Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1916-01-13
THE NEW HAVEN EXAMPLE.

! THE NEW HAVEN EXAMPLE.
[Sioux City JournaLl
The acquittal of six Of the New
Haven defendants and the two o- one
vote for acqufttal of the remaining
five spells failure for another criminal
prosecution of "big business" under
the Sherman law. There may be a
new arraignment Of the defendants
against whom the prosecution was in
conclusive, but the prosecuting after
ney who can see a conviction ahead
must be a good deal of an optimist. A
| notable feature Of the recent trial was
the lack Of popular interest in 1t. Altho
| the liberty of the country's most prom
inent millionaire corporation magnates
was placed In jeopardy, the country
failed to get excited over the trail. 1t
is safe to say that not one In fifty Of
| the regular readers of the newspapers
followed the reports from day to day.
Failure to convict was in line with gen.
| eral expectations.
The indicted officers of the New
| Haven were accused of conspiracy to
violate the Sherman law by trying to
attain transportation monopoly in New
England. To make the case the prose-
cution went back as far as 1890, when
made against the officers was that con-
solicitations which were accepted as per-
fectly legal when made were, in fact,
deliberately intended to defy the Sher-
man law. The weakness of this con-
tention lay in the fact that the federal
authorities offered no objection at the
time of the mergers or for long after
ward.
AS general proposition. when
business man does something openly
which Is accepted as legal by the con-
stituted authorities, no jury is going to
send him to Jail years afterward, be-
cause in the meantime progressive in
terpretations OF the law may have
characterized his conduct as illegal.
DEMAND STATE EMPLOYMENT.
ICedar Rapids Gazette.]
More than 500 brewery workers at
Davenport demand that the state Of
Iowa give them employment because.
since the closing of the breweries'
they can not obtain work.
Firstly, this list of brewery work
ers' no doubt includes all the bar ten
ders and saloon panitors of the city. 1t
Is not probable that the fifteen brew
cries of Iowa employed 500 men, in
Guiding teamsters.
Secondly, the entire number of
brewery workers" at Davenport, ac-
cording to their own demands. are out
of work. None has secured job altho
II had been known for several months
that the breweries and saloons would
close on Dec. 81. No such demand
comes from any other city. If not one
Of these Davenport brewery workers"
has been able to secure employment
Davenport must be industrially dead.
The only other explanation is that 9TH
er workmen have been preferred. They
may take their choice
Thirdly, what sort of state employ
ment would they have? The state hires
a governor, lieutenant governor, treas
urer. auditor, judges. clerks Of the
court, railway commissioners, veteri-
nary surgeons, superintendents of hos
pita:s wardens. stenographers and
clerks at the capital. prison guards.
farmers at reformatories. senators,
representatives, mine and factory in
spectors (tbese two classes controlled
by labor unlons), pharmacy commits
sioners, game wardens and other ac-
cessories to government. About where
would these 500 from Davenport be
pleased to break in? About the only
other thing might De emergency road
work. That might be arranged as
measure for temporary relief. On
March / there will be deep-chested
yell for able farm hands from our
broad prairies. If they can manage to
hang or until then perhaps the prob
lem can be solved. Meanwhile theref
are thousands Of building tradesmen
out of work just now and the state
might have a thought for them. Brick
layers for instance, have had very
little work for the year, and quarry
workers have been on the permanent
list for the retired. And these other
men who are out Of work are all parts
Of the state on whom the 500 at Dav.
export make their demand.