South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1919-10-01
READY To MAKE
ANOTHER ATTACK
ON BIG TRUSTS
Prosecution Which Was SuS-
pended During War to Be
Started In Motion.

WASHINGTON. D. c.. oct. -
The batteries OF the department
of justice are being squared away
for another attack on the trusts.
IN other words. the prosecution OF
trusts, suspended during the war. is
10 be resumed by the federal gov
eminent. Attorney General Palmer
has instructed the attorneys under
him 10 see that the sherman anti
trust law is enforced without fear or
favor. The supreme court, which
will reconvene oct s, has set down
for hearing all the trust cases before
Quaker Oats case. The court will
open its fall session by listening
10 arguments in the trust cases be-
fore il.
First on Docket.
The case against the United
States steel corporation is the first
one on the docket. Following it the
court will take up the case in which
the government seeks 10 have the
American Can company adjudged q
monopoly and following that the
court will hear arguments in the
governments case against the East
man Kodak company. Several other
cases involving alleged violations OF
the sherman antitrust law are IN
the courts docket and Will be
argued in october or November. All
these cases were tried in the lower
courts before the United States en-
tered the war and had been appealed
TO the supreme court prior TO April,
1917
The exigencies of war caused the
government 10 call a halt in all
prosecutions under the Sherman
antitrust law. AT the request OF the
attorney general the supreme court
refrained from getting any of the
trust cases for argument during the
progress of the war. This period
OF inactivity continued until recently
when the attorney general let ii be
known that he would expect the su-
preme court to proceed with all the
cases. Since the case against the
United States steel corporation is
the first one that is to come up for
oral argument, it is assumed that
il will be the first case decided, and
that the decision in that case will TO
a considerable extent become the
guide of the department of justice
in determining on future prosecu-
tiOns under the Sherman antitrust
law. In any event. according to the
attorneys in the department of JUS
tice. the decisions i'm the steel case,
in, he Gan con, M nv .aca
and in the Eastman Kodak company
case. certainly will reveal TO the gov
eminent whether il can hope to have
other corporations against which il
is proceeding declared mOnopolies.
To Pass ON Clayton Act.
The supreme court in the cases
that are about TO be taken up will
be called on to pass on the Clayton
act which congress passed in 1914.
Lawyers expect the court to have
something further to say about the
so-called rule of reason. Since the
PRONUNCIATION of the rule of rea-
son" in the Standard Oil and tobacco
cases the department of justice, &C
cOrding TO the lawyers in that de-
partment who are handling the trust
cases, and have been confused as
to what the Sherman antitrust law
actually means. 1t is the expecta-
ton of the department that in the
forthcoming decisions the court will
give the department clear directions
as TO what it may do and may not
do in proceedings under the anti
trust law.
The investigators of the depart
ment of justice have for some time
been reporting many violations Of
the Sherman antitrust law. II is
pointed out that during the stress
OF war when the law was entirely
disregarded abuses naturally sprang
up which still exist. 1t is asserted
that in some lines OF industry men
have proceeded on the theory that
the government would never again
attempt TO enforce the antitrust law
rigidly. According 10 the depart
ment Of justice there never was any
excuse for capitalists reaching this
decision. The department insists
that corporation should have
realized that with the end OF the
war the government would resume
prosecution under the law.