Evening star., 1922-05-07
Sees National Peril in Stripping
Courts Of Proper Functions

no Immunity and that the govern
mentsmight wake up at any moment
and proceed to punish them.
Then came. the undisputed state
ment that the President of the
United States had authorized the
United States Steel Corporation
to absorb the Tennessee Iron and
Coal Company and had given as
surance that no prosecution would
follow this real or pretended
breach of the anti-trust law. l
regarded this at the time as an
autocratic act, and In the years
that have passed have not
changed my mind. The law is the
law. 1t is as much for the pow
erful as 1t is for the weak. In
principle, IL a President may au-
thorize a breach of the law in
one instance he may authbrize 1t
in another. If he can say before
the act that a corporation shall
not be held responsible for its
tain upon the high seas that If he
concludes to murder one of his
crew he will not be punished.
One day in later years ] ascer-
tained that it was not for the
courts to determine whether the
price of sugar charged by Louisi-
ana planters was In violation OF
the law. but for the Attorney Gen
eral of the United States: and now
1 am told that the Secretary OF
Commerce and the Attorney Cen
eraI are negotiating with ref
erence to what corporations can
be. formed that are not in viola
tion of the law.
4 *'*
These incidents are not the only
evidence of tendency to infringe
upon the prerogatives of the
courts. The Federal Trade Com
mission investigates. hales al
legged offenders before it. takes
testimony, examines books and
contracts and mayhap givevs
changed and practices discon.-
tinued. Maybe the exigencies Of
modern business require the eX-
istence of such tribunal. Maybe
the moral sentiments of men en-
gaging in trade become SO blunt
ed that it is Impossible for them
to determine whether they are
keeping within the law without
the advice of administrative Of
fcers. 1t may be that business
affairs are SO complicated as to
encompass a twilight zone be-
tween honesty and dishonesty,
between fair and unfair practices
and it may be that an adminlstra-
tive board is better fitted than
court to determine questions at
issue.
But cannot keep from wonder
ing whether these administration
officers are not contributing to the
moral delinquency of the business
men of America: whether they are
not advising those who are en-
gagged in trade to scrap their Ribies
and to toss into the ash heap the
statutes of state and national gov
ernment. There can be no douDt
about the good intention OF: these
officers. There need be no susges.
ton whatever that they are not
competent to discharge the duties
of their Office. He would do them
an Injustice who suggested that
they had anything else In mind
than honesty. fair dealing and the
general good of the republic. 1t
is not with the men, their motives,
or their ability that l have con-
troversy. My complaint has to do
y
courts that which under our sys-
tenn Of government belongs to
them and placing it under the 5ur-
isdtction of purely administrative
Offices.
The weakening of the moral
fiber of the business men of Amer
lea is involved. Business requires
skill, experience and devotion.
More than this, 1t requires the
very highest moral quality. We
cannot lessen the moral quality of
American business without weak
ening the fiber of the government.
We cannot let 1t be understood by
the American people that business
has q chance to break the law and
yet be safe from punishment with
out instilling in their minds the
belief that business and govern
meut are crooked partners and
that if business is to be exempt
from punishment for law viola
tions, individuals should also be
exempt. There are men, I doubt
not. who wish that a government
official would tell them that a per-
. sonal enemy was not a reasonable .
being within the kings peace and
that therefore his death would not
be homicide. From my viewpoint,
1t is better to have the law clear
and no one to interpret it save the
courts.
Copyright, 1922, BY Thomas II. Marshall.