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EfEBRUART 10, 190B"
The Commoner.
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THE United States supreme court, on January
30, delivered an opinion in the case of the
United States vs. Swift and company. This was
the beef trust caae. The government charged the
packers with conspiracy in restraint of trade. The
Associated !Press report says: "The opinion was
handed down by Justice Holmes and affirmed the
decision of the court below which wa3 against
the packers. In his opinion Justice Holmes dis
cussed at length the various contentions of the
packers and disposed of them individually. He
admitted that some of the charges were less spe
cific than desirable, but said this was necessarily
true on account of the vast extent of the field
covered. He added that sufficient had been shown
to prove continuance of offenses and an offense
of such a nature a3 to justify the proceeding. The
opinion continues the Injunction granted against
the packers under the Sherman anti-trust law by
the lower courts. The opinion was concurred in
by alt the members of the court."
COMMENTING upon the court's opinion, At
torney General Moody said: "The opinion
sustains in all respects the contention of the gov
ernment and affirms the decree of the court below
in all substantial particulars. ,The case decides
that the traffic in live stock transported from the
state or territory of its origin to another state for
sale is interstate commerce and .that those en
gaged in buying and selling such live stock are
engaged in interstate commerce. This question
has been before the court twice before, but wa3
left undecided because the cases in which it was
presented turned upon other considerations. The
decision condemns as an unlawful restraint of
trade the combination between independent deal
ers to suppress all competition in the purchase of
live stock thus situated. It condemns as an un
lawful restraint of trade the combination between
such dealers for the purpose of fixing and main
taining uniform prices for the sale of meat
throughout the country; it condemns as an unlaw
ful restraint of trade the combination between
such dealers to obtain preferential rates for the
transportation of their product by common car
riers. The decision makes it clear that all com
bination between independent individuals, partner
ships or corporations engaged in interstate com
merce by which competition between them in such
commerce is suppressed, fall under the prohibition
of the so-called anti-trust act."
THE packers themselves refuse to express any
opinion, but John S. Miller, their chief coun
sel, is quoted by the Associated Press as saying:
"The order, as I understand it, simply makes
permanent the injunction restraining the packers
from doing business in restraint of trade and in
violation of the Sherman anti-trust law. They
have assured me that they have done nothing in
violation of these. Hence the permanent restrain
ing order does not, in any manner, inconvenience
them. It does not charge them with or convict
them of wrong doing. I can not say what further
action may be taken. Th'e only thing that I see
that could be done would be to request a rehearing
of the case."
JUDGE PETER S. GROSSCUP of the United
States circuit court of Chicago, referring to
the supreme court's decision in the beef trust case,
says: "The substance of the case presented to the
circuit court was, whether the purchase of cattle
from sellers living in different states, to manu
facture into dressed meats, and the sale of such
meats to purchasers in different states constituted
interstate commerce or not. The decision estab
lishes the right of the government to prevent com
binations among the manufacturers of meats. It
is a long step in the direction of effectual govern
ment supervision- But to my mind the real sig
nificance of the decision is much deeper and far
reaching than even this. It effectively clears tho
decks for what I believe will be the next really
great national movement as the restriction, and
finally the abolition, of slavery was the last great
fundamental movement the oiganization and su
pervision, by the nation itself, of the great cor
porations of the future a movement Whose chief
object will be not 30 much to control prices, or
merely to curb power, as to bring corporate owner
ship within the-reach and reasonable confidence of
the people at large, and thus to re-pooplizo and
republicanize again tho industrial ownership of tho
country."
PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT delivered an address
before the Union League of Philadelphia on
the evening of January 80. Ho paid somo atten
tion to the railroad question, declaring that while
tho railroad managers were entitled to exact Jus
tice, the people were likewise- entitled to justice.
He said that the railroad managers must recognize
their duty to tho public and that control of rail
road rates must be exercised by some governmental
tribunal. Explaining his railroad policy, the pres
ident said: "We are not trying to strike down the
rich man; on tho contrary, wo will not tolerate any
attack upon his right3. Wo are not trying to give
an improper advantage to tho poor mdn because
he is poor, to the man of small means becauso he
has not larger means; but we are striving to see
that the man of small means ha3 exactly as good
a chance, so far as we can. obtain it for him, as
the man of larger means; that there shall be
equality of opportunity for the one as for the
other. We do not intend that this republic shall
over fail as those republics of olden time failed,
in which there finally came to be a government by
classes, which resulted either in the poor plunder
ing the rich or in tho rich exploiting and In one
form or another enslaving the poor; for either
event means the destruction of free institutions
and of individual liberty. Ours 13 not a govern
ment which recognizes classes. It is based o"n the
recognition of tho . individual. Wo are not for
the poor man as such, nor for the rich man as
such. We are for every man, rich or poor, pro
vided ho acts justly and fairly by his fellows, and
if he so acts the government must do all it can
to see that inasmuch as he does no wrong, so he
shall suffer no wrong."
FOR years, Abraham Lincoln has been ac
credited with the saying: "You can fool all
of the people some of the time, some of tho people
all of tho time, but you can not fool all the people
all of tho time." The Washington Post says that
Representative S'nooks of Ohio recently received
from "a curious constituent of a literary turn of
mind who studies the sayings supposed to have
fallen from the lips of great men," a letter inquir
ing what speech of Abraham Lincoln's contains
these famous words. Tho Post says that Represen
tative Snooks referred the inquiry to the con
gressional librarian and that Assistant Librarian
Spofford, who is famous as a literary authority, re
ported that the sentence does not occur in any of
Lincoln's writings. Mr. Spofford says that Mr.
Nicolay, Lincoln's secretary, told him (Spofford)
that they were 3purious. Mr. Spofford says P. T.
Barnum, the great circus man, was the author
of the popular sentence .which has been heard
millions of times on the stump in every political
campaign during the last quarter of a century.
MAXIM GORKY, the Russian writer, has, ac
cording to newspaper dispatches, been con
fined in a St. Petersburg prison. A writer in the
Louisville Courier Journal says: "Gorky won his
fame as a writer of novels setting forth the joys,
sorrows and friendships of tramps, among whom
he lives. He has never mingled political treatises
with his text, but his works present Jn a poignant
way tho cause of the poor of Russia and they are
not without their effect in a political aense. It is
the crushing weight of Russia's governmental sys
tem that is keeping tho people poor and adding to
their misery, and he conceals nothing of this con
dition of things. His books have gone over the
world, and now, at the age of thirty-six, he is
regarded as ranking next to Tolstoy among the
contemporary writers of Russia. Gorky's real
name is Pjeschkoff. He could scarcely read at fif
teen. In his early years he was a shoemaker's ap
prentice, working inhumanely long hours; an
engraver, a painter of ikon3, a cook's helper. He
was a boatman for a while, and then he labored
in the quarries. He served as baker's boy at $1.50
a month, worked in a sawmill and as longshore
man. Of late the Russian government has been
suspecting him of revolutionary purposes, and.
when ho issued a message to the people and a
defiance of the czar last week the authorities
placed him under arrest."
THE administration has been severely criticized
becauso of what is known as tho "Santo Do
mingan treaty." Senators claim that tho agree
ment entered into betweon tho administration and
tho Dominican government amounts to a treaty,
and treaties can not be made except "by and with
tho advice and consont of tho senate. ' Command
er Dillingham of tho United States navy and tho
representative of tho Dominican govornment
3igned a protocol, which it is charged practically
creates a protectorate by tho United States over
Santo Domingo. Among other things, this pro
tocol provides that the United States is to aid
in restoring tho credit, preserving order and in
creasing the "efficiency of its (Santo Domingo)
civil administration and advancing the financial
progress and welfare of tho republic."
SENATOR BACON of Georgia recently intro
duced a -resolution calling for Information on
this subject. Tho resolution was referred to tho
committee on foreign relations. Later the senato
was Informed that tho secretary of state would
consent to send to the senate a treaty framed on
the lines of tho protocol. Later dispatches say
that instructions have been sent to the American
minister at Santo Domingo, dl recti ngHh at tho pro
tocol bo amended to make perfectly clear tho
limitations of tho responsibility of the United
States in Santo Domingan affairs.
ACCORDING to government reports, Carthage,
Mo., is tho most healthful city in the United
States. A dispatch to the St. Louis Republican,
under date of Carthage, Jan. 28, says: "For sev
eral years this city has held the banner for lowest
rate of mortality, and this year, according to
Doctor A. Rhoads, who complies tho mortality
table for Uncle Sam, the number of deaths Is small
er than last year. Tho population of Carthage,
according to tho government representative, is 11,
700. Tho total number of death3 during 1904 from
all causes was 81. Of this number there were 11
deaths from tuberculosis. Tho death rate per
thousand of population was, therefore, G.92. In
1903 there wore 99 deaths In tho city, and in 1902
there w.ere 104."
ENGINEERS have decided that the Brooklyn
bridge must bo rebuilt because of the great
strain to which it has been subjected. Tho Brook
lyn correspondent for tho Milwaukee Sentinel
says: "To do this will require at least two years.
Meanwhile traffic between New York and Brooklyn
will have to be diverted to the Williamsburg
bridge, the new Manhattan bridge, and tho Brook
lyn subway tunnel, In course Oi. construction. Four
or five years may elapse before this can be ac
complished, as great traffic problems will havo to
be solved beforehand. Though an inspection of the
Brooklyn bridge shows It to be safe, it is admitted
by all the engineers who have been connected with
the work that even steel has an age limit, and that
thi3 limit is being approached. The structure is
withstanding a weight of. traffic which It never
was intended to bear when the plans for the con
striicton were made. It is estimated that the cost
of the rebuilding will be about $5,000,000.
A STRANGE scene was recently enacted Jn the
police court at Atlanta, Ga. The Atlanta
Constitution tells the story in this way: "Mrs.
Mattle Eads, fined for Insulting a neighbor, put up
her 10-year-old son as collateral until sho could
ral3e the amount of tho fine. Without shedding a
tear, the child placed himself in the custody of
Probate Officer J. N. Gloer and remained a pris
oner in the juvenile ward as hostage for his moth
er. This act of sacrifice gave liberty to the mother
and thus escape a term in the city stockade.
When tho fine was finally paid Turnkey S'teerman
released the boy."
WRITING from Washington to the Chicago
Record-Herald. Walter Wellman says that
in its decision of the beef trust case, the United
S'tates court cut the ground from under what ia
known as "government by injunction." Mr. Well
man says: "Among the numerous exceptions to
the government's bill entered by the packers was
'one that tho bill of complaint and the allegations
h