The New York herald., 1922-05-26
BULB TRUST CHARGE
PUT BEFORE SENATE.
Untermyer Writes to La Fol-
lette That Daugherty
Failed to Act.

WASHINGTON. May 25.--Action to
break up an alleged monopoly by the
General Electric Company in the manu-
facture and sale of electric bulbs was
recommended by Samuel Untermyer
counsel for the Lockwood investigating
committee of New York, in letters to
Attorney-General Daugherty and Sena-
tor La Toilette (Rep., Wis.,. presented
in the Senate to-day by Mr. La Toilette.
The New York attorney declared the
General Electric Company conrolied '9S
per cent. of the electric bulb business and
was dominated by ]. J. Morgan & Co. He
added in his letter to Senator La Toilette
that he had offered to prosecute the al
legged trust without expense to the
Government.
1T was suggested" said Mr.. Inter
myer. that he (Mr Daugherty) in
struct the United States District Attor-
ney<at New York, in whose charge other
prosecutions for other violations of the
antitrust laws developed by the commit
tee had been placed by him and who
had shown q commendable disposition to
press those cases. This the Attorney.
General declined to do.
After considerable and repeated
further efforts to induce him to act, /
offered to take over the prosecution on
behalf of the committee represented by
me without cost to the Government in
order to secure prompt abatement of
the extortion to which the public was be-
Ing subjected, but have been unable to
secure his assent.
1T is now almost five months since
these requests were made. This ap-
parent unwillingness to act is, quite in
line with the history of the persistent
but unsuccessful attempts that have been
made by the committee to secure action
in other cases, extending over a period
of one year o. more.
ITO be brutally frank about the busi-
ness, l am satisfied that the overshad-
owing power of j. p. Morgan & Co., who
are the financial managers of the COM
pany and who really control its des-
tinies and one of whose members is a
director in the company, will make 1t
impossible ever to secure any sort of ef-
fective relief through the agency of the
Department of Justice Experience over
the past two decades and upward has
demonstrated that the great corporations
under it's guardianship, somehow or
other manage to do just about as they
please and to remain above and beyond
the law
ITO get the protection Of that great
international banking firm seems to be
equivalent to policy or insurance
against legal restraint. 1t matters not
whether we happen to be under Re-
publican or a Democratic Administra-
ton, their influence is apparently quite
as potent with the latter as with the
former and at times it has seemed as
IL it were a little more so. There Is no
difficulty in multiplying proof and sup
port of this assertion"
Senator La Toilette, in presenting the
Untermeyer letters, said he believed 1t
was high time that the Senate take
account of the conduct Of the head OF
the Department of Justice"
Senator La Toilette said further that
fifteen days ago the Senate had adopted
a resolution calling upon the Depart
ment of Justice for an opinion regard
ing the proposed steel company merger
and that Mr.. Daugherty had entirely
ignored" the resolution, although 1t ap-
peared. he said, that the merger had
been effected.
'The Attorney General should enjoin
the merger and il he fails it would be a
suitable case for action on the part of
Congress- he said.