The Washington herald., 1911-12-31
SHERMAN LAW rs WEAPON,
GOVERNMENT CHASES TR USTS
United States Supreme Court Establishes Program for The"
Regulation by Both National and State authorities

reversed the commerce commissions re-
duction Of freight rates, but upheld the
long-and-short-haul clause Of the law.
The harvester trust was ousted from
Missouri by the supreme court Of ths1
The circuit court in New Orleans en-
Joined the lockers strike as conspiracy
in restraint of trade. The supreme court
sustained the Iowa law prohibiting any
contract that prevents an injured worker
from seeking damages. 1t sustained the
Arkansas full train crew law. The new
compulsory compensation law for indus
trial accidents, on the ground that II
would take property without due process
Of law. The circuit court reversed the
decision against labor in the Danbury
hatters' case.
Collapse of Mcnamara Defense
But of all the legal battles of the year,
that which has stirred popular passions
fought over the dynamite and murdeI
charges brought against J. ]. Mcnamara
secretary OF the Iron Workers Union and
MS brother, James. including the blowing
up of the Los Angeles Times building
over year ago, when q men lost their
lives. The arrests which were made il
indianapolis and Chicago, April Y, were
J. Burns. 1t was the manner in which
the accused men were eXtradited to Los
Angeles without legal defense that
aroused the labor and Socialist hordes
to the presumption of innocence and of
deep-laid conspiracy by the employers.
This was expressed in great protest meet
ings all over the country and in the rails
ing of a S2OO,OOO defense fund. Counties
suits against Burns and the indianapolis
authorities were begun. The trial, which
was started on October II and dragged
along over many weary weeks in the
hight over Jurymen, came to an uneX-
pected climax on December ], when the
defendants confessed guilt-John McNa-
mara TO the dynamiting Of the LIewellyn
Iron Works and James to the dynamiting
Of the Times building. The former gOC
life sentence and the latter, II years in
prison, this representing judicial Glenn
ency for the confession.
Fred Warren, the Socialist editor.
sentenced to prison for mailing this
Taylor reward offer during the Meyer and
Haywood trial, was pardoned by PreSi-
dent Taft, though no pardon was asked.
Later Warren was held for publishing
reports of orgies in the federal prison
at Fort Scott, Kan.
More Crime; Less Graft
Although II is too soon to obtain the
actual statistics OF crime in 1911 the Inn
preston Is very general that America Is
sui passing through wave of violent
crimes, thuggery, arson, assault and
murder. Mob murder was commonplace
In the news, and while the lynching OF
negroes occurred mainly in the south,
there was no more depraved form of that
crime against society than that exempli-
drunken negro murderer by a Coatesville,
Pa, mob last August. There the efforts
~ the state to punish the mob leaders
proved fruitless. owing to the unwilling
ness OF JurieS TO convict.
There were manifestly fewer instances
OF political graft exposures. this due to
the rouslng OF new civic ideals. OF
course, there were a number Of legis-
bative bribery cases. like that exposed in
Ohio, and of election frauds, like thosa
uncovered in Baltimore.