Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-10-24
GOVERNMENT MAY LOSE
COTTON CORNER CASE
Solicitor General BuIlitt Ad-
mits Weaknesses in Indict-
ment Before Court.

Solicitor General Bullitt. arguing :-a-e
The Supreme Court of the United States
yesterday. admitted that there is a like
lihood that the government has no case
against James Patten. Eugene Scales,
Frank B. Hayne and William P. Brown
on charges Of conspiracy to run a ten
million-dollar corner in cotton in 1910 on
the New York Cotton Exchange.
The case involves the application Of the
Sherman antitrust law as a penal stat
ute. and the Department of Justice has
looked on the outcome of 1t as very i'm
portant for the reason that it was ex-
pected to determine the power or lack of
power under the Sherman law of the
government to break up any corner or
attempted corner in commodities.
The occasion was the second argument
over the Indictment the court not being
willing to decide last spring the correct
ness Of the decision Of the New York
federal court in quashing several vita.
counts in the Indictment
Asks for Definition.
The new solicitor general had barely
stated to the court that the question in
the case was the decision of the lower
court that the Sherman antitrust law
did not prohibit the running Of a COR
ner'' before Chief Justice White suggest
ed that he would be pleased to have the
government at some time define just
what it meant by a corner"
Mr. Bullitt responded it was a cOmbi-
nation among dealers In a commodity, or
outside capitalists. for the purpose Of
buying up the greater portion of the COM
modify and holding 1t back from sale un-
til the demand so far outran the limited
supply as to advance the price abnor-
mally.
Now. l want you to show how the in
dictment fits that definition" added the
Chief Justice
That led the solicitor general to an
nounce that he abandoned the third count
Of the Indictment because the lower court
found there was no charge in 1t that the
defendants were to hold back the cotton
from sale, and consequently no corner
charged
Admits a Defect.
Getting right down to brass tacks."
declared Mr.. Bulitt, IT frankly admit
that the other count, the seventh. has one
defect. There is no express statement In
it that the combination was created to
withhold from the market the cotton
bought"
The solicitor general said that in deal
ing with this defect the government ad-
vanced two arguments. One was that the
lower court construed the count to charge
the running of corner. and the Supreme
Court could do nothing now but accept
that Interpretation. notwithstanding 1t
might have the duty to examine the in
depreciation If there was conviction and
an appeal.
The second argument. Mr.. Bullitt said,
was that the government had used the
word corner in the count. and every
body in the world knew that a corner in
cluded a withholding from sale.
Justice Van Devanter suggested that
the man who drafted the indictment did
not have that in mind. perhaps for i'm
mediately after the word corner he had
defined the term. without including a
charge of Withholding from sale.
Finally, Mr.. Bullitt admitted that il
neither one of these arguments was ac-
ceptable, the government had no case
Former Senator John G. Spooner will
be heard today in defense Of the accused.