The Washington herald., 1912-08-21
SOME READING
FOR THE COLONEL
Wickershamr Asks Roosevelt to Pc
ruse Frank B. Kellogs's
Trust Articles.
COMPARISONS ARE SHOWN
BY ATTORNEY GENERAL
Northern Securities Stock Value In.
creased After the "Trust
Was Busted"

Attorney General wickersham yester
day advised Col. Roosevelt to read UP Of
the Standard OIL case, especially wha
Mr.. Roosevelt's special attorney in tina
case, Frank B. Kellogg. has written Of
it. Mr.. Wickersham is certain that tn
| colonel could do this, IL he only would
with profit to himself and justice TO tn
Taft administration.
This little invitation by a member o.
Mr.. Tafts Cabinet to the former Presi
dent was by way Of reply to the re
joihder made by Col. Roosevelt to At
torney General Wickersham's compari
son Of the trust-busting accomplish
ments OF the Taft administration with
those Of the Roosevelt administration
Here Is the statement:
Attorney Generals Reply.
I'm Col. Roosevelt's rejoinder to my
statement comparing the antitrust
prosecutions of his administration with
those of the present he again convent
entity overlooks the fact that the de-
cree in the Standard OIL case accom-
plished precisely what his Attorney
General, and Frank b. Kellogg. the
able lawyer whom he retained as spe-
cial assistant to conduct that prosecu-
tion, set out to accomplish. II he will
pause long enough in his denunciation
to read what Mr.. Kellogg said in his
article in the Review of Reviews for
June, 1912. he will learn that Mr.. Kel-
logg there recorded his matured con-
clusion that. in his opinion. the decree
in the Standard Oil case accomplished
everything that II Is possible to ac-
complish under the Sherman act
And. again. that the decree went
further than any decree has ever gone
in any court under the Sherman act.
That statement was true OF that decree
when It was entered. The decree in the
case OF the American Tobacco combina-
ton went still further.
Mr.. Roosevelt's statement that these
DEGREES have been received with salts
faction by the trusts-either straight
trusts or crooked trusts-is about as
truthful as II would be to say that a
man who was threatened with the loss
Of both his legs received with satisfac-
ton the information that only one was
to be cut OF.
Stocks show Increase.
IF the test of success or otherwise In
the administration Of the Sherman law is
TO be the market prices Of the stocks Of
the distributed concerns after a decree of
what conclusion would be
drawn from the facts in the Northern
Securities case. the sole and only COM
pIete accomplishment under the Sherman
law during the Roosevelt administration?
AS matter OF fact, the market prices
OF the stocks CT both the Northern Pa
cific and the Great Northern Railroad
Companies increased greatly after. the
which followed the decision
OF the Supreme Court In that case and
the Union Pacific interests after such dis
sold the Northern Pacific shares
which they received at a profit OF about
s5S, ,Ooo, ,0oo-sccording to the testimony in
the governments suit against the South
ern Pacific and Union Pacific Com
panies.
But Col. Roosevelt answers the infer
ence which might be drawn from that
fact. just as a similar inference in the
cases of the Standard oil and Tobacco
is answered, by saying:
:" We broke up the combination
THAT is what was accomplished with
the Standard Oil, Tobacco, and Powder
and a number of others
prosecuted during this administration.
which have quoted. was written at a
time when he was supporting Col. Roose-
velts candidacy for the Presidential NOM
ination at the hands of the Republican
party, and, therefore, can not be re-
garded as coming from a source un-
to him. He completely answers
all the contentious put forward by Col.
Roosevelt 10 minimize the effect of that
decision. ! seriously commend the peru
sal of the article to the colonel"