Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1912-04-25
SENATE RECEIVES
TRUST LETTERS
Confidential Correspondence of
Roosevelt, Bonaparte and Smith
on Harvester Suit.
TELLS OF PERKINS'S THREAT
Morgan Interests Ready to Fight
and the Colonel Then Di-
rected That Prosecution
Be Dropped.
TELLS OF PERKINS'S THREAT

Washington. April A-rhe confidential
correspondence which passed between
President Roosevelt, Attorney General
Bonapartc and Commissioner Herbert
Knox Smith of the bureau of corporations
| in 1891, about government antitrust
suit against the International Harvester
| company, was sent to the Senate to-day
| from the files OF the department of jus
ticc.
one letter from Colonel Roosevelt to
Mr.. Bonaparte written at oyster Bay on
| August -. 1907. said that the colonel had
had conferences with George w. Per-
klns about the company's affairs and
directed Mr.. Bonaparte not to file the
suit then. but to go over the matter with
Commissloncr Smith and Mr.. Perkins,
! u letter from Commissioner Smith to
the colonel on September y. told of con
ferences with Mr. Perkins and stated
Commissioner Smiths objections To-
prosecution at that time. The commits
sioner wrote that he thought the question
of the companys guilt or innocence was
merely technical question and told Of u
confero nee with Mr.. Perkins on August "a.
The commissioner wrote that Mr.. Per-
that If after all the endeavors of this
| company and the other Morgan interests
10 uphold the policies of the administra-
ton and to adopt their methods of mod
ern publicity. this company was now GO
Ing TO be attacked in a purely technical
case the interests he represented were
going to fight" Further on in the same
| letter Mr.. Smith wrote:
GREAT INFLUENCE OF MORGAN.
| While the administration has never
hesitated to srappe with any financial
| interest no matter how great, when it IS
| believed that a substantial wrong is be-
| Ing committed nevertheless II is very
| practical question whether 1t is well to
throw away now the great Influence of
| the so-called Morgan interests. which up
to this time have supported the advanced
| policy of the administration both in gen.
| eral principles and in the application
| thereof to their specific interests. and to
place them generally in opposition. be-
leve Mr. Perkins's statement that his
interests would necessarily be driven into
active opposition was a sincere one and
IN fact. can hardly see how those great
interests can take any other attitude
the final adoption of this policy be made
public"
In another portion of the letter Com
missioner Smith reported Mr.. Perkins as
having said substantially that the stand
ard Oil people in New York We're giving
him the laugh for having thought he
was trying to he good and keep solid
with the administration and that he was
| IA.
others"
With the correspondence was letter
from William Loeb. Jr.. the president
secretary making an appointment for Mr.
Ronaparte to talk the business over. The
president letter to the attorney-gencral
follows
TENT OF ROOSENELTS LETTER.
Oyster Bay, n. Y, Aus. %, 1907,
"My Dear Mr.. Acknowledgement:
George w. Perkins of the international
Harvester company has just called upon
me and submitted to me certain papers
Of which ! enclose copies. According tC
these papers and MIR. Perkinss statement
Il would appear that the harvester com
psny has repeatedly on its own initiativ,
asked that its business be Investigated bS
the department of commerce and labor
through the commissioner Of corpora
tions; that three years ago the inter
state commerce commission decided
that II had accepted what amountet
to substantially to rebates; that Mr.
Moody. the then attorney general was
about to take action on this report
but the harvester company at once
, promised to rectify the practices an,
see that nothing contrary to the rul
Ing Of the commission was again done
This was satisfactory to the attorney
general and the suit was dropped.
THE harvester company says II I.
In POSITION to prove that II has lived
up to this agreement male In May
1904. The harvester company ad
vances this as a proof that is any lille
gal action Is point I'd out ii will !tsel
rectify the matter on it's being po,ntec
out. 1t further appears that last De
cenber Senator Hansbrough got tn,
Senate to pass resolution directinf
the department of commerce and labo
to make an early investigation int
the character and operation. and eff
feet upon interstate commerce. of tn
n International Harvester company ant
that In January last Messrs. CARTEL
a
o of the harvester company in New
: York and conclusion was reached
that the department would begin tn
q examination as speedily as possiol9
which conclusion was announced pub
d licly In the press,
i SMITH TOO BUSY TO PUSH CASE.
"on March Commissioner Smit
. notified the harvester company that the 'i'
quiry would be into the Incorporation Va'u
q OF It's property, securities and the genera
management OF Its business. 1t appear
q by his letter of August 8. that Coihmis
sioner Smith had begun the inNestsauo
II but has not made such progress with II a
T. he would like to on account OF ms oe'n
crowded with work.
d MIR. Pcrkins's request to me Is tha'
@ before the company Is exposed to the Ger
tain loss and damage that the mere In
stitvtion Of = suit would entail this IN