New-York tribune., 1912-01-17
TRUST CLAIMS IMMUNITY
sherman Act Shorn Of FangS,
Saws "Bathtub" Counsel.
NO CRIMINAL FEATURE NOW
Nav York Defendants Claim IT
Was Eliminated by Standard
Oil Decision.

ne,roit. Jan 16.-Whether the recent
s,,rdard Oil decision of the United
states Supreme Court did not eliminate
- criminal feature from the Sherman
.,n-trust law was a question that arose
,o.day in the United States District
Court here. Arguments were in progress
hstore Judge A. c. Angel on motion
Made in behalf Of the COlwell Lead Com
-.,v NJ New York, to quash indict-
I.orts in the governments criminal case
sgainst the Bathtub Trust.
Judge Angel said this was perhaps
N. first time a court had been asked TO
decide whether an indictment under the
sherman law must classify an alleged
restraint Of trade as unreasonable with
IN the meaning of the Standard Oil de-
cision,
"a Judge is placed in a very delicate
position in having to pass upon that
point at this time" he said.
Fx-District Attorney Frank II. Wat
son, special counsel for the government,
sent telegram to Washington TO sum-
mon Edward 3. Grosvenor, special as
sytant TO the Attorney General, and Mr..
Grosvenor is expected to appear before
Judge Angel on Thursday and argue for
the government against the motion 70
ouash. There will be no hearing to-
morrow.
May Postpone Trial
Likelihood Of a pOstponement Of the
trial. which is set for January 30, ap-
peared this afternoon, when Judge Angel
received with evident interest a sugges-
ton from Henry E. Bodman, attorney
for the defence, that if the pending mo-
ton 10 ouash were sustained the govern
ment could appeal at once directly to the
United States Supreme Court while If
the ruling were against the defence the
matter could not reach the Supreme
Court until after an expensive trial
IF l dismiss the case, it seems that
nv ruling could be reviewed by the Su-
preme Court of the United States COM
mented Judge Angel, after hearing Mt
Bodman's suggestion.
Mr.. Bodman had argued that If the
contentious raised By the defence were
found by Judge Angel TO be Of sufficient
force TO Justify attention at the hands Of
the United States Supreme Court it
would not only be better for the two
score defendants in the case, who are
scattered all over the country, but would
be more in harmony with the general
principles OF justice II a Supreme Court
decision could be obtained before the
defendants and the government had been
put TO the expense Of long trial.
What Taft Might Have Done.
President Taft's name was injected into
the case to-day when Mr. Bodman. argu-
ing in favor Of the motion to quash. said:
II the Sherman law had been shown 10
Judge Taft when IL was being drafted. II
he had been asked whether IL could be sus-
tained as a criminal act. and II 1t was so
drawn that a person subject 10 its pro-
visions could not tell until he had been
tried whether he had violated the act or
not, Judge Taft would, in my Judgment.
have advised that such statute could not
be sustained.
Mr.. Bodman referred to the Sherman
law under present conditions as verita-
bic trap IN which a man might suddenly
find himself liable to Imprisonment after
having conducted his business carefully
with the advice of lawyers.
Mr.. Watson declared to-day that he
himself examined before the grand jury
witnesses whom counsel for the Colwell
Lead Company declared did not appear,
and that the government in its investi-
cation found that Of the American pro-
portion of 90 per cent of the world sup
ply of enamelled sanitary supplies tNe
defendants cop+roilad ~ nor cont