The Washington herald., 1916-01-11
Time to Quit the Courts.

Attorney General Gregory is quoted saying
that the Department OF Justice will decide within
few days whether or not to bring to trial again
those hve former directors of the New York,
New Haven and Hartford Railroad Company who
were not acquitted of the charge of conspiring to
violate the Sherman antitrust law by the verdict
OF jury rendered in the Federal District Court in
New York on Sunday. There are certain legal as
poets OF the trial to be examined no doubt before
formal announcement of the departments course
can be made, but unless circumstances exist OF
which the public is not informed, it may safely be
assumed that the government will be satisfied to
abandon this case, which offers it almost no pros
pect of success. Juries have so often refused to
find the individual officials of corporations guilty
OF crime for violations of the Sherman law that
it is as good proved that the criminal clause of
the law has been nullihed by public sentiment, and
that while corporations may be forced to discon-
tlnue practices in conflict with the law and to
make restitution, 1t is impossible to establish per-
sonal guilt in such degree to permit juries con-
scientously to brand men as felons because of
their methods of conducting the affairs of big cor
porations.
Apparently nothing was lacking in the New
Haven case to make it thorough test. The de-
tails were widely exploited, and public feeling was
aroused by newspaper crusades against the de-
PENDANTS, whose deeds were denounced as those
of highwaymen. The government put forth all its
energies to bring about convictions, and in a trial
occupying hfty-6ve days introduced thrty-scven
witnesses and 1881 exhibits the defense content
ing itself with five witnesses and forty-six ex-
hibits. The record OF the trial contains 262 600
words, and its cost to both sides is estimated at
S75,ooo And the result of this tremendous
expenditure OF money, time, and energy the iury.
after hftyone hours of dcliberation and innumera-
Bile ballots found six of the eleven defendants in
nocent and disagreed as to the guilt or innocence
OF the remaining FIVE In the case of these FIVE.
eight OF the jury voted for acquittaI.
Surely the government has done its full duty.
and its representatives have been more than zeal
Gus in their efforts to have guilt made personal
under the Sherman law. The ends of Justice ap-
pear to have been fully served and it is difficult
to see what is to be expected as the result of an
other trial, beyond injuring business by continu
alton OF apprehension and distrust of the admins
tration's intentions, further expenditure of the
public money, and verdict of. acquittal, the lat
ter being far more likely than another disagree
ment with two-thirds of the jury voting on the
side OF the defendants
The New Haven record may we'll be closed.
The clamor to make victims of these men for
pursuing methods that were common enough in
this country before the days of the great house
cleaning has subsidized in New England, and there
IS no reason why Washington should keep il up.
They have been mulcted and punished sufficiently,
even those who were declared innocent
1t is time for the government and the ma.
tion's business to adjourn from the courtroom and
together with a better understanding, put their
shoulders to the wheel of progress