The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-12-06
THE SHERMAN LAW
 IS ADEQUATE, SAYS
 ATTORNEY GENERAL
tcontinued From Page one)


 S>>>-~~>>>>->>>>>-~~-~>>> ~-~>>>>-~~->~>~~~~~~~~~>~>~ petition which has resulted in imposing an undue restraint upon interstate com merce or which makes for monopoly.
 These decrees, the Attorney General continues, demonstrates that no amend ment of the law in the direction of de- claring the illegality of particular prac- tices is necessary to clothe the courts with full power to prevent any and all acts which may Joe employed to ae- complish the illegal purposes denounced by the statute.
 'I am strongly of the opinion" says Mir Wickersham, that the advocacy of amendments of the law which shall particularize different acts as consti- tuting unlawful restraints or attempts at monopoly has it's origin, not so much with those who desire the en- forcement of the law, as with those who are anxious to secure safe means of its evasion. An enumeration by statute of the different practices which, in and of themselves, without regard to the circumstances of particular cases, should be declared illegal will either go too far or not far enough.
 Opposes Private Hearings
 The Attorney General takes issue with the decision of the Judges Colt, Putnam and Brown at Boston, author izing the hearing in private before an examiner of the civil antitrust suit against the United Shoe Machinery conn pany, and asks for legislation admit ting the public and representatives of the press to such hearings
 "The decision. it appears to me-" con tinued MT. Wickersham, lis based upon a manifest misconception of the nature of the proceedings and the character of the parties. When the government of the United States is a party to a suit, and particularly to a suit brought uniler the Sherman antitrust law, to prevent unlawful restraints upon interstate coni- merce or foreign commerce-essentally matter affecting the public-al the peo- pie have a legitimate interest in the proceeding and are entitled to know just what evidence is being given and when it is given. The public are the real par ties to the suit. !"
 The suit against the Coffee Trust" or the Brazilian valorization scheme, the operations of which, the Attorney Gen erai says has resulted in more than doubling the retail price of coffee to the American consumer and thereby laying heavy tax. upon him, has developed what the Attorney General regards as a defect in the still operative section of the Wilson tariff law dealing with com binations.
 Asks for Amendment
 Pointing to the fact that the govern ment was unable to secure temporary injunction restraining the exportation. of 920,0O0 bags of coffee, said to be stored in New York city under the valorizayion scheme, the Attorney General recom- mends the enactment of an amendment to the Wilson law, authorizing the seiz- ure by the government in the state of entry of mercandise imported for the purposes of unlawful combination. At present such commodities must be in the course of interstate transportation to justify seizure
 The voluntary dissolution of the Ma tional Packing company, following the ac- quittal at Chicago of the beef packers of criminal violation of the Sherman law, has accomplished. in the belief of the A ttorney General. "a substantial restura- large industry which have not for a long time heretofore existed
 Objections to the commerce court in the Judgment of Mir Wickersham. would be met by legislation requiring the in- terstate commerce commission to state in it's report, as a basis for It's order, the findings of fact and the reasons on which the order is based; providing that all finding of fact and conclusions of policy appearing in the report shall be final and conclusive and limiting court review ex-