The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1912-05-01
SHOWS Up teddy
ROOSEVELT And THE HARVESTER
TRUST EXPOSED
CATERED TO ]. P. MORGAN
Correspondence Relative to Prosecu-
ton Of Alleged Harvester Trust,
Tending to Show Roosevelt's Ca
tering to Morgan Interests Brought
to Light in the Senate.


The confidential correspondence
which passed between President
Roosevelt, Attorney General Bona
parte and Commissioner Herbert
Knox Smith, of the bureau Of corpo-
rations, in 1907, about a government
suit against the International Har-
vester Company, was sent out to the
Senate from the files Of the depart
ment Of justice
One letter from Col. Roosevelt to
Mr.. Bonaparte, written from Oyster
Bay on August %, 1907, said that
the Colonel had had conferences with
George W. Perkins about the COM
pany's affairs, directed Mr.. Bona
parte not to file the suit then, but to
go over the matter with Commis-
sioner Smith and Mr.. Perkins.
A letter from Commissioner Smith
to the Colonel on September q told
Of conferences with Mr.. Perkins and
stated Commissioners Smiths OBJ
jections to prosecution at that time.
The commissioner wrote that he
thought the question Of the compa-
ny's guilt or innocence was merely a
technical question and told Of con-
ference with Mr. Perkins on August
"a.
Commissioner Smith wrote that
Mr.. Perkins concluded with great
emphasis chat If after all the en-
deavors Of this company and the 9TH
er Morgan interests to uphold the
policies Of the administration and to
adopt their methods OF modern pub
licity this company was now going to
be attacked in a purely technical
case, the interests here presented
were going to fight Further On
in the seme letter Mr.. Smith wrote:
"While the administration has
never hesitated to grapple with any
financial interests, no matter how
great, when it is believed that sub
stantial wrong is being committed,
nevertheless it is a very practical
question whether it is well to throw
away now the great influence Of the
so-called Morgan interests which, up
to this time have supported the ad-
vancd policy of the Administration,
both in geneeal principles and the
application thereof in their specific
interests, and to place them general
ly in opposition. I believe Mr. Per
kins statement that his interests:
would necessarily be driven into &C
tive opposition was sincere one and
in fact, I can hardly see how those
great interests can take any other at
,itude should this prosecution be
started and the final adoption Of this
policy be made public
In another portion Of the letter
Commissioner Smith reported Mr.
Perkins as having said substantially
that 'tthe Standard Oil people in New
York were giving him the laugh for
having thought he was trying to be
good and keep solid with the admin
istration and now he was going to
get the same dose as the others"
With the correspondence was a letter
from William Loeb, Jr., the Presi-
dents secretary, making an appoint
ment for Mr.. Bonaparte to talk the
business over.
Hope Of dissolving the s140, 0,o00,-
900 International Harvester Com
pany without fight in the Courts
has been practically abandoned. A
suit against the corporation under
the Sherman antitrust law probably
will be filed at Chicas7 about the
middle Of next week There remains
one bare possibility, however, that
an agreement may be reached, but
those familiar with the problem nave
lost expectations that the govern
ment and the corporation will bridge
the differences as to plan OF dlsln-
tegrauon.
President Taft was apprised Of the
si+uation at a conference with Messrs.
Wckersham, Fowler and Bancroft. 1t
is understood he hagreed that the
plans for disintegration SO far sub
nitted could not be accepted by the
Government. The crux Of the whole
difficulty, it is believed, lies IN the
contention of the harvester company
that the Mccormack and Deer1ns
companies, which are subsidiaries
should not be separated in any
scheme Of reorganization. The gov
ernment wanted these integral parts
made distinct.