The Cairo bulletin., 1912-04-12
RANDOM CLIPPINGS
The Autobiography Fight.


Attorney-General Wickersham is
lot discouraged by the failure OF tbs
Government to convict trust mag
Iates in the three criminal suits
which have been tried. In his clear
and comprehensive statement il the
sunday Post-Dispatch on the condf-
lions of the Governments warfare
IN monopoly, he expresses firm be-
lief in the efficacy of criminal prose-
utions in cases where the oftanses
ire recent and there is clear ''evi-
dence of willful, unfair, fraudulent
IT vicious conduct"
The fact that the violations OF law
charged in the three unsuccessful
prosecutions extended over a long
period Of time when the law was NOT
understood and embraced methods
which had generally been regarded
as legitimate, deferred the iuries on
two cases from finding verdic.s of
guilt There was doubt in the Sugar
trust case whether the statute OF
limitations had not run.
In the Bath Tub case in Detroit
the Attorney General definitely
charges that the Governments fail
ure was due to the unfriendliness of
the Judge. This is an amazing
charge against a Federal Judge on
the part of the head of the eDpart-
ment of Justice. If the Judge was
unfriendly to the prosecution h was
friendly to the defendants, Il his
friendliness defeated the prcsecu.
ton he was unfair in his rulings.
The resigne ton of Judge Angel
shortly after the conclusion OF the
Bath Tub Trust case prevents i'm
parchment proceedings, which would
be the logical conclusion of such
serious charges by the Attorney
General. Why was no protest made
against the conduct of Judge An
CELL? Resignation with honor is an
easy escape from charges Of unfair
ness. The Government must deal
rigidly with judges charged with I'M
fairness or Incompetence If the cam
paign for revolutionary measures to
control the judiciary is to be de-
feated.
But the Attorney General insists
that, regardless of the criminal
prosecutions, proceedings in equity
will prove efficacious He regards
the dissolution of the holding cor
porations, the destruction of mer-
gers, as heavy blow at monopoly
Monopoly having been defined and
forbidden, he finds a strong weapon
in the injunctive power of the courts
and the supervision which neces-
sarily attends It, The fight of stock
holders in the Waters Pierce OIL Co.
against control by Standard Oil on
the gorund of the Supreme Courts
decision is an indication of the diff
Guilty of monopoly control without
the merger device.
We can see the force Of Mr.. Wick
ersbam's plea for a congressional en-
actment forbidding one corporation
from owning stock in other corpora
lions, but his scheme OF Federal in
corporation and regulation seems IL
logical and dangerous There Is no
law against cooperation without
responsibility for violation of law
and the injunctive power against
monopoly seem adequate safeguards
Great progress has been made in
working out this Democratic remedy
for oppression.
Why should we abandon the plain
path Of Democratic law enforcement
with individual freedom for the So
cialistic way of industrial and COM
mercial regulation? The step from
the Stacking Of industry and COM
merce by Government control to
State socialism is short and newt
able. st. Louis Post Dispatch.