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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 24, 1911)
" T'"!!WW.wB(WW'Mi)r;TP fftpmfmr-r'" NOVEMBER 21, Mil' The Commoner. 3 Representative Henry Will Work to Amend the Anti-Trust Law crylnj? down the Folk Indorsement, not because thoy fovo Cl.irlc more, but bccnuno they lovo Folk loss. The brewers, tho im"loonkocjierfl, tho blf? business Interests that hato Kolk because nn trovor- nor ho cleaned tho Htato up ami had a npjendld not 1(0 administration, are unlnir tho Clark boom 16 hurt him. Tho anff In Mtnourl In for Clark, not bp cause Clark will norvo them Improperly, but oft- Representative Robert L. Henry of Texas will take tho lead in tho movement to correct tho injury done tho public interest through tho "reasonable" decisions in the Standard Oil and Tobacco cases. Following is an Associated Press dispatch: Washlngon, Nov. 15. "Felons' stripes" as a punishment for "trust criminals" in the United States, and to "end "commercial piracy under be nevolent 'rules of reason,' " are proposed in a bill amending tho Slicrman anti-trust law drafted by Representative Henry of Texas, to be introduced in tho houso upon the opening of congress next month. Its introduction probably avIH mean its passage in the house. Tho bill specifically defines Just what constitutes a trust, legislates from the present statute, the "rule of reason," as Interpreted by tho supremo court In the Standard Oil and Tobacco decisions, and provides as punishment from two to ton years in the penitentiary. It will be re ferred to the judiciary committee for deliberation. Representative Henry, who has been conferring with Representative Clayton, of Alabama, chairman of the committeo, and other democratic leaders, completed the draft of the proposed changes in tho much discussed statute today. In explaining his bill, Representative Henry declared that actual Imprisonment of great industrial offenders was essential to a cure for the trust evil, and that a law to bo rigid must of necessity define a trust to leave no room for controversy. "My bill," said Mr. Henry, "nullifies the alterna tives written Into the Sherman anti-trust act by tho unwarranted and purely legislative decision of tho supremo court In tho Standard Oil and To bacco trust cases of last spring. That is, the bill legislates tho 'rule of reason out of tho law and it defines specifically what a trust is so that thcro can bo no room for controversy. It makes tho violation of this law a felony, with imprisonment for not less than two years, nor more than ten years. "Fines and dissolutions seem to bo child's play for the trust magnates. Felon's stripes, where tho violation Is knowingly or wilfully done, will prove a potential remedy for theso flagrant acts of com mercial outlaws. Tho Chinese anti-trust law pro vided: 'Those who interrupt commerce are to bo beheadod.' "To behead such offenders in our country would be entirely too extreme, but to compromiso with a penitentiary soDtenco and a felon's stripes as a punishment Is mild and should bo administered to trust criminals in tho United States. "My bill justly exempts 'members of organiza tions xr associations -not for profit,' and not with out capital ..stock, and also agricultural producers or livestock in the hands of the producer or raiser.' "The first exemption as to labor was In the original legislation and tho second as to agricul tural products and livestock Is found in some state laws. Theso exemptions aro right and should bo mado." The proposed bill amends the first three sec tions of the Sherman act. leaving as they aro sec tions four to eight Inclusive and adding two new sections. Section one Is amended to define speci fically a trust, and reads as follows: "Every contract, combination in the form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy in restraint of trade or commerce among tho several states, or with foreign nations, Is Hereby declared to be Illegal. And that a trust Is a contract, or conspiracy, or agreement of whatever character, or combination against trade or commerce or aids to commerce or capital, skill or acta by two or nioro persons, linns, corporations, ofllcers of corporations or associa tions of persons or either two or mdro of them, or either, any or all of the following purposes: "First To crcato or carry out restrictions In trade or commerce or aids to commerce or to create or carry out restrictions In tho full pursuit of any business organised or permitted by tho laws of tho United Statos of America. "Second To Increase or reduce tho prlco of merchandise, produce or commodities. "Third To prevent competition In manufacture, making transportation, sale or purchano of mer chandise, produce or commodities, or to prevent competition In aids to commerce. "Fourth To fix at any standard or figure where by its price to the public shall bo In any manner controlled or established, any article or commo dity of merchandise, produco or commorco, Intended for salo, uso or consumption in tho United States of America. "Fifth To make or enter Into or exeoute or carry out any contract, obligation or agreement of any kind or description by which they shall bind or have bound themselves not to sell, dispose of, or transport any article or commodity, or article of trade, use, merchandise, commerce of consumption below a common standard figure, or by which they shall agree In any manner to keep the price of such article, commodity or transportation at a fixed or graded figure, or by which they shall In any manner establish or settle tho prlco of any article, commodity or transportation between them, themselves or others to preclude a free and un restricted competition among themselves or others In the Sale or transportation of any such article or commodity or by which they shall agree to pool, combine or unite any interest they may have in connection with the sale or transportation of any such nrticlo or commodity that Its price might In any manner bo affected. Every person who shall make any such contract or agreement, or knowingly enter into or execute such conspiracy or combination, shall be deemed guilty of a felony and on conviction thereof shall bo imprisoned In tho penitentiary for a torm of not lesB than two years nor more than ten years. Sectlpnfl two and thrco of tho Sherman act pro viding against monopolization or conspiracy In re straint of trade within tho United States or with foreign nations are amended to Include tho peni tentiary punishment for violation instead of tho present provision for a fine of $5,000 or "Imprison ment not exceeding one year or both." Tho added sections are as follows: "Section nine All acts and parts of acts Incon sistent with this act hereby aro repealed; but this act shall not affect rights, pending suits, pro ceedings n"nd liabilities which arose, accrued, or wnro bognn under any previous laws or actions or proceedings as provided for by previous nets." "Section ten That nothing In said act Is Intended or shall any provision thereof be enforced so as to apply to members of the organizations or associa tions not for profit and without capital or to agri cultural products or to live stock In tho hands of producer or raiser." Democratic members will confer on the bill as soon as the members assemble this month and It Is their purpose to make the bill ono of the fore most on the legislative program for tho regular session. cnuso they hate Folk. F61k Is also handicapped by tho rac.t that ho has been out of office for threo years. Of course, Folk's friends will hardly bo ablo to stand up against, tho demand Cor a prl nrtiry; ha Is tho temper of tho times. Rut If the primary is to be hold, why not mako It a formal priK)nXutlal pjlmary? Let tho poople of Mlssmirl volo for' Folk or Clark If they want to, bytx. let them also voto for Wilson or Harmon or Urraor wood, If they want to. PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARIES Medill McCormick, one of tho Illinois leaders of the insurgents has written a letter to Gover nor Deneen urging presidential primaries in -Illinois. He asks the governor to urge the mem bers of the republican state committee to take such steps 'as will enable the republican rank and file to express their choice for the republi can nomination for president. He would liko to have this done by law but if that is not pos sible then by the act of the state committee. Mr. McCormick says: "Tho demand for popular election of candidates for offices, both state and national, has become ireneral. It is obvious that no nominee selected despite the wishes of the rank and file of the re publican party can Inspire the confidence or com mand the united and enthusiastic support which will bo so necessary to republican success In 1912. Apart from the Intrinsic merit of tho plan for direct popular nomination of the presidential can didate next year. It Is to bo noted that the friends of Senator La Follette are ready to submit his name for nomination to a direct voto of tho rank and file of the republican party." The plea addressed by Mr. McCormick, the republican, ought to appeal to democrats. It will bo possible to have primaries in every state either by law or by action of the state com mittee. ' , ., , "Let the people rule," ought to be the slogan for every political party. Collier's Weekly is making a gallant fight for presidential primaries, and In a recent issue prints the following editorial: There aro a good many interesting features of the present state of the campaign for tho presi dency, but the one that is of surpassing Impor tance Is the presidential primary. Between now and I about tho 1st of next April ft will bo decided whether the republican and democratic nominees for the presidency are to bo chosen by the people or by the bosses. The people can got tho power to choose by insisting, during the next six months on the rfdoption ef tho presidential primary In all tho states. .Here are eight states whose legislatures meet next' January: Kentucky. Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New York. Rhode Island, South Caro lina and Virginia. Surely the people of theso states can secure the presidential primary by making the pressure strong enough. Any party that Is In power In a legislature this winter, and goes on record against the presidential primary, will start with a bad handicap In tho presidential election .next fall. The southern states, especially, ought to realize that the presidential primary is in their Interest: In most of them the democrats have something like It already, and If a state statute forced the republicans to adopt It, the power of the republican federal rings, a perennial scandal to the south, would be broken forever. The republican national committee will meet De cember 12 and the democratic national committee January 8. The business of each meeting will be the choice of a place to hold the big national con ventions next summer and to make other prepara tions for the naming of the two party .candidates for president. Each committee eught to go on record as to presidential primaries: that Is by far the most Important feature of the business of choosing the nominees. If the progressive men and papers in each party bring sufficient pressure it will be done. If one party Indorses the presi dential primary, the other will hardly care to assume the Implication that will g with Ignor ing It There Is much bitterness In Missouri as to which of Its two favorite sons the state shall support for the presidency. Over a year ago a democratic state convention Indorsed Folk formally, and at the tlmo everybody supposed that ended it. That however, was before democratic chances looked so good, before votes In the convention were re garded as so valuable. Also It was before the democratic congress was elected and gave Clark a measurable elevation toward the presidency by making him speaker. Clark's friends now claim, and there Is much strength In their position, that the day of convention indorsements Is past, that the only way to determine the feeling of the party Is by a primary. On the contrary, Folk's friends make much of the fact that Clark was chairman of the convention that Indorsed him, and therefore ought to be bound bv ft Tt Is also true that a good many people In Missouri and they constitute the less desirable element In Missouri politics are GETTING READY IN WEST VIRGINIA Following is a special dispatch to tho Phila delphia North American: Parkorabunr. W. Va., Nov. 14. After boing in session all day, tho republican state executivo committee tonight de cided in favor of a state-wide primary, with tho stato aB a unit, for West Virginia in 1912. The voto was 10 to 1. Tho decision wns reached only aftor a pro longed flght was made by promlnont republican leaders who favored tho so-callod district unit plan. Twice tho motion to adopt tho district unit plan resulted in G-to-C tlo, tho chairman, Samuel V. Mathows, breaking It with a voto in tho negative. Five members of tho committeo who hold federal offices resigned today In response, it la said, to what appeared to be a popular demand. FEDERAL JUDGES BITTERLY ARRAIGNED BY A FEDERAL ATTORNEY Following aro extracts from tho Now York Word's news columns of November 15th: "United States District Attorney Wise, speaking at tho first monthly luncheon of tho National Jewellers board of trade in Kalil's restaurant, complained of tho refusal of federal judges to imprison men of position and wealth who are convicted of smuggling or undervaluation. He denounced tho Duvcen brothers as tho lowest, most contemptible and most despicable of crimi nals, and to loud applause said ho still hoped to send ono of them to tho penitentiary." Extracts from Mr. Wise's speech, follow: "Men of wealth, Influence and position convicted of smuggling and undervaluation have boon let off on fines dcsplto my earnest efforts to have them sent to tho penitentiary." "Poor men,. obscure men who havd robbed the government ' of paltry amounts instead of hundreds of thousands, as persons like the Duveen brothers did, have had to sorve tlmo In jails and penitentiaries." "I have often wished when wealthy men wore tried that I had beon tho judge instead of .the prospcuting attorney." "It has been hard to convince judges that jail sentences were necessary to break up smug gling." "I still have hopes of sending at least one of tho Duveen brothers to the penitentiary." '.'The Duveons aro the lowest, most contemp tible criminals I know." "In tho last thirty months there have been over two hundred arrests for smuggling and undervaluation and over ono hundred convic tions." "SInco a wealthy woman was sent to Jail thero has not been another case of attempted smuggling." "In 1905 tho amount of duty collected on pas sengers' baggago this from 173,440 passengem was $045,416. In 1911 the amount collected from 320,133 passengers was $2,305,562. Dur ing that time over $8,000,000 has been collected in fines and penalties." "As long as I hold my present office I will insist on jail sentences for rich and poor alike who are guilty of smuggling' APPRECIATED IN IOWA A- S. Farrow, Boone, la: I must have The Commoner, can't keep house without it. It stands for clean politics, no other kind of poft tics goes with mo any more. It matters not to me what the candidate's name is, or to what party he belongs, I can not, and will not cast my vote for him unless I am convinced that hW principle outweighs any other man's money. I have no more Intention of intrusting my fran chise in the future to an unscrupulous polltlciaa than I have of intrusting my money to a vaga bond. Progressive democracy is on the right track, and the principles enunciated by it, art attracting the honest voter, regardless of location. m
