The copper era and Morenci leader., 1912-03-22
THE HARMON CAMPAIGN
HARMON STRUCK EIRsT RIow

the IruStS. Proceed1ng under authOri- i ty of the Sherman Antitrust Law, he prosecuted to successful termination
 in the United States Supreme Court
 three important suits, thereby render
 ing service which stands pre-eminent
 among the acts performed by officers
 in the legal department of the federal
 government.
 Attorney General Harmon prosecut-
 ed the suits at the most critical period
 in the life of the antitrust law, at a
 time when he had no precedent to fol-
 low and when he was handicapped by
 adverse decisions in the lower federal
 courts.
 During the time MT. Harmon was
 attorney general, congress gave him
 but $25,000 to $50,000 year to investi-
 gate and prosecute trust violations
 and transact other business of the de-
 partment. Attorney General Wicker
 sham has been lavishly supplied with
 funds, the appropriations for his de-
 partment ranging from $200,000 to
 S500,000 a year.
 But meagreness of funds and the | fact that two federal courts had de-
 cided the Sherman antitrust act was
 unconstitutional did not Swerve Attor- ney General Harmon from the path
 or duty and 1t was Le who succeeded
 in having the law declared so it could | be enforced, and since then every de- cision of the supreme court, which in-
 volved the meaning of the statute has been decided in favor of the govern ment, and all of them have been bas- i ed on the pioneer decisions which
 were the result of MT. Harmons pros ecution of the Mississippi river combine and formed what was call ed the Trans-Missouri Freight Associ- ation, for the purpose of fixing and maintaining rates. The alleged mon- | Opoly was sued during the adninistra- t1on of President Harrison, but follow | ing adverse decisions in the two lower federal courts the case was left to die lingering death in the United States supreme court, when Attorney General Harmon rescued it, personally appear ed in the United States supreme court and argued the case and won a sweep ing victory.
 The government also won two other important antitrust cases, those against the Joint Traffic Association and the Addystone Pipe Company, which were instituted on orders from Attorney General Harmon.
 Although decisions on both were given in the supreme court after Mr. Harmon retired from office, his pre- paration and brief were used by his successor in the arguments The decision in the famous North ern Securities Case was nothing but a reiteration of the finding in the Trans Missouri Freight Association case.
 MT. Harmon not only put life into the Sherman Antitrust act of July End, 1890 by his prosecutions, but he also made plain his earnest desire to make an effective weapon for the use of the people in their fight against trusts, in a message he sent to Con- hiey ;x1H the House Resolution of January 7th, 1895, in regard to the enforcement of the law against trusts, combinations, etc. He offered several suggestions to strengthen the law. These were
 To make it unlawful for trusts to ship goods from one state to another in carrying out, or attempting to car ry out, design of the organization in violation of law:
 To make clear the meaning of mon N opolize" attempting to monopolize'' combination" and conspiracy"
 To prevent the refusal of witnesses to answer on the grounds of self in- crimination;
 To make the penalties applicable on- ly to general officers, managers and agents, and not to their subordinates;
 To make it rule of evidence that the purchase or combination, in any form, of enterprises in different states which were competitive before the purchase or combination, should be prima facie evidence of intention to monopolize;
 A similar provision with respect to well known methods of doing business which are designed to deprive dealers of liberty of trade and compel them to
 become instruments of commercial conspirators. In that message Attor- ney General Harmon called attention to the fact that the Sherman Anti Trust act of July 2, 1890, the first on the subject, did not apply to monopo- lies, if engaging in, interstate con- merce be merely one of the incidents of the business, and not it's direct and immediate object. He asserted this was one of the weak points of the old law, and then made the sugges- tion that: While congress has no authority in the matter, except what is derived from it's power to regulate commerce, the States alone having general power to prevent and punish such commercial combinations and congress may make it un- lawful to ship from one State to an- other, in carrying out or attempting to carry out, the designs of such or ganization, articles produced, owned or controlled by them, or any of their or agents. The limitations of the present law enables those en- gagged in such attempts to escape from both State and Federal governments, the former having no authority over interstate commerce, and the latter having authority over nothing else.
 By Supplementing state action in the way just suggested, Congress can, in my opinion accomplish the pro- fessed object of the present law
 After arguing strongly for a law to prevent the refusal of witnesses to ans wer on the ground of self incrimina- ton, MT. Harmon in this message,