Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1913-01-01
ATTORNEY GENERAL WICKER
SHAM'S TRUST RELATIONS.
BY Clyde II. Tavenner, Special Wash
ington Correspondent of this
Paper.


Wickersham has refused to allow war.
| rants to be served on John d. Arch
bold and ether officials of the Stand
ard Oil company, in the case in
which the Magnolia Oil company OF
Texas was indicted by federal
grand jury in Texas for criminal VIC
lation of the Sherman law.
| Once again, Mr.. Wickersham is using
the machinery of the great office Of
| the Department of Justice to pro-
tect, instead of prosecute, the million
| aire heads of illegal trusts. ..
A hundred instances could be cited
| where Wickersham has, by means of
especially prepared opinions, orders
and rules, given comfort to Nhe great
industrial trusts, private monopolies
and special privilege. 1t was Wick
ersham, the attorney general, who
stopped important suits against the
beef trust Immediately upon taking Of
flee. 1t was Wickersham, the attor-
ney general, who rendered an opin-
ion upholding Ballinger and viciously
attacking Louis R. CLAWS, who said
it was legal for sugar trust interests
TO acquire by the exploitation process
S., 900 acres of rich sugar lands of
the Philippines when the organic law
of the islands expressly declares thai
no corporation shall be allowed to &C.
qire more than $500 acres. 1t was
Wickersham, the attorney general
who sanctioned the Taft administra-
ton railroad regulation bill, later ex-
posed and altered, containing joker
legalizing the Southern Pacific-Un-
ion Pacific merger, recently held UNI
lawful by the Supreme Court. II
was Wickersham, the attorney gener'
al, whose suit against the steel trust
is one in equity instead of a criminal
prosecution.
At the time of his appointment, it
was said his selec ton by Mr.. Taft
was in recognition of the desires of
the great industrial trusts Of the
country, who had contributed large
sums to Mr. Taft's campaign fund,
and who as return favor desired
that a safe" man be placed in charge
of the government prosecuting ma
chinery. -
Before his appointment as Attor-
ney General, Mr.. Wickers ham was a
trust lawyer. For years and years he
had been receiving huge fees from
corporations for interpreting the laws
not from the viewpoint of the welfare
Of the people, but from the viewpoint
of the welfare Of the trusts. Nr.
Wickersham was membr of the law
firm of Strong & Cadwalader. Con-
gresham Henry r. Rainey described
this firm on the floor of the House
Of Representatives as follow:
"The firm of Strong & Cadwalader
is one of these important New York
City legal firms to which great COR
porations appeal for aid when they
propose to violate the laws of the
land or when they have violated the
laws of the land"
The firm Of Strong & Cadwalader
at the time of Mr.. Wickersham's ap-
pointment as attorney general, rep
resented, among other great corpor-
atoms, the sugar trust, and one of
the last things Mr. Wickerham did
as a member of the firm of Strong
& Cadwalader, was to draw down his
portion of a sugar trust fee OF
something like $4,000. And one Of
the first things Mr.. Wickersham did
as attorney general was to write, on
June 81, 1909, to John S. Wise, u.
S. District Attorney for the south
ern district of New York, a letter
revealing his strong interest in three
sugar trust officials then in danger of
the penitentiary. This remarkable
letter, the authenticity Of which has
never been denied by the Attorney
General, reads in part as follows:
My dear Wise:-
Senator Root has sent me the
proof Of a petition signed by Bowers,
Milburn and Guthrie, in support OF
their contention that the statute OF
limitations has run in favor OF
Messrs. Parsons, Kissel and Harmed.
II the only overt acts done to carry