Evening star., 1938-01-24

ofncers by a Jury in Madison. Wis. on
technicality under the Sherman
Antitrust Law relating to price
fixing.
What the oil men did they did
originally under the announcement
Of the Department of the Interior,
presided over by Secretary Harold
1ckes. Everything that the oil execu-
tlves did was known to the Federal
government prior to June, 1885, when
the first complaint was lodged with
the Department of Justice-this was
a month after the N r. A. codes were
invalidated by the Supreme Court.
Not a single suggestion that the oil
men were violating the antitrust
laws or warning to stop was given
them BY the Department of the In
terror. with which they were CO.
operating earnestly to stabilize price
wars IN the oil fields. A letter, which
Is now matter of public record, was
written by Secretary Ickes to the oil
men which advises them frankly to
cut out the price wars and get to-
Hether.
ter-Departmental Law.
The gossip is that the Interior
Department and the Department of
Justice have been for several months
at loggerheads over the case and that
Secretary Ickes recently placed at
the disposal of the defense counsel in
Madison all the records and data
that he could without himself be-
coming involved as partisan of the
defense cause.
Iheres one man who knows more
about the legal aspects of this whole
proceeding from the standpoint of
what the oil executives did than any
body else in the picture and he is
Charles Fahy, now general counsel for
the National Labor Relations Board.
but, previous to that assignment. he
was counsel for the Petroleum Admin
strative Board. created in the Interior
Department by Mr.. Ickes to handle the
oil problem. Next to him, Secretary
1ckes can speak-the public is en-
titled to know their views on this
strange proceeding, though courtesy
70 another Government department
probably will keep them silent.
The oil executives had no inten-
ton Of violating any law. Certainly
today, as they and their families bear
the odium OF publicity given to con-
victlons in Federal court, it is
lar cry from the spirit and atmos-
phere which prevailed when they sat
down with Mr.. Fahy and Government
omclals to work out and adjust the
situation in what was then described
as the marketing of distress gaso-
line.
Question Of Fair Play.
II these executives have violated
s1e law on technicality. and their
counsel tried strenuously to prove to |
the jury that 1t was not even a tech !
nical violation, the question of fair |
play arises, because the Department
OF Justice and the Department of |
Interior are both directly responsible
to President Roosevelt. and he could |
have reconciled the difference between |
these departments and settled the |
>case without allowing technicalities to |
rule. Certainly the President had an !
opportunity, ever since the date of !
the Northumberland 1936-to !
eliminate the criminal proceedings !
against the individuals and let the /,
effort to enjoin the oil companies |
through civil proceedings be the way
OF bringing about an adjustment of
the conflicting issues
But the President did not do so He
permitted the indictments to be
brought and to stand against men
who co-operated with his own ad-
ministration. Under such circum-
stances, does any business man in
America today dare to take the risk
OF that informal cooperation which |
might be called price mediation or
price adjustment in conference with
Government officials? Not long ago.
Mr.. Roosevelt proposed such a plan
at his press conference. Business men
Will look askance now at any such
conferences, for they may lay them
selves open to possible criminal in
dictments. Even the assurance by a
cabinet officer or a Government de-
partment that there will be no prose-
cution apparently cannot be accepted
as a guarantee of immunity.
RAIN VOCATION Of Law.
The only assurances of immunity |
that citizen may really rely upon
are those in which he violates the
Federal Corrupt Practices Act by
purchasing Democratic campaign
books with the Presidents autograph
thereon. This is a plain violation Of
the law, but the Department of JUS
tice. with the approval of President
Roosevelt, will condone these so-called
=" ."technical' violations because they
bring money into the Democratic cam
paign chest. No more fragrant case
Of immortality in the conduct Of Gov
ernment could be cited, but not
single indictment has ever been
brought
So far as principle is concerned
there isn't the slightest difference be-
tween one Federal law and any other.
The violator can be hauled before a
grand jury, and after q case is pre-
pared by aggressive Government pros
ecutors who narrow the issue to 4
technicality, the jury has no choice
but to listen to the charge that q law
has actually been violated. They
cannot take into account all the ex-
tenuating circumstances surrounding
the cooperation of Government and
business which the Department of
Interior encouraged. for instance, in
respect to the oil industry. The jury
can only look at the law literally and
the evidence literally
Proof Of this attitude can be gotten
from reading the proceedings on the
long struggle which the oil defense
had In trying to get into the record
. copy Of the Ickes letter. Govern
ment counsel fought this strenuously
they didn't want the jury to Con-