New-York tribune., 1912-04-22
ROOSEVELT'S METHODS
Taft Bureau Points to His Atti-
tude Toward Trusts.
THE KNIGHT SUGAR CASE
How He Used It in Tennessee Coal
and Iron Merger and in As
sault on Supreme Court.
From The Tribune Bureau.

From The Tribune Bureau.I
Washington, April 2l.-The following
statement was given out by the Taft bu-
reau tonight:
The dangerous character of Theodore
Roosevelt was thoroughly reflected by the
| Use he made OF the Knight sugar trust
| case, applying II. on the one hand, to per-
| init the steel trust to absorb the Tennessee
! coal ana Iron Company and, on the other
| liand, as basis for an attack on the
| supreme Court OF the United States.
~, In 1907 Theodore Roosevelt permitted the
| United States Steel Corporation TO absorb
! the Tennessee Coal and Iron Company, In
| absolute violation of the Sherman anti
| trust law. The permission was given In
the absence OF Attorney General Charles
! J. BOnaparte from Washington. The ac-
! tion Of the President aroused such a storm
| or protest all over the country that Prest-
! dent Roosevelt ordered the Attorney Gen
! eral to justify his action, If possible, on
! legal grounds, and this Mr.. BOnaparte did.
| In January 1909, just before Mr.. Roosevelt
| retired from the Presidency, Mr.: Bonaparte
| made these reasons public Explaining that
] he had Informed the President that the
! Department Of Justice did not have at that
! time evidence upon which to convict the
| steel trust In any court, Mr.. Bonaparte
then proceeded to give the legal grounds
! upon which he had advised the President
! that the merger was within the law, as
! follows
Mr.. Bonaparte'c Explanation
- added the statement. in substance,
! that, In my opinion. based upon certain de-
clsions Of the Supreme Court, and G Gs-
pecially the Knight case 1t5 4. :. y, the
| transaction said by MesSrs Frick and Gary
| 10 be I'm contemplation would not, IN itSeiI,
constitute an offence against the sara Ia"
J or furnish grounds for action by the So'-
| ernment 10 eniOIn It's consummation; but
! II this transaction had been preceded uI
| should he followed by series OF others
! OF like nature. a materially different Sltua-
tion would be presented, and the case would
| become IN some measure analogous 10 those
! OF the standard OH Company and the To-
bacco Trust and other combinations OF IKE
nature"
on August %. 1910. in a speech at Den
yer. President Theodore Roosevelt attacked
| the Supreme Court because OF It's decision
| in the Knight case. He said.
! "I am anxious that the nation ana tne
| state shall each exercise it's legitimate pow
ers 10 the fullest degree When necessary
! they would work together. but. above an,
! they should not leave a neutral ground III
| which neither state nor nation can exer-
! Cse authority and which would become a
| place Of refuge FOR men who wish 10 aCt
/ Criminally and especially for the very rich
men who wish 10 act against the Coh-
| munity as a whole.
Let us illustrate what ! mean by ref
| erenCe 10 two concrete cases. Ihe nTSt II
| the knight sugar trust case IN thSt G,tI. case
the Supreme Court Of the United states,
| under cover Of what n man whose interest,"
! Is chiefly In sane. constructive Ste"didst,IR iaH
can only call highly technical lekal
| subtlety, handed down n decision Wmch
rendered it exceedingly difficult FOR the ma
| ton effectively TO control the use or masses
of corporate capital In Interstate business.
| "As the nation obviously was the sole
| power that could exercise this control tor
! II was duite beyond the power OF any one
state). this was really a decision rendering
! II exceedingly difficult for the people 10 de-
! wise an method Of controlling ana reBu-
latinR tho business use OF great capital IN
| Interstate commerce. II was decision
nominally against national rights but
really against popular rights.
Uses Case to Attack Court.
II. therefore. becomes apparent, from
| these two excerpts. that Attorney General
Bonaparte excused the merger on the
! ground that one gigantic merger OF that
| character did not constitute a violation Oi
law, hut repetition Of the same practice
would This explanation was thoroughly
satisfactory to Mr. Roosevelt and the
Knight case served him as a legal bulWarS
against hts nOn-legal critics until he got u
Denver. where forgetting that the knight
case was the only excuse furnished by his
able Attorney General for the swallowing
up Of the Tennessee Coal and Iron Com,
panv bv its only possible rival in the steel
business, the steel trust, he proceeded Il
max" use of il ls the basis OF an attack on
the supreme Court.
In describing the case at Denver hc
merely laid bare the niquity of his owr
act I'm permitting his present hackers, the
steel trust, to violate the law.
Theodore Roosevelt has posed as the
friend OF labor with as much hypocrisy as
no has uOse1 as the enemy OF crooked
business" At Springfield. Mass, recently
he declared himself In favor OF a universal
cight-hour law.
In 1905 The American ederationist,
the organ of organized labor, printed a
'Iabor's bill OF rights and complained
that for years labor had been attempuns
10 get the eight-hour law extended on gov
erument work I'm vain: that the law nae
baen violated under Roosevelt ana Waf
totally inefficient.
| Theodore Roosevelt challenged iabor lI
verbal answer to cite instances or Eloia'
lions. and never made Il recommendation
IN Congress for an extension or lor t"'
perfection Of the law.
Action by President Taft
II remained for President TAFT to demand
that Congress should extend the elght-hout
law and this he did in his message TO the
tbird session OF the 6lst Congress, with the
result that such bill has now passed the
House and is pending In the senate.
Another item In "labor's bill OF rights
denounced the breaking down Of the eight
hour system by the passage OF law
sIpned hy Theodore Roosevelt removing
Inc Panama Canal work from the opera
tion OF this law. As proof OF ths iact
witness the following quotation from re-
| liable source: . ,,,., A.. LO
president Roosevelt admitted that ne
had advocated and put through this DreaK-
ING down OF the eight-hour law.
Another item I'm "labor's bill or rights
was a stern protest against the now FAMOUS
"raP order' of January 81, 1907 Theooore
Ponseyelt would not listen TO this appeal
from labor, and the order stood untll re.
nnaiad bv President Taft by executive
order No. 1914.