The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1912-04-05

President Taft's administration has
brought and won under the Sherman
antitrust law Without fear or favor
it has brought to the bar of justice cor
porations and persons engaging in lille
gal combinations in restraint of trade.
the ultimate purpose of each combina-
ton being to create a monopoly and to
raise the prices on its products. In
two years and eleven months Of his
administration President Taft has
caused to be brought four more civil
suits and fifteen more criminal prose
cutions than Mr.. Roosevelt brought in
the seven and one-half years of his ad
ministration.
Until Mr.. Taft became the president
the administration of Mr.. Roosevelt
held the record in both particulars
Thus has President Taft. who was Mr.
ROOsevelt'S right arm during his last
administration, kept his pledge to the
American people to uphold and main
tain the policies Of his predecessor In
Furnishing the criminals and undesira-
Die eietltul III tne DiS DuSluess VI tue
country.
In the Republican national platform
of 1908 reference was made to the
prosecution Of evil trusts and monOpo
lies as one Of the great accomplish
ments of the Roosevelt administration.
and the platform declared that the
| Sherman antitrust law had been a
wholesome instrument for good in the
hands of a wise and fearless executive.
In his speech Of acceptance Mr.. Taft
pledged himself to the enforcement OF
this law and has kept his promise.
Problems Confronting Taft.
Stripped Of controversy as to the
| exact meaning Of certain language of
the Sherman antitrust act. the ques
tons that had to be determined by
those In administrative authority and
those who %judicially determine their
acts were. first. how effective the law
was to reach the great aggregations
of formerly competitive producers and
| dealers. individual and corporate. who.
through intercOrporate stockholding
mergers. consultations and otherwise.
had acquired so great a control over
a particular line of industry as to en-
able them to dominate it and to ex-
clude or admit competition as they
might choose upon their W terms.
Secondly. to determine whether that
construction Of the law vas correct
which had been given to 1t by some OF
the Judges Of the circuit court In New
York in the tobacco case and In the
opinions of some of the justices OF the
supreme court in other cases to the
effect that n combination which In
any respect operated to restrain to any
degree a pre-eXisting competition in
interstate M was necessarily
condemned by law.
In the three years of the Taft ad
ministration all of the sixteen cases
left pending by the previous admins
~tratiop have beer disposed Of except
two, which have eel argued and sub
mitted to the supreme court OF the
United States and are now awaiting
decision. OF the remaining cases the
Standard Oil case vas argued early
during the present administration and
after an appeal. decided entirely In
favor Of the government. The sama
was also true OF the tobacco cases
with the ultimate result Of the disiD
%tegratioD of that big trust into four
teen separate and distinct corpora
tons. This. It Is believed. will effec
lively prevent a continuance OF the
monopolistic conditions complained of
Taft Antitrust Record.
During the Taft administration up to
February. 1912. twenty-five civil suits
have beer brought and forty criminal
indictments found under the Sherman
law. making IN all sixtv-twO proceed
ings. AS a result there were ffteer
Indictments, and eleven OF these In