The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-07-21
"TRUsT BUSTING, A LOST ART

From the Washington Herald. | For several months change has | been coming over the administration s | attitude toward business So gradual has been this change that 1t virtually
 lras passed unnoticed. but develop
 ments of the last few days make 1t apparent that orders have gone out
 to all in Washington. the high and the not hinder business.
 The President and his advisers have not themselves changed as regards this subject The change as viewed here. has been in. the attitude of the coun- try toward business, and the Wash inston administration has merely been trim ming its sails for political reasons to catch the new breezes
 Announcements made within the last few days have been highly significant
 but none more so than a statement yes- terday by Attorney General Gregory
 In talking with the newspaper corre- spcndents. MT. Gregory said that not withstaneing that the government will take an appeal in the Steel corpora ton case and that other trust cases now pending in the courts will be fol- low ed to their logical conclusions, to the end that the governments interests In the~ enforcement of the antitrust statutes may not be neglected in any way, yet he was free to admit that lately the trusts have been on their good behavior"
 This was regarded as an admission that while pending cases will be car lied through to the highest court, even dn the face of adverse decision, the government has in contemplation no new court attacks upon big business.
 Evidences have indicated for some time that the government was grow ing weary of the trust busting busl- ness, and that recent adverse decisions In the federal courts construing the sherman law, together with an aroused public continent against the contin- ucd batting of business by the govern ment. Was exerting a restraining in- huence on. the governments represen- tatives.
 At the same time the suggestion has been mads that the newly created fed eral trade commission would in a large measure take over the task of disciplinins business and that here after no business would be subjected to penalties until after it has been cited to show cause, had had It's day In court, and had been accorded a chance to clean house. Announcements within the last few days from the new federal trade commission have served ff atx. Il,
 Is concerned at present more deeply over the possibilities of helping busi- ness than 1t Is in exercising destructive influences.
 The worst blow dealt by the govern ment recently in it's attacks upon bust ness was the refusal of the supreme court by unanimous decision to review the cash--register cases involving the criminal sections of the sherman law. The admission was made in the gov crnment's brief in that case that if the
 motion for a review was denied a serious blow would have been delivered to the governments efforts to enforce the criminal sections in any other case.
 After this decision department of jus tice officials took a gloomy view of criminal prosecutions under the Sher- man law. and there have been sug- gestions that trust-busting was rapidly verging toward a state where 1t might be described as lost art"
 The suggestion of the Attorney Gen. .rai that the trusts are on their good ieha"jor is viewed by many here as
 one wave of covering the government s retreat from the trust battlefield