1t
has now become important that there
should be an amendment TO the anti
trust law. The present law, in its
construction and working. is
drawn up in such sweeping form
as To become ineffective or else mis-
chievous 1t is mischevous and un-
wholesome to keep upon the statute
hf;oka. Uaff4o5itiea Il }a~ like the
antitrust law. The time has
come when it is i'm perative to modify
the iaw . A bin Cthe Hepburn
bilD has been presented in Congress
to remedy this situation. Some such
measure as this is needed in the in
terest of all"
This bin drawn by Judge f. Fl.
Gary Francis Lyme Stetson and Vic
tor Morawitz as admitted by Seth
Low. was defeated. These men,
concludes the statement have been
most active in urging amendments to
the antitrust law, and latterly their
efforts have been supplemented by the
active assistance of the great puhli-
| cist. and humanitarian, George w.
| Perkins"